Jakarta - About 100 soldiers mutinied against their battalion commander and fired shots into the air Wednesday in Indonesia's rebellious Papua province, Metro TV reported. The soldiers stormed the commander's office in Sentani, near the provincial capital Jayapura, and stole rifles from an armory in their headquarters, the television channel said.
No one was injured in the mutiny and the situation had been brought under control, said a spokesman for the regional military command, Lieutenant Colonel Susilo.
Jakarta- South-East Asian nations are working together to deal with swine flu amid fears the disease could spread to the region, the Association of South-East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) said Thursday. "I am now also coordinating with all ASEAN ministers of health in order to provide the necessary cooperation and support," ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said in a statement.
Sydney- 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.
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.
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.
Jakarta - 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.