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FILE PHOTO: Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seated with members of his delegation as he participates in a 'Quad nations' meeting at the Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo - 

The United States, Japan, India and Australia will work to improve the security of supply chains for critical technologies such as clean energy and to ease a global semiconductor shortage, said Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The Quad nations, in their first in-person summit on Friday in Washington, agreed on a partnership to secure critical infrastructure, the White House said. 

Morrison told reporters after the meeting this will include connecting Australia's raw minerals with manufacturing and processing capabilities, and with end users in the United States, India and Japan, according to a transcript released on Saturday by his government.

Australia is the world's biggest supplier of rare earths outside of China, and is a major supplier of minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, such as nickel, copper and cobalt.

While the leaders did not publicly refer to China, they repeatedly insisted on rules-based behaviour in a region where China has been trying to flex its muscles. Beijing criticised the group as "doomed to fail."

The other Quad leaders expressed appreciation for Australia's role in supplying critical materials "because that is a necessary supply for the many industries and processing works that they operate themselves", Morrison said.

"On critical minerals, Australia is one of the biggest producers, but we believe we can play a bigger role in a critical supply chain that is supporting the technologies of the future."

Australia will host a clean-energy supply chain summit next year, aiming to develop a roadmap for building such supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region, Morrison said.

The Quad also discussed ways to better secure a semiconductor supply, Morrison said, as global carmakers and other manufacturers have cut production due to the shortage made worse by a COVID-19 resurgence in key Asian semiconductor production hubs.

"This is an ecosystem we want to create and we want to do that... in the region," he said//CNA

Taxis wait in line along Battery Road in the Central Business District of Singapore. (Photo: Jeremy Long) - 

Restrictions on group sizes which come into effect on Monday as part of tighter COVID-19 measures in Singapore will also apply to passengers in taxis and private hire cars, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Saturday (Sep 25). 

“Passengers from different households are required to keep to the two passenger-limit when travelling in taxis and private-hire cars,” said LTA.

“However, more than two passengers can travel together in a taxi or private-hire car if they all live in the same household. For example, a parent can travel with his/her two children if they live together.”

LTA also announced that all forms of car pooling services will be suspended.

“These include services such as GrabHitch and RydePool, which involve drivers receiving payment for ferrying passengers while en-route to their destination,” it said.

“Social car pooling trips are only permitted among friends or colleagues if the prevailing permissible group size of two people is adhered to.”

LTA added: “Commuters are strongly encouraged to use taxis and private hire cars booked through licensed ride-hail operators.

“Members of the public who come across individuals providing illegal car pooling services should notify LTA through the OneMotoring portal using the e-service, Report Vehicle-Related Offences.”

On Friday, the Ministry of Health announced the group size limit for dining-in at regular food and beverage outlets will be reduced to two vaccinated people from Monday, while the cap on social gatherings will also be reduced.

This comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Singapore in recent weeks//CNA

Indonesian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna, Darmansjah Djumala, representing Bapeten, and USNRC chairman Christopher T Hanson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on extending cooperation to exchange technical information on nuclear safety and radiation protection in Vienna on Thursday. (ANTARA/HO-Humas Bapeten) - 

The Indonesian Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) have extended cooperation to exchange technical information on nuclear safety and radiation protection.

“The cooperation is aimed at improving infrastructures, particularly to increase the capability of human resources to regulate the use of nuclear energy as well as to address the latest challenge facing Bapeten,” Bapeten chief Jazi Eko Istiyanto said in a written statement released on Friday.

Indonesian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna Darmansjah Djumala, representing Bapeten, and USNRC Chairman Christopher T Hanson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to that effect on Thursday, he informed.

The cooperation is expected to enable Bapeten to increase its role as a professional and competent regulatory body, Istiyanto said.

The areas of the cooperation cover exchange of technical information, joint research on nuclear safety and radiation protection, regulatory review and study, and capacity building, he added.

Istiyanto said the existing cooperation between Bapeten and USNRC has benefited Bapeten to develop supervisory capacity through the exchange of information and experience.

"As a matter of fact, USNRC’s regulatory activities have served as a reference for many regulatory bodies in the world. Of course, the cooperation will push Bapeten to strengthen its regulatory infrastructure,” he said.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the 65th General Assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), held in Vienna, Austria, on September 23, 2021, and will be valid for five years, he informed//ANT

Archive - People take their children to get immunized at integrated health service posts (Posyandu) in Banda Aceh City, Aceh Province, Thursday, July 8, 2021. Posyandu provides health services for mothers and children and nutritional counseling to prevent stunting cases. (ANTARA PHOTO/ Irwansyah Putra/foc/KT) - 

The National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) has launched the Student Program for Stunting Care to encourage students to support efforts to reduce cases of stunting.

Stunting is chronic malnutrition that interferes with the growth of children, thereby causing their bodies to grow shorter than others of their age.

"Stunting is a problem that creates a disruption and obstacle to the realization of Golden Indonesia 2045," BKKBN Head Hasto Wardoyo stated at the launch of "Penting," a program for college students for tackling child stunting, on the BKKBN Official YouTube channel here on Friday.

Wardoyo expounded that stunting can occur if in the first thousand days of an infant's life, it experiences poor health or nonoptimal nutritional situation, so it fails to grow and develop fully, thereby increasing its susceptibility to diseases.

The BKKBN head believes that the problem of stunting will affect the quality of human resources in future, so the government is attempting to prevent and handle stunting.

"Unfortunately, the understanding of (childhood) stunting is still low," Wardoyo remarked.

According to the BKKBN head, the program aims to support endeavors to improve the community's understanding of meeting the nutritional needs and the prevention and care of stunting.

Wardoyo expounded that students involved in the program are expected to convey information about the children's nutritional needs and stunting prevention to the community.

Coordinating Deputy for Health Quality Improvement and Demographic Development of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Agus Suprapto stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the poverty rates to rise.

He noted that the increasing poverty rates had thrown new challenges in dealing with nutritional problems in children.

"We must continue to fight hard to overcome TB (tuberculosis) and stunting. We must not give up during the pandemic. We must work together," he stressed.

According to Suprapto, the students can support the prevention and handling of stunting in areas where cases of stunting are still high, such as the provinces of West Java, East Java, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Director General of Learning and Student Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Aris Junaidi, stated that the Student's Stunting Care Program is implemented through the thematic lectures of real work activities, which are regularly held in the Kampus Merdeka Program.

"This program is in line with the essence of the Kampus Merdeka Program (freedom in learning), which is driven by students, a form of universities' Tri Dharma (responsibilities) in providing solutions to problems existing in the community," he remarked//ANT