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Britain to launch bullying hotline for athletes at Tokyo Games

British athletes competing at this year's Tokyo Olympics will be able to report concerns of physical or psychological abuse through an independent hotline service, British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson said.

This move comes after 17 former gymnasts in the United Kingdom last month launched a group-claim lawsuit against the national governing body British Gymnastics alleging a range of abusive behaviour.

The group, which includes three Olympians, served a "Letter of Claim" on the body, alleging physical and psychological abuse from coaches.

"One of the things we are ensuring for when we get to Tokyo is that every athlete knows who they can contact if they have got any issues in that environment," Anson told the Mail on Sunday https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-9384691/British-athletes-receive-access-bullying-hotline-Tokyo-Olympics.html newspaper.

"This would not be their line manager but someone outside the line. It can't be someone in our line management structure."

Last year, Britain's Olympic medal-winning gymnast Amy Tinkler and others also spoke out about their experiences with British Gymnastics, accusing coaches of bullying and "body shaming".

"There has got to be an independent hotline you can call without fear of any recrimination and that is really important," Anson added.

"We can have all the policies and procedures in the world but if they are not enforceable or if the athletes don't feel like we are on their side, then they are not right."//CNA

Miami Beach Police detain a man as he plays loud music on a wireless speaker on Ocean Drive on March 17, 2021 AFP/CHANDAN KHANNA

Throngs of revellers flocking to Miami Beach in Florida for spring break have become so uncontrollable that authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday (Mar 20) and imposed a curfew meant to quash the party.

The move marks the second year in a row that fun has been curtailed at the popular spring break destination – last March because the pandemic was just ramping up and this year due to unruly and destructive crowds.

Authorities announced on Saturday that visitors must be off the street and that restaurants would close their doors at 8pm in South Beach, the epicentre of the city's nightlife, following an increase of violence and vandalism over recent days.

"It kind of sucks," said John Perez, a student from Texas having beers with a group of friends on the sand, despite police efforts to prevent alcohol consumption on the beach.

In addition to the curfew, the three bridges that connect the Miami Beach island to mainland Miami will now be closed to traffic from 10pm to 6am.

Only residents, workers and hotel guests will have access."It's been so much fun out here, you know, like we got the warm weather, you got the beach," 22-year-old Perez said.

An aerial photo released by police on Saturday night showed the city's main strip, Ocean Drive, empty just two hours after the curfew went into effect.

Miami Beach is no stranger to uncontrollable spring break crowds, but this year, with about 13 per cent of US residents vaccinated, the atmosphere is particularly festive and the illusion that the pandemic is now under control is pervasive.

Acting City Manager Raul Aguila said the city's curfew moves were "all about the public safety".

He described huge crowds that had gathered on Ocean Drive as looking "like a rock concert. You couldn't see pavement and you couldn't see grass".

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said on Saturday while announcing the curfew that "the volume is clearly more than it's been in previous years".

"I think it is in part due to the fact that there are very few places open elsewhere in the country, or they're too cold – or they're not open and they're too cold," he said.

Over the last several days viral videos have emerged showing fights in restaurants that caused serious damage in addition to prompting diners to flee without paying expensive bills, according to local press reports.Miami Beach police chief Richard Clements said he is concerned the situation will become unmanageable.One of the city's most iconic venues, The Clevelander South Beach, announced on Friday that it was closing its restaurants and bars and would keep only the hotel running//CNA

5.3-magnitude quake hits Ternate

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit the North Maluku provincial capital of Ternate on Saturday night but no tsunami warning was issued, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The earthquake was centered 55 kilometers southwest of Ternate at a depth of 11 kilometers, the BMKG said on its official website.

The tremor which struck at 22:31 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) was felt by people in Ternate at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale III.

An earthquake of MMI III could be felt indoors akin to the movement of a truck. No material damage or casualty was reported.

The tremor struck just about 7 hours after an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 jolted neighboring Maluku Tenggara Barat district, Maluku province, at 15:26 WIB. The epicenter of the 5.0-magnitude earthquake was located 240 kilometers southwest of Maluku Tenggara Barat at a depth of 15 kilometers//ANT

BMKG forecasts heavy rainfall in parts of Indonesia's regions

The Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) forecast heavy rains along with lightning and gusty winds in parts of Indonesia on Sunday.

According to BMKG, heavy rains along, lightning and strong winds potentially occur in Aceh, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jambi, West Java and East Java.

Other regions to also have heavy rains are West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Lampung, Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South-East Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, West Sumatera Barat dan South Sumatera.

Based on the BMKG’s daily weather overview. high intensity rainfall can cause hydro-meteorological disasters, such as flood, flash flood and avalanche.

Meanwhile, BMKG forecast that the weather across Jakarta tends to be cloudy clear on this weekend//ANT