Fish bombers ruining fishing areas
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Fishermen in North Buton coast in Muna regency have called on the provincial government to take action against fish bombers which has been rapidly depleting the fish supply.
La Dunima, one of the fishermen, said the bombings were allegedly committed by fishermen from nearby Kendari, whose modern equipment and boats enabled them to escape from the law enforcers.
The bombs, which contain ammoninum nitrate and potassium cyanide, have destroyed coral reefs and mangroves, Dunima said.
He said he and his fellow fishermen in North Buton could only earn some Rp 75,000 per day only, significantly down from Rp 200,000 per day before the arrival of the fish bombers. -- Antara.
;JP;SUHERDJOKO;MUN; ANPAa..r.. Across-university-scholarship Diponegro Univ. gives 5 scholarships JP/5/Diponegoro
Diponegro Univ. gives 5 scholarships
SEMARANG: The state-owned Diponegoro University awarded scholarships to five newly enrolled students here over the weekend.
Rector Eko Budihardjo said the university was also seeking "foster parents" for the students to cover their living expenses.
The five were part of 6,903 students admitted by the university for 2003/2004 academic year.
Each new student must pay Rp 1 million in "education fees" plus tuition of Rp 500,000 per semester.
Sudharto Prawoto Hadi, the deputy rector for academic affairs, said all the new students would attend an orientation program slated to take place from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5. -- JP
;JP; ANPAa..r.. Across-E.Java-police-security East Java police tighten measures JP/5/security
East Java police tighten security
SURABAYA: The East Java Police declared on Sunday a red alert status across the province for an indefinite period as they were trying to deter possible terror attacks, officials said.
East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Heru Sutanto said that the stern measures were aimed at stopping terrorists from launching an attack in the province.
"The order came from the National Police chief. The police will guard all public facilities as well as offices which could be vulnerable to attack," he told reporters over the weekend.
Heru also said that the heightened security was consistent with the order from the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs not to allow any opportunity for terrorism to spread across the country.
The police has also tightened security in hotels, increased patrols and told Islamic boarding school's to screen their students.
Provincial police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Sad Harunantyo said that bomb hoaxes had been escalating in the province following the blast at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 5.
Last week alone, the police recorded five bomb threats, up from two in the previous week, Harunantyo said.
The JW Marriott Hotel in Surabaya, as well as a McDonald's in Surabaya, were among those which received bomb threats. -- JP
;JP;AGUS;MUN; ANPAa..r.. Across-piracy-vendors Vendors continue to sell pirated VCDs JP/5/vendors
Vendors continue to sell pirated VCDs
PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Vendors here have resumed the sale of pirated VCDs despite several raids conducted by the police following the enactment of a copyright law two weeks ago.
Most of the vendors said that they had to sell the VCDs as they had nothing else to sell.
"Raid the (pirated VCDs) producers first, before targeting us. We won't sell them if they don't produce them," said Sutono, a vendor at a shopping complex here.
The Banyumas Police, covering the towns of Purwokerto, Cilacap, Purbalingga and Banjarnegara, has conducted a series of raids and rounded up thousands of illegal VCDs.
"We only seized the illegal products. We don't prosecute the vendors," Banyumas Police Chief Insp. Gen. Natakesuma said.
The vendors sell pirated VCDs at between Rp 4,000 and Rp 7,000 each. Selling a pirated product carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail according to the new law. -- JP