VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Taiwan issued a land warning on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Koinu which is expected to bring heavy rain and winds to large parts of the island's south and east.

Koinu, now a category three typhoon, is likely to weaken to a category two by the time it makes landfall on Taiwan's far southeast coast late on Wednesday, according to Tropical Storm Risk.

The heaviest rain will fall along mountainous and sparsely populated parts of Pingtung county in the south and the east coast counties of Taitung and Hualien.

Some flights and ferries to outlying Taiwanese islands have been cancelled as winds build.

After passing through Taiwan, the typhoon will head towards southern China's Guangdong province where it is likely to weaken further to become a tropical storm.

(Reuters)

New Zealand is launching a new tourism campaign with Kiwi director and actor Taika Waititi to attract visitors after the sector was hammered by COVID-19 and border closures.

Tourism New Zealand on Wednesday will premiere a 3-1/2 minute promotional film featuring the Oscar winner and Jade Daniels, his stunt double in the HBO romantic comedy series "Our Flag Means Death" which is filmed in New Zealand.

Visitors from United States are a major target audience, said Rene de Monchy, chief executive for Tourism New Zealand. The film, shot in December 2022, will also play on social media platforms in Australia, Germany, the UK and parts of Asia.

"Competition is heating up and economic times are a bit tough in many parts of the world so we've got to keep being innovative and top of mind for people."

Prior to COVID and the closure of New Zealand's borders, international tourism was New Zealand's largest source of foreign exchange and accounted for about 5.5% of gross domestic product.

Tourists are returning but overseas visitors in July were still 16% lower than in July 2019.

The film, which cost NZ$689,000($409,890) to make, highlights activities like dolphin watching in Kaikoura on the South Island's east coast and wine tasting in the country's largest city Auckland.

($1 = 1.6810 New Zealand dollars)

(Reuters)

President Joko Widodo highlighted the importance of maintaining the water supply for sustaining national food security amid the El Nino phenomenon, which is currently affecting multiple regions, during a meeting with ministries and agencies on Tuesday.

Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK), Siti Nurbaya Bakar, conveyed this after attending a limited meeting on mitigating the impact of the El Nino phenomenon, which was chaired by President Widodo at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.

"Essentially, there are three things that the President instructed: first, mapping the problem comprehensively; second, focusing on strategies for water availability; and third, continuously checking the food production center area for water adequacy," she informed.

Also, as part of the meeting agenda, several ministries and agencies submitted the latest report on mitigatory steps for facing the drought, she said adding, they included the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), which informed that 60 to 80 percent of water supply in Indonesia is currently still safe.

"Earlier, the PUPR Minister reported that of approximately 114 lakes, 323 dams, and reservoirs, or around 60 and 80 percent are still effective. So, they can still be resolved," said Minister Bakar.

During the meeting, the President also directed ministries and relevant agencies to be cautious of the potential for crop failure due to the declining availability of irrigation water.

Another issue that needs to be mitigated, he said, is clean water supply for communities, which must be fulfilled.

Bakar informed that the President also asked ministries and agencies to maintain the availability of rice. He also directed them to anticipate and handle the issue of forest and land fires, including dealing with several existing complaints that need to be addressed, she added.

Additionally, Widodo asked the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to relay weather forecasts clearly to the public.

"Later on, the President asked the BMKG to relay weather forecasts and future projections," Bakar added.

(Antara News)

Thailand's police arrested a teenage gunman suspected of killing a Chinese national and critically wounding five people on Tuesday in a shooting spree at a luxury Bangkok mall, the latest high-profile gun violence to rock the country in recent years.

Hundreds of people, including children, were seen screaming and racing into the streets after gunshots rang out at the Siam Paragon mall, a major shopping and entertainment venue popular with tourists in Bangkok's crowded commercial heart.

Emergency services said a woman had been killed and six others wounded, five of them critically, correcting an earlier statement that three people had died. Police said the deceased was a Chinese citizen.

National police chief Torsak Sukvimol said the suspected shooter was 14 years old and had been receiving psychiatric treatment, but had skipped his prescribed medicine on the day of the incident.

"We have spoken to his parents," Torsak told reporters.

"The suspect said that someone was telling him to shoot others."

Fleeing shoppers were ushered by security guards from the mall into torrential rain and towards a road with heavy traffic. Verified social media footage showed some rushing towards the exit of a ground-floor supermarket, screaming as a gunshot rang out.

"It happened in just a few minutes. We saw all the people run, run, run, we didn't understand what was happening," said 26-year-old Shir Yahav from Israel, who was at a designer store at the time of the shooting.

"We heard several shots, like six or seven shots."

Gun violence and gun ownership are not uncommon in Thailand and the incident comes a year after an ex-police officer killed 35 people, including 22 children at a nursery, during an hours-long gun-and-knife attack. He later shot himself dead at home.

In 2020, a soldier shot and killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations around the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

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Emergency services shared an image of a police officer handcuffing an individual lying face down on the ground and another of an officer retrieving a handgun from the floor.

Authorities earlier posted a grainy image of the suspected gunman wearing glasses, khaki cargo pants and a baseball cap, clutching a dark object.

The incident comes as Thailand's new government seeks to stimulate its sluggish economy by boosting tourist arrivals in what is one of Asia's most popular travel hotspots, including by offering visa-free entry to Chinese nationals.

Named the world's most photographed place by Instagram in 2013, Siam Paragon is Thailand's most famous mall, drawing throngs of local and foreign shoppers daily to its high-end stores, aquarium, plush movie theatre and popular food court dining.

Susinee, a restaurant worker, said she and her colleagues bolted when they heard gunshots.

"We just ran out," she said, standing with half a dozen of her colleagues.

Police said that staff at the mall had received training in dealing with active shooters.

The mall said it had evacuated shoppers and staff immediately, stressing safety was of the utmost importance.

"Siam Paragon would like to express our deep apologies for the unexpected event," it said in a statement, adding the mall would open reopen on Wednesday.

(Reuters)