Woman found dead

PEKANBARU, Riau: A female employee of a pulp and paper factory, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), was found dead in her room at the company's dormitory here on Thursday morning.

Police said that the death of Evi, 22, was discovered when a relative named Joni, 30, came to visited her.

Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. S Pandiangan said that Joni found Evi's room locked. Joni knocked at the door but there was no response.

Together with his driver, Joni broke open the door to Evi's room and found the woman "sleeping under the blanket".

Joni reported his discovery to the police. "But we have yet to reach a conclusion about the cause of the woman's death," said Pandiangan. --Antara

Seven Afghan boat people escape

BATAM, Riau: Seven of the 77 Afghan boat people accommodated in the Batam immigration detention center since May 2 have escaped, an official confirmed on Friday.

The head of the Batam Immigration Office, Mardjono, said that the seven persons had disappeared from the detention center some days ago. "They may still be in Batam or living on islets in Riau."

"We are collaborating with the local police in seeking them," he said.

Mardjono said that the fate of the remaining 70 Afghan boat people stranded in Batam was uncertain. "The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has yet to decide on their status."

Batam is one of the centers used for detaining Afghan boat people who have been dreaming of a better life in Australia. The other centers are Medan (North Sumatra), Jakarta, Bogor (West Java) Cilacap (Central Java), Denpasar (Bali), Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), and Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara). --ANtara

Number of scholarship applicants up

PEKANBARU, Riau: The number of applicants for postgraduate and doctoral scholarships in the province of Riau increased from 145 last year to 300 this year, according to an official.

The head of the provincial Social Affairs Bureau, H. Mustafa Kamal, said here on Friday that only 129 of the applicants would be granted the scholarships, both for study within the country and overseas.

"The Riau administration has allotted Rp 12 billion for postgraduate and doctoral scholarship programs this year," Mustafa said.

He added that most of the applicants were students who were born in Riau. --Antara

Manado traffic getting worse

MANADO, North Sulawesi: Traffic in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado is getting worse from day to day with severe congestion constantly taking place on main thoroughfares and in the downtown area.

Traffic from all directions converge on certain areas, leaving at least seven spots vulnerable to traffic congestion.

Jl. Sam Ratulangi, Jl. Yos Sudarso, Jl. Sarapung, Jl. Martadinata, Jl. Pierre Tendean, Jl. Dr. Sutomo and the Pasar 45 area in downtown Manado are heavily congested everyday.

The increasing number of vehicles has been cited as the main cause of the traffic woes, but recently traffic light outages have been contributing to the problem.

Head of the Manado Transportation Office Noldy Kewas said here on Friday that road repair and other development projects had also worsened the situation.

"The attitude of public transportation drivers is another matter," he said.

According to the transportation office, 4,600 of the 9,000 vehicles on the city's roads are public transportation vehicles. --Antara

Social affairs office revived

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: The social affairs office in Southeast Sulawesi province will soon be revived after being merged with the health office last March.

Provincial Secretary Yokoyama Sinapoy said here on Friday that the revival was meant to ensure that more attention would be paid to the increasing number of social problems in the province.

The draft of the bylaw on the revival of the social affairs office had been submitted to the provincial legislative council, Sinapoy said.

"The deliberation of the bylaw is expected to take place before December so that funding for social affairs activities can be allocated soon," he said. --Antara

Foreign ships operating in Bengkulu

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: Six Thai fishing vessels have been operating in Mukuo-Muko Utara waters off North Bengkulu regency.

Reports say that the Thai fishermen were choosy about the fish they caught.

"They catch only expensive fish. They just dump the dead fish they don't want," a local fisherman, Syaiful, said.

Local fishermen allege that the Thai ships have been operating in the area for a long time but that it was only in October that they reported the matter to the district chief executive's office.

Mukuo-Muko Utara district chief executive Ferizal Syamsul said he had sent a letter to the regent over the Thai fishermen's presence, copies of which had also been sent to the Bengkulu governor, Bengkulu Naval Base commander and the Marine and Fisheries Office.

Ferizal did not say when the letters were sent, or if any of the officials concerned had responded. --Antara