Jakarta  - A series of religious edicts issued by Indonesia's council of Muslim scholars has triggered controversy, exposing sharp divisions between conservatives and liberals in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

In January, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa, or religious edict, banning Muslims from practising yoga that includes Hindu rituals, such as chanting.

It also ruled smoking in public and abstaining from electoral voting are sinful.

Jakarta - Indonesia must crack down on forest clearing after tigers killed six people in less than a month on Sumatra island, the global conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Wednesday.

Three people were mauled to death by Sumatran tigers over the weekend, bringing to six the number of people to have been killed in Jambi province by the endangered beasts since late January, officials said.

New Delhi, Feb 24 : To enhance growing defence cooperation between India and Indonesia, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor is on a four day goodwill visit to that country from today.

During his visit, General Kapoor will interact with Indonesia's defence and army officials and visit their important training establishments.

The visit assumes special significance in the light of enhanced defence cooperation in consonance with India's "Look East Policy" and growing relationship with ASEAN.

London, Feb 23 : A new study has revealed that severe fires in Indonesia, responsible for some of the worst air quality conditions worldwide, are not only associated with drought, but also with changes in land use and population density.

"During the late 1970s, Indonesian Borneo changed from being highly fire-resistant to highly fire-prone during drought years, marking the period when one of the world''s great tropical forests became one of the world''s largest sources of pollution," said Robert Field of at University of Toronto.

Bali Island, Indonesia - Authorities on Indonesia's resort isl

Jakarta - A tiger mauled two people to death on Indonesia's Sumatra island, bringing to six the number of humans in the area killed by the endangered beasts since last month, an official said Monday.

The two people were attacked on Saturday while working in an illegal logging camp in a forest in Jambi province, said the head of the provincial Natural Conservation Office, Didy Wurjanto.

Didy said six people had been killed and three others injured by Sumatran tigers since late January.