Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6908)
December
President Prabowo Subianto Meets Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Strengthening Religious and Educational Ties
Written by Daniel
December
Pascal Phoa closed his final performance at Circle in the Square Theater in New York City
Written by nuke
Pascal Phoa with the actors, director of Avery and audiences at the circle theatre, New York take picture after the play. (Photo : Pascal Phoa Doc) -
VOInews, New York : A New-York-based Indonesian actor, Pascal Phoa, closed his final performance of his next show, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, at Circle in the Square Theater in New York City.
"I just closed the show where we performed in front of about six hundred high school students who I’ve been told are all studying Macbeth and learning Shakespeare in school. So I feel really blessed to get this opportunity firstly because it’s for them but also because I have never performed in front of so many audience members. I just hope that they could understand what we were saying and not hate Shakespeare after watching the play,” Pascal said.
Pascal came to the United States to study computer science at the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree but has always loved performing.
In college, he became involved with the student-run Shakespeare club and performed with them numerous times, where he got familiar with performing Shakespeare. He has worked as a software developer in New Jersey and taken acting classes in New York.
According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Monday December 16th 2024 in Jakarta, the show, directed by Mark Nelson, opened on December 9 and closed on December 13 2024.
Sponsored by New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the production was seen by hundreds of New York City high school students per day to expose the youth to theater and literature.
Pascal played Macduff, a leading character in the play and main protagonist who mirrors Macbeth’s power but is loyal to his country.
The play has been produced numerous times throughout history on Broadway, the West End, and around the world as well as on the screen.
The latest film adaptation of it was by The Coen Brothers in 2021 starring Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and Tony Award winner and nominee Bertie Carvel as Banquo and Corey Hawkins as Macduff respectively//VOI
December
Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sat, Dec. 14, 2024. (Photo: AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
VOInews, Tel Aviv : Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday (Dec 14) for a deal to release the remaining hostages still held in Gaza after more than 14 months of war against Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
"We all can agree that we have failed until now and that we can reach an agreement now," Lior Ashkenazi, a prominent Israeli actor, told a crowd gathered in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv.
Itzik Horn, whose sons Eitan and Iair are still being held captive in Gaza, said: "End the war, the time has arrived for action and the time has arrived to bring everyone home."
There has been guarded optimism in recent days that a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza might finally be within reach after months of abortive mediation efforts.
Palestinian militants abducted 251 hostages during Hamas's October 2023 attack, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations, said last week there was new "momentum" for talks.
US Security of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to Jordan on Saturday: "This is the moment to finally conclude that agreement."
In Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met on Saturday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Middle East envoy Brett McGurk.
"The meeting addressed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza," Sisi's office said.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's attack last year that resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,930 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable//CNA-VOI
December
Marines boarding a Citation Ultra aircraft at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan on May 5, 2015. (Photo: AFP/USMC/PFC Makenzie Fallon)
VOInews, Tokyo : The United States began relocating thousands of Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa, Tokyo and Washington said on Saturday (Dec 14) after decades of mounting grievances among locals over America's military presence.
In 2012, the United States said it would redeploy 9,000 Marines from the island where communities complain bases are an unfair burden – with objections ranging from pollution to noise and helicopter crashes.
The relocation began with "a small detachment of approximately 100 logistics support Marines" transferred to the US island territory of Guam, Japan's defence ministry and the US Marine Corps said.
"Commencement of relocation to Guam signifies the first phase of relocating Marines to locations outside of Japan," said the joint statement.
There are currently around 19,000 Marines in Okinawa – strategically located east of Taiwan, which has become a flashpoint for tensions between the United States and China.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.
Washington is Taiwan's most important backer and biggest supplier of arms but has long maintained "strategic ambiguity" about the prospect of backing it with boots on the ground.
The 9,000 relocating Marines are set to be moved elsewhere in the Pacific – to Guam, Hawaii or Australia, the United States has said.
Okinawa comprises just 0.6 per cent of Japan's territory but hosts more than half of the 50,000 US troops posted in the country.
