VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A draft of a declaration by leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.

The G20 members also voiced deep concern over the challenges posed to global food security by escalating tensions, and called for the need for central bank independence to ensure they keep up efforts to rein in soaring inflation, the draft showed.

"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy," the draft said, suggesting that Russia had opposed the language.

"There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions," said the draft declaration, which was confirmed by a European diplomat.

The 16-page document has yet to be adopted by G20 members.

In the first session of the summit held on Tuesday, many countries condemned Russia's invasion of Russia, said a delegation who was present at the meeting.

The summit, which host Indonesia and other countries have said should focus on risks to the global economy, has been overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy," the draft declaration said.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Sunday the G20 was not the place where security issues and should instead prioritise the world's economic challenges.

The draft document also said G20 central banks were monitoring inflationary pressures and will calibrate the pace of monetary tightening to ensure inflation expectations remain well anchored.

"Central bank independence is crucial to achieving these goals and buttressing monetary policy credibility," it said.

Fiscal stimulus measures should be "temporary and targeted" to cushion the blow of rising commodity costs for the most vulnerable, to avoid adding to inflationary pressures, the draft declaration said.

On debt problems, the draft declaration stressed the importance of all creditors to share a fair burden, without mentioning China, which has been criticised by Western countries for delaying efforts to mitigate the burden for some emerging economies.

"We reaffirm the importance of joint efforts by all actors, including private creditors, to continue working toward enhancing debt transparency," it said.

Wrangling over how to describe the war in Ukraine has prevented G20 ministers earlier this year from issuing a joint communique.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged counterparts at the summit via video link to step up their leadership and stop Russia's war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed.

Russia, which was represented at the summit by the foreign minister rather than President Vladimir Putin, says it is conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. (Reuters)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has cancelled meetings he was due to have at the G20 summit in Bali after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.

Hun Sen, who is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had tested positive before he had held any meetings including those scheduled with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jingping, the statement said.

Hun Sen also hosted a summit of ASEAN and global leaders that ended on Sunday in Cambodia. (Reuters)

Up to 7 million North Koreans use cell phones daily, and WiFi networks have sharply expanded in recent years as the mobile devices increasingly became a key tool for market activity in the isolated country, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Martyn Williams and Natalia Slavney of the Washington-based Stimson Center's 38 North programme say their latest study on digital communications in North Korea, which included an analysis of satellite imagery and a survey of about 40 defectors who fled the North between 2017 and 2021, shows a stable rise in cellular subscribers.

Since 3G network services began in 2008, the number of users has risen to 6.5 million to 7 million, more than a quarter of North Korea's 25 million population, the researchers said.

"More than 90% of the people who participated in the survey reported using the phone at least daily, and most of the calls were made to family members and traders," Slavney told a briefing.

They showed an estimated coverage map of North Korea's cellular network by identifying base stations, accompanying antennas and solar panels from satellite images, which Williams said suggested the service is available not only in cities but also "deep into the rural areas."

"The cellular coverage is still expanding, sometimes we're finding base stations where if you look at the same area two years ago, the antenna was not there," he said.

The country's antiquated 3G network and limits on foreign investment in upgrades because of sanctions over its weapons programmes has prompted the emergence of faster WiFi networks around the country, Williams said.

The WiFi networks do not offer any Internet access but provide connections to domestic services, especially scientific databases for the research community, he added.

Poor infrastructure means there are few landlines, the researchers said, so mobile phones fill gaps and serve as a critical tool for participating in a private market economy, which has become a key source of income for many.

The private sector has overtaken state-led agents to become North Korea's biggest economic actor in recent years, with its rationing system crumbling and leader Kim Jong Un allowing markets abhorred by his father.

"For the last five to 10 years, the rise of the private economy and private marketplaces was one of the biggest changes in the country," Williams said. "In a way, one of the pillars of the entire market economy is the wide availability of basic telephone and text messaging." (Reuters)

Australian health authorities have recommended against getting a fifth COVID-19 vaccine shot, even as they urged those eligible to sign up for their remaining booster doses as the country's latest COVID wave grows rapidly.

Average daily cases had been 47% higher last week than the week before, said Health Minister Mark Butler at a press conference on Tuesday, announcing new vaccination recommendations. But cases remain 85% below the previous peak, of late July.

Butler said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) had recommended against a fifth dose, or third booster, after evidence from Singapore's recent wave showed that severe illness and death were rare among the vaccinated and that a fifth shot had minimal impact on virus transmission.

"ATAGI has considered international evidence as well as the local data around vaccination numbers, as well as case numbers in the pandemic and decided not to recommend a fifth dose," said Butler.

"They noted that severe disease and death during that wave in Singapore was very rare for people who had had at least two doses of vaccine for COVID."

New booster recommendations will be made early next year ahead of the southern-hemisphere winter.

Butler urged those yet to get the recommended number of shots to do so, with 5.5 million Australians, roughly a fifth of the population, yet to receive a third dose despite being eligible.

Butler also accepted ATAGI recommendations that Pfizer's (PFE.N) Omicron-specific vaccine be approved as a booster dose for adults; 4.7 million doses will arrive ahead of a rollout due to begin on Dec 12.

The company's vaccine for children aged six months to five years will also be approved for use on the severely immunocompromised.

Speaking alongside Butler, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the Singaporean experience suggested the current wave would peak soon and that cases would then drop quickly. (Reuters)