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January
Jakarta (VOI News) Four students of Gadjah Mada University's (UGM's) Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK) have initiated the use of mango skin in making natural larvicide to suppress cases of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF).
"Mango skin has flavonoid, saponins, and tannins which can be processed into larvicides," one of the students who initiated the project, Santi Andriyani, said in a UGM official statement received here on Sunday.
According to her, previous research found active compounds in mango skin that can be developed as larvicide against mosquito larvae.
Andriyani along with her colleagues, Salman Hafiz Ar-ramli Lubis, Nisa Munawwarah, and Jessica Edelyne, who are members of the Mango Skin for Organic Sustainable Aedes Insect Control (MOSAIC) Team, initiated the formula.
She explained that flavonoids can disrupt the nervous and respiratory systems of mosquito larvae, while saponins can be a strong poison against insects by disturbing their gastric system, and tannins can inhibit their digestive enzymes.
The idea of using mango skin waste as a natural larvicide, Andriyani said, is not only an alternative in helping prevent dengue cases but also in helping improve environmental problems by processing unused waste.
For instance, she said that the total mango production in Thailand reached 1.66 million tons in 2020 so there is a great potential for mango skin waste processing in the country.
"Processed mango peel waste in Thailand has great potential to overcome the problems that the country is facing. Thailand itself is one of the largest mango producers in the world," she said.
The MOSAIC Team's mango skin as larvicide idea made them finalists in the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) competition organized by Kasetsart University, Thailand.
December
VOInews, Jakarta: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati held a bilateral meeting with Minister of State for Financial Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, to discuss climate change commitment and cooperation.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28) in Dubai, the UAE, on Monday (December 4, 2023).
"In the meeting, the topics we discussed were about COP28, climate change commitment, and cooperation between the two countries," Indrawati informed in Jakarta on Wednesday.
She said that both Indonesia and the UAE are paying close attention to climate change handling efforts.
Indonesia is pursuing an energy transition through the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), which was introduced at the G20 forum in Indonesia.
It is also handling climate change by issuing green bonds, implementing a carbon market and carbon tax, and using green taxonomy as a catalyst for private sector investment.
Indrawati expressed the hope that the meeting with the UAE Minister would bring many benefits to Indonesia and the UAE.
"It was a short but very concise conversation. Hopefully, it can produce various benefits for the community," the minister remarked.
Indrawati also held several other bilateral meetings on the sidelines of COP28, namely with executive director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Mafalda Duarte; Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag; and managing director of Citigroup, Julie Monaco.
The COP28 in Dubai raised four themes, namely fast-tracking energy transition, fixing climate finance, focusing on nature, people, lives, and livelihoods, as well as inclusivity.
April
Jakarta (voinews): The government of West Manggarai district, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province, inspected several restaurants in Labuan Bajo to ensure food safety ahead of the 42nd ASEAN Summit on May 9–11, 2023.
“…we want Labuan Bajo to be a safe and comfortable place, especially for ASEAN Summit delegates, thus the food served here must be safe according to health standards," deputy head of West Manggarai district Yulianus Weng said here on Wednesday.
The inspections would be carried out at all restaurants in the district since it has been estimated that the summit would be attended by thousands of national and foreign delegates, he added.
He, as well as a number of officers from the local Food and Drug Supervisory Office (Loka POM) and related technical agencies, carried out the inspection on Wednesday from 11 a.m. Central Indonesian Standard Time (WITA).
During the inspection, Loka POM officers tested several food samples.
Through the inspections, the local government is seeking to ensure that no restaurants in Labuan Bajo serve food containing dangerous ingredients, such as formalin, the district deputy head emphasized.
"We want to prove that the food served in West Manggarai, especially at various restaurants which are usually crowded with visitors, is free of formalin," he said.
According to the results of the food tests conducted on Wednesday at four well-known restaurants in Labuan Bajo, namely Prima Rasa, Mai Cenggo, La Moringa, and Kelan, the food served by the restaurants was found safe and free from harmful substances, he informed.
Similar inspections are planned on Thursday (April 27) at several other restaurants in Labuan Bajo.
Weng said he expects that the inspections held in other restaurants will not find any food containing harmful chemicals.
If any restaurant is found using harmful ingredients in their food, the local government will take firm action by issuing a reprimand and revoking the business permit of the restaurant, he stressed.
"We expect that the situation during the ASEAN Summit can be well maintained," he said. (Antaranews.com)
February
Voinews.id,Jakarta: The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM stated to just under 15 ACICIS students at morning tea that Australia is starting to reconsider Indonesia as an investment destination.
While the students snacked on lamingtons and drank the free coffee, Ambassador Williams explained that while Australia and Indonesia have a very longstanding, very embedded bilateral relationship that has quite a lot of depth to it, she also noted that Australian and Indonesian economic engagement was not as strong as someone would think, relative to the size of the Indonesian market and relative to the size of their bilateral relationships.
She elaborated this statement while discussing the Indonesian-Australian Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), which was established in 2020 to help facilitate greater economic ties between the two nations.
Ambassador Williams explained that agreements like IA-CEPA provides Indonesia with tariff free access to Australian markets, along with providing greater market access to both Australian and Indonesian companies.
She stressed that IA-CEPA is really important, but it’s all the other work that gets people to understand the markets of each nation in order to find the opportunities and the synergies.
“Business needs to talk to business, government can take them but business needs to talk to business,” She said.
Ambassador Williams also told the students how “Australia had the largest delegation at the B20, a promising sign that Australians are reconsidering Indonesia as an investment destination. She also discussed how Australian businesspeople and pension funds are now eyeing Indonesia as a next potential investment.
Ambassador Williams stated how the Australian and Indonesian bilateral relationship is currently in a “really strong place,” with Australia enjoying a “deep relationship with its close neighbour,” which she was confident agreements like IA-CEPA will only strengthen. (Gera K/DP)