Indonesia

Australia captures two more asylum-seeker boat

AustraliaSydney- Two boats carrying more than 70 asylum-seekers were intercepted by Royal Australian Navy patrol boats Wednesday off Australia's north coast. The seizures bring to 10 the number of boats to arrive this year. Only seven boats arrived last year and Australian officials are worried that many more will come bringing mostly Afghan and Middle Eastern illegal immigrants.

Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said the latest batch would be sent to the immigration detention centre on Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island for health and security checks.

Indonesian court sentences Singaporean for murder, attack plots

Indonesian court sentences Singaporean for murder, attack plots Jakarta - An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a Singaporean-born Islamic militant to 18 years in jail for the murder of a teacher and attack conspiracies. Judges at the South Jakarta District Court found Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin guilty of planning the fatal shooting of a Christian teacher in Indonesia's South Sumatra province in
2007.

He was also involved in the planning of an aborted attack on a cafe in West Sumatra last year, the court said.

Wild elephants kill elderly woman in Sumatra

Wild elephants kill elderly woman in Sumatra Jakarta - Two wild elephants went on a rampage in Lampung province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, trampling an elderly resident to death, state-run media reported Monday.

The elephants entered the Belimbing Bengkurat village early Saturday, trampling 70-year-old Punirah, said Kurnia Rauf, head of the Bukit Barisan National Park.

Rauf was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency that the wild elephants ran amok after they strayed from their herd and into the human settlement.

Indonesia imposes ban on pork imports to contain swine flu

pork importsJakarta - Indonesia imposed an import ban on pork, in addition to increasing surveillance at all entry points for travelers with flu-like symptoms, to prevent the spread of swine flu, a cabinet minister said Monday. "The import of pork will be temporarily halted until a further progress concerning the swine flu, or until the condition was safe," said Aburizal Bakrie, the coordinating minister for people's welfare.

Nine dead, four missing in boat accident off Indonesia's Sumatra

Nine dead, four missing in boat accident off Indonesia's Sumatra Jakarta  - Nine people died and at least four others were missing and feared drowned after a ferry boat sank off Indonesia's Sumatra island, media reports said Sunday.

Survivors said the ship carrying around 60 people when it went down on Saturday afternoon in strong winds a kilometre off Dumai, Riau province, as it ferried guests to a wedding, detik. com online news portal reported.

Nine bodies and 43 survivors had been rescued Sunday morning.

Indonesia's Golkar Party nominates chairman for presidential race

Indonesia's Golkar Party nominates chairman for presidential race Jakarta - Indonesia's Golkar Party on Wednesday named its chairman, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, as its presidential candidate, breaking away from the ruling coalition of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Golkar announced Tuesday that coalition talks with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party had collapsed because it did not agree with the terms.

Kalla has been asked to set up a team for his campaign for the July 8 presidential election and approach other parties to discuss a possible coalition, said a Golkar deputy chairman, Syamsul Muarif.

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