The 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US soldiers in Okinawa also prompted widespread backlash, with calls for a rethink of the 1960 pact allowing the United States to post soldiers in Japan//CNA-VOI
December
South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol defiant after impeachment over martial law bid
Written by nuke
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at his official residence in Seoul, South Korea, Dec 14, 2024. (Photo: The Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)
VOInews, Soeul : South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed on Saturday (Dec 14) to fight for his political future after he was impeached in a second vote by the opposition-led parliament over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that had shocked the nation.
The Constitutional Court will decide whether to remove Yoon sometime in the next six months. If he is removed from office, a snap election will be called.
On a visit to Jordan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said South Korea has shown the strength of its democratic institutions after Yoon.
"I think the most important thing is that the Republic of Korea has demonstrated its democratic resilience," Blinken told reporters. "We've seen it follow a peaceful process laid out in its constitution, and we're ready to work with President Han as he assumes office."
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was appointed by Yoon, became acting president while Yoon remains in office but with his presidential powers suspended halfway through his five-year term.
"I will give all my strength and efforts to stabilise the government," Han told reporters after the vote.
Later, he chaired a National Security Council meeting and urged the country to maintain a "watertight readiness posture" to ensure North Korea could not plan any provocations.
The political crisis, which has led to the resignation or arrest of several senior defence and military officials, has raised concerns over the South's ability to deter nuclear-armed North Korea at a time when Pyongyang is expanding its arsenal and deepening ties with Russia.
Yoon is the second conservative president in a row to be impeached in South Korea. Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017. Yoon survived a first impeachment vote last weekend, when his party largely boycotted the vote, depriving parliament of a quorum.
"Although I am stopping for now, the journey I have walked with the people over the past two and a half years toward the future must never come to a halt. I will never give up," Yoon said.
Considered a tough political survivor but increasingly isolated, he has been dogged by personal scandals and strife, an unyielding opposition and rifts within his own party.
Protesters near parliament backing Yoon's impeachment leapt for joy, waving colourful LED sticks as music pumped out. By contrast, a rally of Yoon supporters emptied following the news.
Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged protesters near parliament to fight together so Yoon is removed swiftly. "You, the people, made it. You are writing a new history," he told the jubilant crowds braving subfreezing temperatures.
The impeachment motion was carried as at least 12 members of Yoon's People Power Party joined the opposition parties, which control 192 seats in the 300-member national assembly, clearing the two-thirds threshold needed.
The number of lawmakers supporting impeachment was 204, with 85 against, three abstentions and eight invalid ballots.
The political crisis has sparked disarray in the ruling party, with its chief Han Dong-hoon defying calls to resign after backing impeachment as "inevitable to normalise the situation".
Yoon shocked the nation on Dec 3 when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called "anti-state forces" and overcome obstructionist political opponents.
He rescinded the declaration barely six hours later, after parliament defied troops and police to vote against the decree. But it plunged the country into a constitutional crisis and triggered widespread calls for him to step down on the grounds that he had broken the law.
Yoon later apologised but defended his decision and resisted calls to resign.
Opposition parties launched the fresh impeachment vote, supported by large demonstrations//CNA-VOI
December
Arab foreign ministers urge support for inclusive, 'peaceful' Syria transition
Written by nuke
Diplomats from eight Arab countries as well US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot attend a meeting in Jordan on Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Pool/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool)
VOInews, Aqaba : Top diplomats from eight Arab countries, meeting in Jordan on Saturday (Dec 14), called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
In a final statement after the talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said they had agreed to "support a peaceful transition process" in Syria, "in which all political and social forces are represented".
Anti-Assad forces, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the longtime ruler on Sunday following a lightning offensive.
HTS is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch and is designated as a "terrorist" organisation by many Western governments but has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
A transitional government installed by the rebel forces has insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected, as will the rule of law.
The foreign ministers, meeting in Aqaba in the presence of Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the political process in Syria should be supported by "the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254" of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.
