VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mass evacuations as rains cause record flooding in Australia - DW

Mass evacuations were ordered in low-lying areas along Australia's east coast Saturday (Mar 20) as torrential rains caused potentially "life-threatening" floods across a region already soaked by an unusually wet summer, officials said.

Police said hundreds of people had flocked to evacuation centres in areas north of Sydney in New South Wales state, and they expected many more to seek shelter as the rains move south down the coast. 

The Bureau of Meteorology reported flooding levels surpassing record 2013 floods along the Hastings River outside Port Macquarie, about 400km north of Sydney.

Towns in the area have already seen record rainfall of more than 300mm since Friday morning, the bureau said.It warned the heavy rains were forecast to continue through Saturday "potentially leading to life-threatening flash flooding".

"It's not just the total rainfall amount, it's also how quickly and intensely that rainfall has actually fallen," Agata Imielska, a senior climatologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, said at a televised briefing.

"So today (we) are just really urging the community out there that this is the day to exercise that powerful protective action of staying home and staying safe."

Television footage showed flooded roads across the state, people kayaking through the streets, water engulfing houses up to the windows and rivers overflooding. Video posted on social media and broadcast on local TV showed an entire house being swept away in floodwaters in the state's centre.

The flood and extreme weather warnings stretched from Port Macquarie to areas 500km south of Sydney, where residents were urged to stay indoors due to the flash flooding risk.

Emergency services reported receiving more than 500 calls for help and carried out some 180 flood rescues overnight in the north of the affected area//CNA

Turkey's Erdogan quits European treaty on violence against women - Reuters

President Tayyip Erdogan pulled Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, the country's official gazette said on Saturday (Mar 20), despite calls from campaigners who see the pact as key to combating rising domestic violence.

The Council of Europe accord, forged in Istanbul, pledged to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality. Turkey, which signed the accord in 2011, saw a rise in femicides last year.

No reason was provided for the withdrawal, but officials in Erdogan's ruling AK Party had said last year the government was considering pulling out amid a row over how to curb growing violence against women.

"The guarantee of women's rights are the current regulations in our bylaws, primarily our Constitution. Our judicial system is dynamic and strong enough to implement new regulations as needed," Family, Labour and Social Policies Minister Zehra Zumrut said on Twitter, without providing a reason for the move.

Many conservatives in Turkey say the pact undermines family structures, encouraging violence. They are also hostile to the principle of gender equality in the Istanbul Convention and see it as promoting homosexuality, given its principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.Critics of the withdrawal from the pact have said it would put Turkey further out of step with the values of the European Union, which it remains a candidate to join. They argue the deal, and legislation approved in its wake, need to be implemented more stringently.

Turkey is not the first country to move towards ditching the accord. Poland's highest court scrutinized the pact after a cabinet member said Warsaw should quit the treaty which the nationalist government considers too liberal.

Erdogan has condemned violence against women, including saying this month that his government would work to eradicate violence against women. But critics say his government has not done enough to prevent femicides and domestic violence.

Turkey does not keep official statistics on femicide. World Health Organization data has shown 38 per cent of women in Turkey are subject to violence from a partner in their lifetime, compared to about 25 per cent in Europe.

Ankara has taken measures such as tagging individuals known to resort to violence and creating a smartphone app for women to alert police, which has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

Erdogan's decision comes after he unveiled judicial reforms this month that he said would improve rights and freedoms, and help meet EU standards. Turkey has been a candidate to join the bloc since 2005, but access talks have been halted over policy differences and Ankara's record on human rights//CNA

UK PM Johnson gets his first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine - CNBC

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday and urged the public to do the same, saying "he did not feel a thing."

Johnson, 56, received his vaccine at the same hospital where almost a year ago he was put in an intensive care unit and given oxygen via a tube in his nose after he contracted the virus and fell seriously ill. He later said he was so sick that plans were drawn up on how to announce his death.

"I literally did not feel a thing. It was very good, very quick," Johnson said after receiving the jab at St Thomas' Hospital in London.

"I cannot recommend it too highly, everybody when you do get your notification to go for a jab, please go and get it, it is the best thing for you, best thing for your family and for everyone else."

Pictures of the occasion showed the prime minister wearing a black mask, a shirt and tie with his sleeve rolled up while a nurse gives him the vaccine.

Britain is on the verge of having given a first COVID-19 shot to half of all adults, making it one of the fastest countries in the world to roll out a vaccine programme.

Johnson received his vaccine as European countries on Friday resumed using the AstraZeneca jab after regulators said the benefits of the shot outweighed any risks following recent reports of blood clots.

Countries including Germany and France reversed their decision to temporarily pause its use after reports of about 30 cases of rare brain blood clots sent scientists and governments scrambling to determine any link.The Astra vaccine, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, has also been at the centre of tensions between Britain and the European Union, after Brussels expressed anger over the lack of deliveries of the shot coming from Britain//CNA

Windsurfing athletes in training at the Haikou National Sailing and Windsurfing Base. ANTARA/AsiaNet

Recently, more than 300 athletes from the China's national and provincial sailing and windsurfing teams from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other regions assembled in Haikou, Hainan Province, a city surrounded by the warmest cities in China, to start their first training in the new year. They are making active preparations for the Tokyo Olympics and the 14th National Games of China.

Being the only free trade port in China, Hainan also boats a strong sports industry base, a pleasing climate, an advantageous geographic location and convenient transportation. It has broad prospects for water sports and sports tourism. The National Sailing and Windsurfing Base on the Haikou Xixiu Beach is where the national sailing and windsurfing team carries out winter training.

It is also the largest sailing base in Asia. Since 1983, Haikou has become a winter training base for China's national sailing and windsurfing team, attracting sailing and windsurfing teams across the country for winter training here every year.

Three Olympic champions and several world champions were once trained here.At the end of 2018, the public pier project of the National Sailing and Windsurfing Base was completed.

Open to both professional athletes and tourists for sailing, windsurfing, cruise ships, yachts and other leisure services, it is also received by local residents, as well as Chinese and foreign tourists, greatly enriching Haikou's water tourism services//ANT