Family planning activists launch HIV/AIDS campaign

SEMARANG, Central Java: Activists of the Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI) have embarked on a campaign to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

PKBI Central Java director Farid Husni said Thursday that the campaign targets students, sex workers, street children and Islamic boarding schools.

The main goal of the campaign, Farid said, was to discourage people from engaging in activities that could spread HIV/AIDS. About 30 activists were assigned to coordinate this voluntary public service.

The first case of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia appeared in 1987, and by Sept. 2002 the number had risen to 3,374.

The number of people with HIV/AIDS in Central Java reached 84 in August, 23 of whom lived in Semarang. --Antara

;JP;ANTARA; ANPAa..r.. Across-court-complaint Courts criticized for poor performance JP/5/Across

Courts slammed for poor performance

JAMBI: An advocacy group in Jambi is planning to report district and high courts of the area to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for handing down questionably light sentences in high-profile cases.

"We will inform the ministry and the Supreme Court to review the verdicts," said Sigit Eko Yuwono, director of the Center for Environment and Society Advocacy (PALM) on Thursday.

Sigit added that his group had collected data on the matter and would soon submit them to the offices.

The high-profile crimes include corruption, illegal logging, gambling and narcotics.

Sigit did not mention the number of high-profile cases that received light sentences.

The advocacy group would also report some unsolved cases to provincial police and police headquarters in Jakarta, and Sigit added that Jakarta police headquarters should assign a team to deal with them. - Antara

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Crimes soar in Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: Police disclosed on Thursday that the number of crimes in the province in the January-September period had increased from 3,735 last year to 4,122 this year.

Riau police spokesman Sr. Comr. M.H. Dalimunthe said that the police had solved 1,957 cases.

He revealed that most of the crimes took place in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, with 1,210 cases. Areas such as Barelang, Kampar and Indragiri Hilir followed with 809, 743 and 448 cases, respectively.

Other areas included Indragiri Hulu, the West Riau Islands and the East Riau Islands, where criminal incidents reached 311, 272 and 170, respectively.

Dalimunthe said the crimes were triggered by economic and social factors. --Antara

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Banyuwangi to boost agriculture

BANYUWANGI, East Java: Banyuwangi, a regency located on the easternmost shores of Java, has vowed to develop its agricultural sector in order to boost the livelihood of the local people.

Banyuwangi Regent Samsul Hadi said on Thursday that the public administration had collected maps of potential agricultural sites from across the regency.

He disclosed that some business people had planned on developing a housing complex with agronomy-approach, giving each house expansive ground for farmland.

Apparently, the minister of agriculture had said earlier that the government planned to develop Banyuwangi and Jombang into agronomic cities.

He said he hoped the plan could materialize soon as the local administration was building a small dam in the nearby village of Wongsorejo. - Antara

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Gorontalo to receive Rp 65b for education

GORONTALO, Sulawesi: Education programs in the province of Gorontalo will receive Rp 65 billion in the state budget next year to promote infrastructure in the newly-established province.

Head of provincial education office Irvan Mbuinga said on Thursday that the figure reflected a 30 percent increase compared to last year's allocation.

"The money comes from foreign aid and the state budget," Irvan said during his meeting with a delegation of legislators from Jakarta.

Irvan revealed that the funds would be spent on improving the quality of education from elementary to high schools, boost sport facilities, and develop extracurricular programs.

The public administration is also planning to build five junior and senior high schools in the province. - Antara

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Tidal waves damage road

PAMEKASAN, Madura: Some parts of a 31 kilometer-long road connecting the Sampang and Pamekasan regencies in Madura were severely damaged due to increasing erosion by tidal waves.

"I have checked and found that some locations were in a bad condition," said Achmad Ismail, an official with the East Java administration office, on Thursday. He said illegal sand mining in the location had also worsened the erosion, and urged the local administration to take stern measures against sand mining.

Apart from this, Achmad suggested that authorities there plant mangrove trees to reduce the impact of tidal waves.

It was hoped that the mangrove trees would also help preserve the ecosystem, he added. - Antara