The Arab diplomats also declared their backing for a transitional rule agreed upon by Syrians, which would enable "a political system that corresponds to the aspirations of all parts of the Syrian people, through free and fair elections overseen by the United Nations".
They also warned against "any ethnic, sectarian or religious discrimination" and called for "justice and equality for all citizens".
They also denounced Israeli air strikes on Syria, which have targeted key military assets across the country in recent days.
In addition to the Arab foreign ministers' meeting, Jordan was also hosting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and top EU and UN officials for talks on Syria Saturday//CNA-VOI
December
Port operators, manufacturers work to counter supply chain risks ahead of 2025
Written by nuke
Automated vehicles at Tuas Port will be getting a 5G upgrade, so they can track the movement of cargo from berths to ships in real time.
VOInews, Singapore : Port operator PSA Singapore is gearing up for the year ahead with more advanced technology. Automated vehicles at Tuas Port will be getting a 5G upgrade so they can track the movement of cargo from berths to ships in real time, with the help of telcos Singtel and Ericsson.
PSA’s moves are in line with plans to build the world’s largest fully automated port in about two decades to meet the rapidly rising demand for global trans-shipment.
Over the next three years, PSA will also be exploring 5G applications in areas such as predictive maintenance, which involves drone-based surveillance and extended reality applications.
This will help the operator to detect potential issues in a more timely fashion and pre-empt equipment failure, improving efficiency and reducing costly downtime.
Such advanced solutions could come in handy in the event of incidents that shocked the sector earlier this year, like the Red Sea attacks.
Firms will have to continue cushioning themselves against geopolitical tensions, supply chain diversification and the impact of technology including artificial intelligence, said Associate Professor Goh Puay Guan from the Department of Analytics and Operations at the National University of Singapore Business School.
He added that uncertainties remain over the resilience of global supply chains, given the promise of tariffs from Donald Trump who will be sworn in as the United States president next month.
Trump late last month pledged big tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China.
He said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamp down on fentanyl and migrants crossing the border.
He also outlined an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports from China. He had previously said he would end China's most-favoured-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports of over 60 per cent - much higher than those imposed during his first term.
Companies in the US will stockpile in anticipation of an increase in tariffs, said Assoc Prof Goh.
“In the short term, that may actually cause a spike in imports and therefore, potentially shipping rates will go up in the short term,” he added.
Firms will also have to prepare for changes in government regulations along with the leadership transition in America.
“Potentially with US regulations changing with the new administration, it could also mean that there's a little bit more volatility when companies need to react very quickly to changes in government regulations between countries or changes in tariff structures,” said Assoc Prof Goh//CNA-VOI
December
Canada proposed $15 billion incentive to boost AI green data centre investment, Globe and Mail reports
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
VOInews, Ottawa : Canada's federal government has considered making up to $15 billion available as an incentive to encourage major domestic pension funds to invest in AI data centres powered by green energy, the Globe and Mail reported on Thursday.
Ottawa floated the proposal in private consultation with pension funds as part of a suite of potential measures in consideration to be included in its fall economic statement, the report added citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.
Artificial intelligence tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT depend on chips and energy. But a $1 trillion rush to build data centres faces constraints on planning and power globally.
Last month, utilities, power regulators and researchers in a half-dozen countries told Reuters the surprising growth in power demand driven by the rise of AI and cloud computing is being met in the near-term by fossil fuels like natural gas, and even coal, because the pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up//CNA-VOI
December
White House releases strategy to counter anti-Muslim, anti-Arab hate
Written by nuke
US President Joe Biden hosts Kennedy Center honorees in the East Room at the White House in Washington, on Dec 8, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno)
VOInews, Washington D.C : US President Joe Biden on Thursday (Dec 12) released a long-awaited strategy for countering anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate, up sharply since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, calling for urgent, continued work to reduce discrimination and bias.
