VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Firefighters tackle fire in a field as forest fires ravage the Bolivian Amazon, in San Buenaventura, Bolivia on Nov 22, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Morales) - 

DUBAI: A deal for the world to transition away from fossil fuels was hailed as a historic achievement on Wednesday (Dec 13) at the UN climate summit in Dubai, but there's a good chance it won't achieve its ultimate goal - holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

For months, COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber had described that 1.5 degrees Celsius limit - first stated in the 2015 Paris Agreement - as his "North Star" or guiding principle for the summit.

Scientists say that a global temperature rise beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average will trigger catastrophic and irreversible impacts, from melting ice sheets to the collapse of ocean currents.

But year after year, that target slips further away - with the world's planet-warming emissions still rising, and temperatures hitting new heights.

This year will be the hottest ever on record, with the global average for 2023 a sweltering 1.46 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

In terms of global warming, which is measured in terms of decades, the world has experienced nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius of warming.

The deal made in Dubai, called the UAE Consensus, would see the world commit to transitioning away from "fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner ... so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science."

But scientists said that, while the pact was unprecedented, it still wasn't enough for that outcome to be realized.

"It's a landmark result because it's the first time we've said we're going to reduce fossil fuel use," said James Dyke, an earth systems scientist at the University of Exeter in Britain.

"But you can forget about 1.5C."

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the main scientific body which informs the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, has said that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius with no or limited overshoot would require rapidly cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Specifically, the world needs to cut its emissions from 2019 levels by as much as 43 per cent in the next six years, 60 per cent by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050 in order to prevent compounding impacts, such as thawing permafrost which releases long-trapped greenhouse gases, triggering even more warming.

The IPCC declined to comment on the outcome of COP28.

The world posted record high greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, rising 1.2 per cent above 2021, according to the 2023 UN Emissions Gap Report.

The UAE Consensus does not commit the world to phasing out oil and gas, nor to near-term timelines for transitioning away from fossil fuels//CNA-VOI

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel pose for a picture during a European Union (EU) summi in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb 3, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout) - 

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders unexpectedly agreed on Thursday (Dec 14) to open membership talks with Ukraine, something Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for weeks had vowed to block.

EU diplomats and officials said Orban agreed to leave the room, knowing the other leaders would go ahead and vote on Ukraine.

Orban confirmed that he had abstained from the vote at the EU summit on what he called a "bad decision".

Such an unusual way to approve a decision - especially such a major one - is unheard of in Brussels, even for a place where diplomats have long been very creative about how to strike deals.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision.

"This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens," he said.

Ukraine badly needs support from its Western allies in its nearly two-year fight against Russia's invasion. Its counter-offensive has failed to make major gains and the Biden administration has so far been unable to get a US$60 billion aid package for Ukraine through the US Congress.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was "a strategic decision and a day that will remain engraved in the history of our Union".

Orban had very different words to describe the decision.

"Hungary's stance is clear, Ukraine is not prepared for us to start talks on EU membership," he said, calling the decision to start talks "irrational" and "inappropriate."

"But 26 member states were adamant that this decision must be made so Hungary decided that if 26 decide so, they should go on their own path and Hungary does not wish to participate in this bad decision," he said//CNA-VOI

Dwayne Johnson at the 95th Academy Awards on Mar 12, 2023. (Photos: Reuters/Eric Gaillard) - 

Voinews, Jakarta - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will play the MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the movie titled The Smashing Machine.

The 51-year-old actor has been cast as the two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion in the new movie that is being directed by Benny Safdie – one half of the sibling duo that helmed the acclaimed picture Uncut Gems.

Safdie has written and directed the flick (which is his first solo project behind the camera) and has been working with The Rock on the film since 2019.

Kerr's rise through the fighting world and an addiction to painkillers that led to an overdose were detailed in the 2002 HBO documentary The Smashing Machine – a nickname he earned as a result of his fighting style.

The movie will also see Johnson return to his roots as he famously started his career as a professional wrestler and was a key figure in the success of WWE at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.

A24 are financing the film and will produce alongside The Rock and Dany Garcia's Seven Bucks Productions company.

The company's Noah Sacco said: "Dwayne and Benny are singular talents, and their shared vision for Mark's inspiring story is electrifying. We are deeply honoured to have their trust as collaborators in bringing this incredibly special project to life."

Meanwhile, The Rock recently suggested that he was open to the idea of running for the US Presidency after a poll showed that he has plenty of support from the public.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Black Adam actor said: "It’s crazy, and it’s wild. This run for President talk has kind of been in the ether for the past couple of years. And it just never stops being surreal.

"It was incredible. It came from DC. We sat down. The poll was something like almost 50 per cent of Americans would support me running for President. It was just crazy."//CNA-VOI

Aerial view of Sudirman Business District in Jakarta, Indonesia October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta/file photo - 

Indonesia's state budget showed a deficit of 35 trillion rupiah ($2.26 billion) for the period of January through to December 12, or 0.17 per cent of gross domestic product, its finance minister said on Friday.

The budget has turned to a deficit since October as spending catches up with revenues.

Total revenues for the period were 2,553.2 trillion rupiah, nearly reaching the full-year target. Total spending was at 2,588.2 trillion rupiah or around 17 per cent short of the full-year allocation, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a press conference.

The government has estimated the budget deficit this year would be below 2.3 per cent of GDP, down from 2.35 per cent in 2022//CNA-VOI