Kekhawatiran soal pembalakan di Sabah

BBC Indonesia, 17 Juli 2006

Environmentalists have expressed concern about plans by logging companies in Malaysian Borneo to begin work in sensitive wildlife areas before they are turned into animal sanctuaries. The areas, Malua and Ulu Segama) are to become protected in 2008, and provide a home to pigmy elephants, endangered Sumatran rhinos, and one-tenth of the world's wild orangutan.The BBC correspondent in Malaysia says the government's efforts to protect the areas have spurred on companies with existing logging rights to begin work before the new measures are introduced. Our correspondent says environmentalists hope to draw up a management plan to help minimise the impact, but he says given Malaysia's poor record of enforcing such measures, it's feared that the area could be irreparably damaged.

Keprihatinan soal pembalakan di hutan Kalimantan

Para pegiat menyatakan keprihatinan atas rencana perusahaan penebangan kayu Malaysia untuk mulai beroperasi di kawasan satwa liar yang sensitif sebelum dijadikan kawasan suaka margasatwa. Kawasan itu, Malua dan Ulu Segama, akan dilindungi pada tahun 2008 untuk gajah pigmi, badak Sumatra dan orang utan liar. Wartawan BBC di Malaysia menagtakan upaya pemerintah untuk melindungi kawasan itu bertarung dengan perusahaan kayu yang sudah mendapat hak beroperasi sebelum keputusan untuk melindunginya dikeluarkan. Para pegiat lingkungan juga berupaya untuk menyusun rencana guna mengurangi dampak operasi perusahaan kayu di sana namun ada kekuatiran kawasan itu akan rusak tanpa bisa dipulihkan kembali.

Australian included in Asian Champions League

Australia is to be included in the Asian Champions League football tournament for the first time next year at the expense of teams from Vietnam and Thailand. The Asian Football Confederation, or AFC, said discussions were still going on with Australia's football authorities. It said that to accommodate two Australian teams, Thailand and Vietnam would lose one place each, leaving both with a single representative. The AFC said the decision was based in part on the poor performance of Thai and Vietnamese sides in previous tournaments.

Australia masuk Liga Champion Asia

Australia untuk pertama kalinya akan masuk Liga Champion Asia mulai tahun depan, sementara tim dari Vietnam dan Thailand masing-masing akan dikurangi satu tim. Konfederasi Sepakbola Asia, AFC, mengatakan perundingan masih berlangsung dengan pihak sepakbola Australia. Disebutkan 2 tim Australia akan masuk Liga Champion Asia, sementara Vietnam dan Thailand masing-masing kehilangan satu tim sehingga kini hanya diwakili satu saja. AFC mengatakan keputusan itu didasarkan pada buruknya penampilan Thailand dan Vietnam dalam turnamen sebelumnya.