Tue, 01 Jul 2003

Cattle-killing tiger captured

PEKANBARAU, Riau: A tiger that killed two cows over the past two weeks was trapped by nature conservation officers and villagers in Dumai regency, Riau, a report said.

Residents of Sungai Sembilan district in Dumai said that over the last two weeks the tiger had entered their villages in search of food.

This prompted a report to the local office of the Coordinating Body for Natural Resources Protection (BKSDA), district chief Hendra Usman said on Monday.

Officers from the BKSDA and villagers constructed traps in several locations. After three days the tiger, a two-year-old female, entered one of the traps on Sunday. Hendra could not say where the tiger was taken.

This marks the seventh time villagers have trapped a tiger that came too close to their homes and attacked their cattle.

Environmentalists have said the encounters are the result of humans encroaching on the tigers' habitat. Uncontrolled logging across Sumatra has driven wild animals like tigers and elephants out of the forests and into contact with humans, according to the environmentalists.-- Antara

;ANTARA;IWA; ANPAa..r.. Bali-awards- JP/5/Bali

Nine artists honored in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: The Bali provincial administration honored on Monday nine artists who have made significant lifetime contributions to the preservation and development of art on the island.

Those honored were I Gede Bandem, Ida Made Basma, I Wayan Kamasan, I Ketut Nama, I Gusti Oka Suradnya, Ida Bagus Sutedja Manuaba, I Gusti Bagus Tika, Ida Bagus Watu and I Nengah Diptha.

The artists are all active in developing their own field of art, including dance, music, literature and painting.

Nyakan Samudra, the head of the organizing committee for the Bali Art Festival, said the awards would be presented by Bali Governor Made Beratha.-Antara

ANPAa..r.. Barito-hit-diarrhea JP/5/Across

Two die, 67 treated for diarrhea

MUARA TEWEH, Central Kalimantan: Two children in Muara Teweh have died and dozens of other people are being treated at the local hospital following an outbreak of diarrhea in the Central Kalimantan town.

"The two children were suffering severe dehydration when they were admitted to the hospital last week ... we could not save them," the director of Muara Teweh Hospital, Yahdelena, said on Monday.

The children died on June 21 and June 24.

In June alone, 69 people have been admitted to the hospital for treatment for diarrhea.

The head of communicable diseases at the North Barito Office of the Ministry of Health, Sriyono, said his office had still not determined whether these cases represented an epidemic.

He said the cases were likely the result of a change in the seasons and the continued pollution of the Barito River. - Antara

;Antara;Iwa; ANPAa..r.. Across-Ambon-refugees JP/5/Across

Refugees cannot build houses

AMBON, Maluku: Ambon Mayor Jopie Papilaja said on Sunday he would not permit refugees from other areas of the province to build new houses in the provincial capital.

"I will recommend that refugees from outside of Ambon not be permitted to build houses here, as we do not have the space and their presence will reduce the space available for residents of Ambon," he said on Sunday.

"I will only recommend that they be allowed to build houses in areas not designated for housing ... so there will be no new social problems," Papilaja said.

Refugees from Buru regency ran amok on Saturday after hearing reports that they would be sent back to their hometown.

Some of the refugees allegedly burned paper and other items, sparking a panic among the civil servants working in the Maluku gubernatorial office.--Antara