The 64-page document, which maps out more than 100 executive branch actions, comes weeks before the inauguration of former President Donald Trump, who imposed a travel ban on people from some majority Muslim countries during his first term that Biden rescinded on his first day in office.
It mirrors a comprehensive strategy to fight antisemitism released by the White House in September 2023, and comes more than a year after death of six-year-old boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, stabbed by a man who targeted him and his mother because they were Palestinian-American.
In a foreword to the strategy, Biden called the attacks on the Chicago boy and his mother "heinous acts" and noted a spike in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate crimes, discrimination and bullying that he called wrong and unacceptable.
"Muslims and Arabs deserve to live with dignity and enjoy every right to the fullest extent along with all of their fellow Americans," Biden wrote. "Policies that result in discrimination against entire communities are wrong and fail to keep us safe."
The Council on American Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, called the strategy "too little, too late" and faulted the White House for not promising any changes to a federal watchlist and "no-fly" list that includes many Arab and Muslim Americans, and for failing to end the war in Gaza, which has been driving Islamophobia.
Jim Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, predicted the incoming Trump administration would disown the strategy, but welcomed the White House's expansion to include anti-Arab hate instead of focusing solely on acts directed against Muslims.
The Trump transition team had no immediate comment on the strategy or whether it would support it.
Trump, who won support from some Muslim voters angry about Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza, has said he will ban entry to the US of anyone who questions Israel's right to exist and revoke visas of foreign students who are "antisemitic."
Tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups surged on some US campuses after the Oct 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, with human rights advocates warning of rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate//CNA-VOI
December
Macron to name new French PM Friday after days of deadlock
Written by nuke
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of a guest at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Dec 9, 2024. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Kevin Coombs)
VOInews, Paris : President Emmanuel Macron is to name a new prime minister on Friday (Dec 12), aides said, after days of deadlock over finding a candidate to replace Michel Barnier whose ousting by parliament pushed France into a fresh crisis.
Barnier was toppled in a historic no-confidence vote on December 4 and there had been expectations Macron would announce his successor in an address to the nation even a day later.
But in a sign of the stalemate in French politics after inconclusive legislative elections this summer, he did not name his successor then and has now missed a 48-hour deadline he gave at a meeting meeting of party leaders on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Macron left France on a day-long trip to key EU and NATO ally Poland but shortened the visit in an apparent bid to finalise the appointment.
"The statement naming the prime minister will be published tomorrow (Friday) morning," said an aide to to the president, asking not to be named, late Thursday just after Macron touched down from the trip to Poland.
"He is finishing his consultations," the aide added, without giving further details.
Whoever is named will be the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate after the toppling of Barnier, who lasted only three months, and faces an immediate challenge in thrashing out a budget to pass parliament.
Each premier under Macron has served successively less time in office and there is no guarantee for the new premier that they will not follow this pattern.
Macron remains confronted with the complex political equation that emerged from the snap parliamentary polls - how to secure a government against a no-confidence vote in a bitterly divided lower house where no party or alliance has a majority.
All the candidates widely floated so far have encountered objections from at least one side of the political spectrum.
Macron's rumoured top pick, veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, raises hackles on the left - wary of continuing the president's policies - and on the right, where he is disliked by influential former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Beyond Bayrou, prime ministerial contenders include former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, current Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Another name being discussed in the media is Roland Lescure, a former industry minister, but the nomination of the former Socialist risks inflaming the right.
Polls indicate the public is fed up with the crisis. Just over two-thirds of respondents to one Elabe poll published on Wednesday said they want politicians to reach a deal not to overthrow a new government.
But confidence is limited, with around the same number saying they did not believe the political class could reach agreement.
In a separate IFOP poll, far-right National Rally (RN) figurehead Marine Le Pen was credited with 35 per cent support in the first round of a future presidential election - well ahead of any likely opponent.
She has said she is "not unhappy" that her far-right party was left out of the horse-trading around the government, appearing for now to benefit from the chaos rather than suffer blame for bringing last week's no-confidence vote over the line//CNA-VOI