Jakarta / Tribune News Service Farmers in the Pelalawan village of Pelalawan, Pangkalan Kerinci, used to employ the slash and burn method when it came to clearing their land for farmland or rice fields. That approach triggered massive fires as the soil in the village was combustible, especially with peatland at a depth of around 3-9 meters. In a …

  Paris / AFP Transport chaos hit France again on Wednesday, just nine days ahead of Euro 2016, as railway workers went on strike in the latest salvo of a months-long battle between the government and unions. Between a third and half of France’s trains were expected to grind to a halt, as workers from railway operator SNCF launched their …

  BEIJING / AFP Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all parties to disputes on the Korean Peninsula to maintain calm and restraint in a meeting on Wednesday with a high-ranking North Korean envoy that appeared aimed at easing strains in the bilateral relationship. Xi’s meeting with Ri Su Yong, head of the ruling Workers Party of Korea’s international department, came …