VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia posted a trade surplus of US$12.66 billion, with export value totaling US$15.28 billion and import value of US$12.66 billion, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

"This surplus is encouraging since there was an increase in exports on a month-on-month (mom) basis of 6.34 percent, while imports also increased by 17.4 percent mom, although year-on-year (yoy), it stayed down," Head of BPS Suhariyanto stated at a virtual conference here on Tuesday.

Indonesia's trade surplus and export hike in November 2020 were supported by rising demand and increasing prices for mainstay commodities, especially coal and palm oil.

In terms of commodities, animal fats and oils, mineral fuels, and iron and steel were the biggest contributors to exports this month.

Indonesia's trade experienced a surplus with several countries, including with the United States, clocking a surplus of US$948.7 million, US$603.8-million surplus with India, and US$533.4-million surplus with the Philippines.

Nonetheless, Indonesia's recorded a trade deficit with several countries, such as US$572.6 million with China, US$198 million with Hong Kong, and US$142.6 million with Australia.

Thus, a surplus of US$19.66 billion in the goods trade balance was registered during the January-November 2020 period. Indonesia had recorded a deficit of US$3.5 billion during the corresponding period in 2019.

"I would like to conclude that the performance of Indonesia's November 2020 trade balance is very encouraging," Suhariyanto noted. (Antaranews)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed new envoys to mediate conflicts in Libya and the Middle East, who could be given the greenlight by the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday after months of delay, diplomats said.

Guterres put forward his current Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov to become his Libya special envoy - replacing Ghassan Salame who stepped down in March due to stress - and named veteran Norwegian diplomat Tor Wennesland to succeed Mladenov as the U.N. mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

If there are no objections by any of the 15 Security Council members by Tuesday evening then the appointments will be approved, ending months of bickering sparked by a U.S. push to split the Libya role to have one person running the U.N. political mission and another focused on conflict mediation.

The Security Council agreed to that proposal in September. Guterres then proposed Bulgarian diplomat Mladenov for the Libya role last month and on Friday named Wennesland, currently Norway’s special envoy on the Middle East peace process, to replace Mladenov, according to letters seen by Reuters.

Mladenov has been the U.N. Middle East envoy since 2015.

Libya descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. In October, the two major sides in the country’s war - the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) - agreed a ceasefire.

Haftar is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the government is backed by Turkey.

In the Middle East, the Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. (Reuters)

Singapore will open a new segregated travel lane for a limited number of business, official and high economic value travellers from all countries, the government said on Tuesday, as part of efforts to revive its key travel and hospitality sectors.

Singapore has spent billions of dollars in a bid to shield its economy from its worst-ever downturn and is trying to reopen international travel as it prepares to host the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering of political and business leaders next year.

The first travellers will be able to arrive from the second half of January through the new lane, which will be open to those who are coming for short-term stays of up to 14 days, the ministry of trade and industry said in a statement.

It will complement other arrangements that Singapore has for business travel including with China, Germany and Indonesia.

Travellers under the latest arrangement will have to stick to strict health and testing protocols, and will need to stay within a “bubble” at segregated facilities.

For example, while travellers will be allowed to meet with local visitors, there will be floor-to-ceiling dividers separating them. (Reuters)

All vaccines, including those against COVID-19, are tested for safety and efficacy at all stages of clinical trials, from Phase 1 to Phase 3, head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Amin Soebandrio, said.

"Phase 1 is for testing safety; (at this stage of a trial) for the first time it (a vaccine) is injected into humans, so the numbers (of volunteers) are small first, several tens of people," Amin said in Jakarta on Monday.

Vaccine testing involves comparing a sample of people who get a vaccine against those who do not, he said adding, COVID-19 vaccines are tested for their ability to boost immunity against the virus.

During clinical trials for vaccines, one group of people receives an injection that contains the vaccine, while another group receives an injection that does not contain the vaccine, also known as a placebo, he explained further.

"Then, compared to what percentage the symptoms develop, for example if the difference is very large or those that cause symptoms do not exist at all, then it will be declared safe," he added.

If the group administered a vaccine and the group given a placebo do not show any adverse effects, a vaccine is declared safe, he stated.

"The point is that if it is safe if we can show the risk is much smaller than the expected benefits," Amin said.

Phase 2 clinical trials involve several hundred people, he said. At this stage, the results are reviewed to determine the efficacy and side-effects of a vaccine, he added.

If a vaccine passes stages 1 and 2 of clinical trials, then it enters stage 3 trials, during which it is administered to thousands of people to check whether it is safe, effective, and useful, Amin said.

Volunteers who receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 3 trials may likely have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, during their daily activities, he added.

Clinical trials also help determine the vaccine dosage that best provides protection and is still safe to administer without any negative effect on recipients, he continued.

Therefore, all vaccines must complete Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials, with results targeted to strengthen a person's immune system, he stressed. (antaranews)