JP/5/FOCUS

JP/5/FOCUS

Fishermen tie up boats
over fuel price hikes

JAMBI: Hundreds of fishermen here have tied up their boats as it
has been uneconomic to go to sea since the government raised fuel
prices on Oct. 1.

"The price of diesel is now too expensive," said Wahab, a
fisherman in East Tanjungjabung regency.

Before the fuel price hikes on Oct. 1, the price of 200 liters
of diesel was Rp 800,000, but now it stands at Rp 1.2 million.
"The situation is very difficult," said Yanto, another fisherman
in the regency.

The fishermen are considering seeking other forms of
employment to support their families. -- JP

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ANPAa..r..
Focus-Makassar-tap-water

JP/5/FOCUS

Ministers to attend
water meeting

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Four ministers will attend a national
meeting of state-owned water utilities in Makassar on Nov. 28.
The ministers in question are Minister of Public Works Joko
Kirmanto, Minister of Health Fadhillah Supari, Minister of Home
Affairs Moh Ma'ruf and Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar.

The national meeting will elect a chairman of the National
Water Utility Association. It will also discuss the future
development of water business in the country, said Gazali, the
chairman of the meeting's organizing committee.

The meeting will also be attended by some 1,500 participants
from 350 branches in state water utilities nationwide, said
Gazali. -- Antara

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Focus-Mataram-birth

JP/5/FOCUS

Giving birth saver
now than before

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Safety during birth has been on the
rise in recent years as more births are attended to by trained
medical professionals, a health official said on Saturday.

Up to 80 percent of births were now attended to by doctors or
nurses, with the remainder being handled by midwives, said of
Mataram health agency director Iftichar.

These figures were encouraging as they reflected better health
awareness among people in the city, said Iftichar.

Previously, most births, especially in the countryside, were
attended to by midwives. -- Antara

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Focus-Sumatra-Ranau-festival

JP/5/FOCUS

52 regions to attend
Ranau Lake festival

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: Fifty-two regencies in the south of
Sumatra island are set to participate in the Ranau Lake festival
to be held in South Ogan Komering Hulu regency between Dec. 26
and Jan. 1.

Putra Jaya, the chairman of the festival's organizing
committee, said the festival would feature rowing, beach
volleyball, a kite competition and a motorcycle race, among other
events.

The festival is aimed at promoting Ranau Lake and other
tourism spots in the regency. It is also hoped that it will
provide extra money for local residents from tourism. -- Antara

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Palu-focus-vaccine-anthrax

JP/5/FOCUS

Govt to distribute
anthrax vaccines

PALU, Central Sulawesi: In a bid to stave off an anthrax
outbreak, the Central Sulawesi Animal Husbandry Agency has
distributed 10,000 anthrax vaccines to local governments across
the province. The vaccines were distributed over the past few
days after an anthrax outbreak occurred last week in the
neighboring province of South Sulawesi province.

Anthrax had previously struck Central Sulawesi province in
1931 and again in the 1960s.

Central Sulawesi province is a major cattle producer in the
eastern part of Indonesia, with some 1,000 cows exported to other
regions annually, said Abdul Halim Madali, a senior official with
the Central Sulawesi Animal Husbandry Agency. -- Antara