Refugees seek permanent homes
Refugees seek permanent homes
ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara: One hundred and twenty-five East Timorese refugee families want homes in a new housing complex to be built in the Manleten subdistrict here, an Indonesian official said.
The modest housing complex, which will be built on 800 hectares of land, will have 350 houses, said Lt. Col. Ganip Warsito, the Indonesian official in charge of refugee affairs in the area.
The housing complex will be built using funds from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he said, adding it was scheduled to be completed by December this year.
"As of Thursday, 125 East Timorese refugee families have registered for houses in the complex," Ganip said on Friday.
Those families are currently taking shelter in the Tulamale refugee camp in Belu regency here, Ganip said, adding that more refugee families could register for spots in the housing complex.
The families fled East Timor in 1999 to escape the violence before and after the independence referendum there. -- Antara
;JP;ASA; ANPAa..r.. Hamzah-office-Kutai Hamzah to open Rp 1t regent office JP/5/ACROSS
Hamzah to open Rp 1t regent office
EAST KUTAI, East Kalimantan: Vice President Hamzah Haz is scheduled on Saturday to inaugurate the offices of the East Kutai administration in Bukit Pelangi, Sangatta, East Kutai regency.
The offices, standing on 600 hectares of land, cost Rp 1 trillion (US$125 million), sources within the East Kutai administration said on Friday.
The inauguration of the new offices will take place concurrently with the fourth anniversary of East Kutai regency on Oct. 12.
The office complex includes the official residence of the East Kutai regent, the regent secretariat, the East Kutai legislative council secretariat and a multipurpose hall.
East Kutai is a relatively wealthy regency, raising revenue from the operation of several multinational companies in the area, including coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal. -- Antara
;JP;ASA ANPAa..r.. Across-Archipelago-police Teenagers trained to defuse bombs JP/5/ACROSS
Teenagers trained to defuse bombs
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: The Kendari Police held a one-day course on Friday to teach 60 junior high school students about the different duties performed by the police, including defusing bombs.
The course was aimed at increasing appreciation for the work of the police, a police officer in charge of training, Sr. Comr. Johnny Arjil, said.
Besides a lesson in defusing bombs, the students also learned how to manage traffic, do intelligence work and deal with riots.
"The training will increase the students sense of belonging to the police force," said Adj. Sr. Comr. A. Rakhman, the chief of the Southeast Sulawesi Police's elite Mobile Brigade unit. -- Antara
;JP;KEN; ANPAa..r.. Across-Coffee-Medan N. Sumatran coffee hits foreign markets JP/5/ACROSS
N. Sumatran coffee hits foreign markets
MEDAN, North Sumatra: Coffee exports from North Sumatra have penetrated 41 countries, mostly in Europe.
According to information from the North Sumatra industry and trade office in Medan, almost 47,000 tons of coffee -- 34,591 tons of arabica, 11,848 tons of robusta and 1,230 tons of instant coffee -- were exported to 41 countries from January to August 2003.
The export value of the coffee was US$32.547 million.
North Sumatra's coffee exports during this period increased nearly 20 percent from the same period in 2002.
An official from the foreign trade department in North Sumatra's industry and trade office predicted that the export value would continue to increase through the end of the year, despite recent fluctuations in prices on the international coffee market.
"Overseas market demand for Sumatran coffee is still high," said Suharil Latief.
The strength of the coffee market will help farmers in production centers located in the regencies of Dairi, South Tapanuli, Karo, Deli Serdang, Labuhan Batu and Mandailing Natal (Madina).
There are 62,708 hectares of coffee plantations in North Sumatra, 62,000 of which are privately owned. -- Antara