Thousands of Indonesian mudflow victims protest

SURABAYA, Indonesia, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Thousands of Indonesians blocked a key road on Java island with truckloads of sand on Monday to press the operator of an exploratory oil well spewing torrents of mud to pay more compensation.

Some 10,000 people have been displaced and entire villages inundated by the mud that has flowed since a drilling accident in May, causing an unfolding environmental disaster in the Sidoarjo area, near Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya.

"We are here to claim our rights as Indonesian citizens. A few days ago, we not only lost our houses but also our paddy fields and all the infrastructure because of Lapindo," Muhammad Kudori, a representative for the protesters, said after meeting top local officials and the head of the operator of the oil well.

The Banjar Panji well was operated by Indonesia's Lapindo Brantas, a unit of PT Energi Mega Persada , partly owned by the Bakrie Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.

The firm has denied the mud flow is directly linked to the drilling operation.

So far the company has offered a monthly stipend of 300,000 rupiah ($32.86) to villagers who have lost their houses and rent for new accommodation. It has also set aside 6.9 billion rupiah to cover agricultural losses over the next few years.

Anger has been mounting in the area with the hot mud gushing at a rate of 50,000 cubic metres (1.75 million cubic feet) a day from the well despite several government contingency plans to plug the leak.

Many of the protesters who gathered outside the Sidoarjo regent's office had lost their homes and fields in the past week because of the mudflow, which was also blamed for a gas pipeline explosion in the area last Wednesday that killed 11 people.

"I agree with your demand on the compensation of houses and buildings," Basuki Hadimulyo, managing head of a national task force formed by the government to tackle the mudflow, said.

"I will fight for your rights in Jakarta."

In the middle of negotiations, the representatives of the victims walked out as national team could not guarantee the compensation they demanded.

The protesters blocked a road connecting Surabaya with northern cities of East Java with three trucks of sand.

Several experts have said the mudflow could have been triggered by a crack about 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) deep inside the well.

North Korea takes aim at bird flu after South is hit

SEOUL, Nov 27 (Reuters) - North Korea is stepping up measures to prevent bird flu, its official media said on Monday, following an announcement over the weekend from the South that it had an outbreak of the highly virulent H5N1 strain.

North Korea, which had an outbreak of bird flu at two poultry farms near Pyongyang in February 2005, said it had inoculated poultry and increased checks along its borders.

"Quarantine measures against avian influenza are being conducted with stepped up activity," KCNA news agency quoted a health official as saying.

South Korea's agriculture ministry ordered the culling of 236,000 poultry within a 500-metre (1,640-ft) radius of a poultry farm in North Cholla province about 170 km (100 miles) from Seoul where the H5N1 strain was found.

Quarantine authorities also banned the shipment of more than 5 million poultry from 221 farms within a 10-km (6.2-mile) radius of the farm.

Real taste of winter for the West

The coldest air of the year is settling over the western U.S., bringing snow even to low elevations. Snow levels are down to sea level in Washington and parts of the Seattle metro area received nearly half a foot of snow since Sunday. Snow showers will continue in the Seattle area on Monday and an inch of snow is possible in Portland, Ore., as well. Winter weather advisories and warnings are widespread across all for the mountains across the region. Expect at least a foot of snow from the Oregon Cascades to the California Sierra and into the Utah Wasatch and Montana Bitterroots over the next 24 to 36 hours. In addition to the snow, bitterly cold air will flow into the region. High temperatures will only be in the 30s across the Northwest and throughout the Great Basin. Teens and 20s can be expected in the northern Rockies. As this storm system deepens over the West, look for snow to continue across the Rockies through Tuesday. The system will emerge into the Plains by Wednesday, with rain and thunderstorms ahead of it and snow behind it. Much colder air will overspread the entire country throughout the week.