Asia Pacific Daily News - Focus on Asia-Pacific Development, Daily News Express, Scholar Creation Center

Every weekend, Asia Pacific Daily will provide you with a run-down of the latest hot news.

This week, the following hot news you should know:

Top 1 | Biden and Trump go on the offensive as U.S. campaign enters final stretch

President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden took rhetorical swipes at each other on Monday as the presidential campaign entered its traditional homestretch on the U.S. Labor Day holiday.

Trump described Biden, whom he trails in national polls, as a threat to the economy and “stupid,” while Biden took aim at Trump’s reported disparaging of fallen troops.

Trump pushed back again against a report in The Atlantic that he had referred to fallen U.S. soldiers as “suckers” and “losers,” calling it “a hoax.” The story has dominated news coverage for days and threatens Trump’s support among veterans and military members, a key voting bloc. Biden cited the reported remarks while campaigning in the electoral battleground state of Pennsylvania. Referring to his son Beau Biden, who served in Iraq as a member of the Delaware National Guard and died of brain cancer in 2015, he said: “Beau wasn’t a loser or a sucker. ... He served with heroes.”

Top 2 | Trump's calculations behind Serbia-Kosovo deal

As the world is closely watching the Washington-brokered Serbia-Kosovo deal, a photo of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in the Oval Office triggered a public uproar. Vucic is seen sitting in a small chair across from Trump in the way like he was being "interrogated."

The world's superpower has been adept at playing these tricks on diplomatic relations. In 2018, Polish President Andrzej Duda was forced into a similarly awkward situation in signing a strategic partnership accord with the United States. While Trump sat comfortably in his big chair, Duda was arranged to stand next to him. Having no seat, the President of a sovereign state had to reach over the table to sign the deal like he was Trump's subordinate.

Trump, by making his counterparts appear inferior to him, has been eager to showcase his importance as the leader of the world's superpower. But the harder he attempts to appear superior to his counterparts, the less likely he would be viewed as a respectable leader. As the world anticipates the U.S. to act as a global leader, it is behaving the other way round.

Top 3 | EU, UK blame each other over deadlocked post-Brexit talks

The U.K. and the European Union blamed each other Tuesday in their increasingly acrimonious post-Brexit trade discussions that could just be weeks from collapse.

While the U.K. urged the EU to show “more realism” in the discussions, the 27-nation bloc noted that it was a “world power.” The latest round of discussions kicked off in London on Tuesday amid an air of pessimism because of concerns that the British government is set to violate international law by reneging on commitments made before the country’s departure from the bloc on Jan. 31.

The news that the head of the British government’s legal department has quit — reportedly over plans to bypass commitments made with regard to the Irish border — and intervention from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s predecessor only added to the sense the talks are going nowhere.

Top 4 | U.S. formally announces troop reduction in Iraq

The United States military on Wednesday announced that it would be reducing its presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 troops this month, formalizing a move that had been long expected.

Last month, Reuters reported that the United States was expected to reduce its troops presence in Iraq by about a third. The United States has around 5,200 troops that were deployed in Iraq to fight the Islamic State militant group. Officials in the U.S.-led coalition say Iraqi forces are now mostly able to handle the remnants of Islamic State on their own.

A senior administration official had said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would be announcing a reduction of U.S. troops from Iraq. The United States and Iraq in June affirmed their commitment to the reduction of U.S. troops in the country in coming months, with no plans by Washington to maintain permanent bases or a permanent military presence.

Top 5 | Palestinians win Saudi support but no Arab condemnation of UAE-Israel deal

Palestinian leaders won renewed Saudi support for Palestinian statehood at a Wednesday meeting, but did not persuade the Arab League to condemn last month’s normalisation deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

At a video conference of foreign ministers, the Palestinian leadership softened its own censure of the UAE for the U.S.-brokered Aug. 13 accord, which is to be formalised at a signing ceremony at the White House next week, but to no avail.

The UAE-Israel accord was the first such accommodation between an Arab country and Israel in more than 20 years, and was forged partly through shared fears of Iran. Palestinians were dismayed by the UAE’s move, fearing it would weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position - known as the Arab peace initiative - that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

Top 6 | Russia summons German envoy over alleged poisoning of Navalny

On Tuesday, foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries and the High Representative of the European Union issued a statement demanding Russia to "urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack."

Navalny, a harsh critic of the Kremlin, became unwell on a flight from the Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow on August 20 and the plane had to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk. Navalny reportedly fell into a coma after being hospitalized in Omsk and was later transferred to Germany for treatment.

On Monday, the Charite hospital in Berlin, where Navalny is being treated, issued a statement saying that his condition had improved and he was being weaned off mechanical ventilation after coming round from his coma. Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement complaining that the German authorities had consistently avoided providing Russia with Navalny's medical examination results.

Top 7 | Iran rejects Russia's mediation offer for direct talks with U.S.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday ruled out the likelihood of direct negotiations with the United States.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, made the remarks after the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently expressed readiness for mediation of direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

On Tuesday, Lavrov proposed to mediate between Iran and the United States. "If both countries are interested, we are ready to hold talks with the two sides to pave the way for the direct talks," Lavrov said in a speech delivered at MGIMO University. The Iranian President's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi has also dismissed any intention in Tehran for direct talks with Washington.

Top 8 | Russia to host Kavkaz-2020 multinational anti-terror drills

The Kavkaz-2020 counter-terrorist military drills, which will involve troops from 10 countries, will take place in Russia between Sept. 21-26, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Tuesday.

The main actions will unfold at the Kapustin Yar and Ashuluk training grounds in south Russia's Astrakhan Region, as well as in the waters of the Black and Caspian seas, Shoigu said at an online conference with the country's senior military officials.

In addition to the 10 participants, nine more countries will send military observers to Russia, he said, without naming any of them. Shoigu did not disclose the number of troops or military equipment involved, though the Russian Defense Ministry has said that the Kavkaz-2020 will be the country's largest training event this year.

Top 9 | Huge fire breaks out at Beirut port a month after explosion

A huge fire broke out Thursday at the Port of Beirut, sending up a thick column of black smoke and raising new panic among traumatized residents after last month’s catastrophic blast at the same site killed nearly 200 people.

It was unclear what caused the blaze at the facility, which was decimated by the Aug. 4 explosion when nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up and sent out a shock wave that caused widespread damage and was felt as far away as the island of Cyprus.

Dark smoke covered the capital on Thursday as army helicopters sprayed water over the orange flames leaping from the ground. The Lebanese army said the fire started in the port’s duty-free zone at a warehouse with containers of tires, oil and other flammable materials.

Top 10 | Assange told to stop interrupting witnesses at UK hearing

A British judge told WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday that his extradition hearing will proceed without him if he continues to speak from the dock and interrupt witnesses.

Vanessa Baraitser briefly adjourned the hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court after Assange interrupted defense witness Clive Stafford Smith, who was giving evidence. Assange’s outburst couldn’t be heard by journalists following proceedings by video link.

Assange is fighting an attempt by American prosecutors to extradite him to the U.S. to stand trial on spying charges. U.S. prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret U.S. military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. Assange’s lawyers say the prosecution is a politically motivated abuse of power that will stifle media freedom and put journalists at risk around the world.