Indonesia

Helicopter blades kill two in Indonesia

Helicopter blades kill two in IndonesiaJakarta  - Two mechanics were killed by rotor blades on Thursday when the helicopter they were servicing tilted on its side, an transport ministry official said.

The pilot and mechanics were making last-minute checks on the aircraft before take-off when the accident happened at a military airport about 30 kilometres southwest of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.

The spinning blades killed the two mechanics instantly while the pilot and another technician in the cockpit were injured, he said

Another Indonesian lawmaker jailed for graft

Another Indonesian lawmaker jailed for graftJakarta - An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a legislator from the party of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to four-a-half years in prison for accepting bribes.

The anti-corruption court in Jakarta found Sarjan Taher, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, guilty of accepting 5 billion rupiah (440,000 dollars) in bribe money from a provincial government.

The money was intended to influence lawmakers to approve a project to convert a mangrove forest into a seaport in South Sumatra province, the court said.

Wild elephants kill two in Indonesia's Aceh province

Wild elephants kill two in Indonesia's Aceh province Jakarta - A couple of wild elephants went on a rampage in Indonesia's north-western province of Aceh, killing two people and injuring three others after destroying a hut, police and media reports said Wednesday.

The animals entered Kupula village in Sumatra's northern Aceh district of Pidie Tuesday morning, and trampled a hut where seven women chili farmers were eating breakfast.

Pidie district police chief Mufan Mujikawati said the women fled the hut but two of them were later trampled to death by the angry elephants.

Why give yoga a religious connotation, says Deoband

Why give yoga a religious connotation, says DeobandDeoband (UP), Jan 28: The Darul Uloom Deoband, an influential islamic body, said on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with any exercise done for health reasons.

Reacting to Indonesia''s top Islamic body barring Muslims from practicing yoga, its spokesperson, Akeel Siddiqui, said that Islam does not prohibit anyone from practicing yoga or any other kind of physical exercise.

Sumatran tiger population rises in Indonesian park

Sumatran tiger population rises in Indonesian park Jakarta - The number of critically endangered Sumatran tigers at an Indonesian national park has increased over the past few years thanks to a successful campaign against poaching, a conservationist said Tuesday.

The result of a 20-month monitoring programme showed that the population of Sumatran tigers at the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in Riau province had risen to 43 from 35 in 2003, said Muhammad Yunus, coordinator of the park's Sumatran Tiger Conservation Programme.

Indonesia bans Muslims from practicing Hindu yoga

JIndonesia bans Muslims from practicing Hindu yoga akarta - Indonesia's top Islamic body issued a ruling banning Muslim from practicing yoga if they engage in Hindu religious rituals during the exercise, the chairman of the group said.

At the end of its three-day meeting in the West Sumatra city of Padang Panjang on Sunday, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) issued the fatwa, or edict, saying that exercises containing Hindu elements such as chanting were "haram," (forbidden) in Islam, as it could weaken the faith of Muslims.

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