VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Myanmar on Mar 27, 2021 shows an annual parade put on by the military to mark Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw - Bangkok post

Myanmar's security forces shot and killed at least 16 protesters on Saturday, news reports and witnesses said, as the leader of the ruling junta said the military will protect the people and strive for democracy.

"Today is a day of shame for the armed forces," Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.

"The military generals are celebrating Armed Forces Day after they just killed more than 300 innocent civilians," he said, giving an estimate of the toll since protests first erupted weeks ago.

At least four people were killed when security forces opened fire at a crowd protesting outside a police station in Yangon's Dala suburb in the early hours of Saturday, Myanmar Now reported. At least 10 people were wounded, the news portal said.

Three people, including a young man who plays in a local under-21 football team, were shot and killed in a protest in the Insein district of the city, a neighbour told Reuters. Four people were killed in Lashio town in the east, and four in separate incidents in the Bago region, near Yangon, according to media outlets. One person was killed in Hopin town in the northeast.

The country has been in turmoil since the generals ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February, triggering a major uprising demanding a return to democracy.

Violent morning crackdowns by security forces thwarted some plans for fresh protests that had been called in some cities to coincide with the parade in the capital Naypyidaw.

As troops carried torches and flags while marching alongside army vehicles, junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing again defended the coup and pledged to yield power after new elections.

But he also issued another threat to the anti-coup movement that has gripped the country since he took charge, warning that acts of "terrorism which can be harmful to state tranquility and security" were unacceptable.

"The democracy we desire would be an undisciplined one if they pay no respect to and violate the law," he said.

Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of local resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War II, usually accompanies a military parade attended by foreign officers and diplomats.

But the junta has struggled to achieve international recognition since taking control of Myanmar and said that only eight international delegations attended Saturday's event, including China and Russia.

Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin attended the parade, having met senior junta leaders a day earlier. 

"Russia is a true friend," Min Aung Hlaing said.

Fears have swirled that the day could become a flashpoint for more unrest.

Security forces cracked down on demonstrators in commercial hub Yangon before dawn, while police and troops opened fire on a rally by university students in the northeastern city of Lashio.

"The army and the police just came and shot them. They did not give any warning to protesters and they used real bullets," local journalist Mai Kaung Saing told AFP.

But protesters elsewhere returned to the streets, including in the second-largest city Mandalay, where crowds carried Aung San Suu Kyi's party flag and flashed the three-finger salute that has been adopted as a symbol of resistance to military rule//CNA

Police officers hold their shields as demonstrators take part in a protest against a newly proposed policing bill, in Bristol, on Mar 26, 2021 - Walesonline

Ten people were arrested in the city of Bristol in southwest England on Friday (Mar 26) after protests over a new policing Bill turned violent with people throwing glass bottles and bricks at officers, police said in a statement.

Thousands of demonstrators converged on the city centre, ignoring COVID-19 restrictions, to protest against a government Bill going through parliament that would give police new powers to restrict street protests.

"Ten people were arrested for offences including violent disorder, assaulting an emergency worker and possession of Class A drugs," the local Avon and Somerset Police Superintendent Mark Runacres said in the statement.

"Items, including glass bottles and bricks were thrown at officers, fireworks were launched at our mounted section while one of our horses was also covered with paint," Runacres added.

The new policing Bill would give police new powers to impose time and noise limits on street protests, which has angered activists, particularly since a heavy-handed police response to a London vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard on Mar 13 caused widespread outrage and criticism of the police.

A police officer has been charged with Everard's kidnap and murder, and the case has unleashed an outpouring of grief and rage over the issue of violence against women and girls.The Bill pre-dated the Everard case and covers a wide range of policy areas as well as the policing of protests. However, the two became connected in many people's minds because, by coincidence, the Bill was up for debate in parliament two days after the London vigil//CNA

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Erick Thohir is delivering speech.

Indonesia has seriously started to develop the electric battery industry for motorbikes and cars. Indonesia is considered to have abundant resources to realize the target of becoming a major player at the global level in this electric battery industry.

State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir said the partnership between Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) and two of the world's electric battery players, CATL and LG Chem, would provide benefits for Indonesia.

Erick conveyed that BUMNs that are members of the IBC will be involved in the entire process of developing the electric battery industry from upstream to downstream, in accordance with the agreement with CATL and LG Chem.

"We hope there will be a transfer of technology, because the agreement is not only about electric batteries for cars but also about electricity for motorbikes," said Erick during a press conference for the establishment of the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) in Jakarta, Friday (26/3).

Erick assessed that the potential for electric batteries for motorbikes is very large for Indonesia, which is known as one of the largest wheeled vehicle markets in the world.

In addition to electric batteries for cars and motorbikes, Erick continued, the cooperation agreement also regulates the development of stabilizer batteries which are important in new renewable energy or future electrical power needs.

Erick from the beginning encouraged Pertamina and PLN, which are the biggest domestic energy giants, to join IBC and MIND ID//Republika

Germany warns third coronavirus wave could be the worst so far - Reuters

Germany’s third wave of the coronavirus could be the worst so far and 100,000 new daily infections is not out of the question, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases(RKI) said on Friday.

The number of new confirmed infections in Germany has jumped in recent weeks, driven by a more transmissible variant known as B117 and moves to ease some lockdown measures.

“There are clear signals that this wave will be worse than the first two waves,” RKI’s Lothar Wieler said, as he urged people to stay at home over Easter. “We have some very difficult weeks ahead of us.”

The RKI later issued COVID-19 travel warnings for various neighbouring countries including France, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

People arriving from those countries must now provide a negative test less than 48 hours old at the German border. They must then go into a 10-day quarantine, which can be shortened by a second negative test after 5 days.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germany was in the final stages of the “pandemic marathon”, but the country’s health system could reach its limit in April.

The number of new confirmed cases in Germany rose by 21,573 on Friday, while the death toll increased by 183.

Spahn said a requirement for all airline passengers entering Germany to provide a negative test would come into force at midnight on Monday.

He called on local authorities to take a more flexible approach to vaccination, for example by offering unused doses to anyone aged over 70 at the weekend and by reducing stocks more quickly.

Frustration has grown over the sluggish vaccine roll-out. Around 10% of Germans have received at least a first dose, but this is far lower than the United States, Britain or Israel//Reuters