VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A flag with an eye and writing that reads “Governments, the world is watching, cut plastic production now” is displayed by Greenpeace activists in Busan, South Korea, on Nov 25, 2024, before the opening of the Fifth session of UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) at a nearby venue. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)

VOInews, Baku : A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday (Nov 25), with deep differences between nations emerging almost immediately.

The meeting opened just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient. Opening the meeting, the Ecuadorian diplomat chairing the talks warned nations that the conference was about "far more than drafting an international treaty".

"It is about humanity rising to meet an existential challenge," Luis Vayas Valdivieso told an opening plenary in South Korea's Busan.

Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous it has been found in clouds, the deepest ocean trenches and even human breastmilk. And while almost everyone agrees it is a problem, there is less consensus on how to solve it.

Among the most contentious issues are whether the treaty should cap plastic production, a possible ban on chemicals feared toxic to human health, and how to pay for implementation. The deep differences have dogged four previous rounds of talks over the last two years, resulting in a lengthy and contradictory draft treaty running over 70 pages.

Valdivieso has produced an alternative document intended to synthesise the views of delegations and move negotiations forward. Several countries, including Russia and India, also warned on Monday that they were not willing to use it as a basis for negotiations.

"The reality is that many countries do not see themselves represented in this paper," warned Saudi Arabia's delegation head Eyad Aljubran, speaking on behalf of the Arab group.

In 2019, the world produced around 460 million tonnes of plastic, a figure that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.

More than 90 per cent of plastic is not recycled, with over 20 million tonnes leaking into the environment, often after just a few minutes of use. Plastic also accounts for around three per cent of global emissions, mostly linked to its production from fossil fuels//CNA-VOI

Voinews, Vatican : Pope Francis has met with World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo for an audience in which they discussed urgency of concerted efforts to address climate change and to take climate action. 

“It’s very moving to be in front of such a great spiritual leader,” said Celeste Saulo after the audience at the Vatican. “It is clear that Pope Francis shares our concerns about climate change and its impacts at the intersection of climate change and inequalities”.  

Celeste Saulo has just returned from the UN Climate Change Conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, where WMO announced that 2024 is on track to be the world’s hottest year on record and temporarily hit the 1.5°C above pre-industrial times.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday November 23rd 2024 in Jakarta, Greenhouse gas levels, which drive climate change, are at record levels. Sea level rise is accelerating, threatening coastal populations. Glacier retreat is unprecedented damaging ecosystems and threatening long term water security for hundreds of millions of people.

Extreme weather events including devastating floods, persistent droughts, searing heatwaves and wildfires, have caused major loss of life and livelihoods around the world.  

“It’s about how we care together for those who are most vulnerable,” said Celeste Saulo after the audience.  

She told Vatican News that climate change “will have huge impacts on migration, children, women, indigenous peoples, the more vulnerable who are the ones suffering the most.”

The most affected regions, she explained, are Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, along with small island developing countries which are the frontline of rising sea levels. “We need to help them to avoid the consequences of climate change," she stressed.

WMO is one of the leaders of the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings For All initiative, which seeks to ensure that everyone on the planet is protected by life-saving early warnings by the end of 2027.

Although considerable progress is being made, much more needs to be done, Mr Guterres told government leaders at COP29.  

Celeste Saulo told the Vatican News that religions can give an important contribution to climate action and to building hope: “Action should be informed by science, but moved by faith”, she said.

She expressed her hope for a closer collaboration in the future with the Holy See: “We have a common agenda and can work together to protect people’s lives and livelihoods,”.

Pope Francis has repeatedly voiced his concern about climate change//VOI

Pascal Phoa performance at the A Midsummer Nights Dream - Boston, Massachusetts - Amerika Serikat, 3-8-2023. (Photo : Pascal) -  

VOInews, New York : A New York based Indonesian-born actor made his New York theater debut in RJ Theater Company’s Princess Hamlet at The Flea Theater.

Running from September 7, 2024 - November 2nd 2024, Pascal Phoa played The Ghost of Hamlet’s Father, a critical character from one of William Shakespeare’s most popular works, Hamlet, that tells the story of a prince conflicted about taking revenge for his recently-deceased father who was murdered in his sleep by his scheming uncle. 

Princess Hamlet is a gender-bent spin on Hamlet where the female characters are male characters, and vice versa. The Ghost is still played by a male actor, Pascal Phoa.

Pascal joined the cast of Princess Hamlet after auditioning for director and creator of Princess Hamlet Sophie Leighton Toomey, in August 2024 and went straight to rehearsals just days after.

“It was a very quick process but everyone was so encouraging of me coming onboard for The Ghost. I feel really blessed and I’m just a little sad that it’s all coming to an end,” he remarks after his closing performance on November 2nd 2024.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday November 23rd 2024,  Pascal has performed as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and is constantly involved in the New York City theater scene.

“I guess it is interesting when you think about how someone from Indonesia can relate to playing an Athenian boy like Lysander or an English king like Cymbeline. How do you play characters who are so culturally different from you? But I always think it’s important to realize that these characters are people with real emotions, wants, and struggles. That’s what’s so powerful about Shakespeare - his works have the ability to transcend language and culture,” he reflects on some of the roles he has played.

Pascal hopes to keep doing Shakespeare, classical, and contemporary plays around New York and the country.

“I’ve never acted in a Shakespeare Festival before. It sounds really fun so I’d love to be in one someday,” says Pascal.

“Also, doing an Anton Chekhov play would be such a thrilling experience too. The characters in Chekhov plays are deeply complex. They can be really introspective and feel a lot of things but they rarely say what they really feel. It’s a lot like how
people behave sometimes I guess,” he jokes.

Pascal can next be seen performing in Macbeth as Macduff at Circle in the Square Theatre’s Youth Theatre Series in December 2024//VOI

A foreign tourist visits the Dazu Rock Sculpture scenic spot in Chongqing, China, July 19, 2024. (ANTARA/Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)