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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 | No change here: London to retain masks on public transport
Mask-wearing will be required on London's transport network even after the legal obligation to wear them in England is lifted on July 19, the city's mayor said Wednesday.
Sadiq Khan has asked the body that oversees transport in the capital to enforce the use of mask wearing on the subway, buses and trams as a “condition of carriage” — basically contracts between passengers and Transport for London.
Khan said he is “not prepared” to put transport users “at risk” by removing the rules on face coverings after legal restrictions are lifted next Monday despite a big resurgence of the virus across the U.K. as a whole.
Top 2 | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Reportedly Hospitalised
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly been rushed to hospital, CNN Brazil reported on Wednesday.
Reuters, in turn, cited an unnamed source as saying that the president was hospitalised earlier in the day at an army hospital in the capital Brasilia.
According to the local news outlet Globo, the president was admitted to the hospital for unspecified medical testing after he felt abdominal pains in the early hours of Wednesday.
Since Bolsonaro was stabbed and seriously injured in the intestines during the 2018 presidential campaign, his health has been an issue.
Top 3 | French official warns Lebanese leaders of upcoming sanctions
A French Cabinet minister criticized Lebanese leaders on Tuesday, warning them of upcoming sanctions from Paris that will target Lebanese officials blocking the formation of a new government.
The remarks by France’s Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester came during a visit to Beirut’s port, devastated in a massive explosion in August last year.
Reister said members of the political elite in Lebanon failed to respect their declared commitment to reforms and warned of a first wave of sanctions by France, Lebanon's colonial ruler. He did not say whether the measures will be imposed only by France or perhaps by the European Union as well.
Top 4 | UK lawmakers to vote on contentious foreign aid cut
British lawmakers are voting Tuesday on whether to overturn a big cut to the country’s foreign aid budget amid criticism that the decision has slashed billions from programs helping some of the world’s poorest people.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government announced in November that it would cut the share of national income set aside for foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5%, citing the blow to Britain's economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The government said the reduction, which amounts to about 4 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) this year, was temporary but gave no indication when it might be reversed.
Top 5 | Russia against US troops in Central Asia near Afghanistan
Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow conveyed the message to Washington during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva last month.
The warning comes as the U.S. military said last week that 90% of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and equipment from Afghanistan is complete. Biden said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31.
Top 6 | Malaysia seeks to beef up health system as Delta variant rages
Malaysia on Tuesday announced new measures to support its ailing public health system as the country saw another record daily rise in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant.
The Southeast Asian country reported 11,079 new infections on Tuesday, the third daily record seen in the past week, and 125 new deaths.
The surge comes even as Malaysia ramped up its vaccination programme and imposed stricter lockdown measures over the past month.
The outbreak has been largely driven by the Delta variant - now the dominant coronavirus strain in the country, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a news conference with other top health officials.
Top 7 | Israel eases some restrictions on Gaza: official
Israel said on Monday it has expanded Gaza Strip's allowed fishing zone and will permit some imports and exports amid a lull in fighting between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel.
The zone open for fishing was expanded on Monday morning from 9 nautical miles (some 17 km) to 12 nautical miles (some 22 km), the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Israel's military liaison to the Palestinians, said in a statement.
In addition, medical and fishing equipment, as well as raw materials for the textile industry could be imported from Israel via the Kerem Shalom Crossing, a passage for goods between Gaza and Israel.
Some agricultural produce and textile could be exported from Gaza to Israel, according to the statement.
Top 8 | Sri Lanka begins administering Sinopharm vaccines to teachers
Sri Lankan authorities on Monday began administering the Sinopharm vaccines to teachers and school staff across the country, with an aim to re-open schools as soon as possible.
Minister of Education G.L. Peiris, who attended one of the vaccination centers in Colombo, along with several other ministers and Army Commander Shavendra Silva, said they hoped to complete vaccinating teachers, principals, and non-academic employees within a week.
Accordingly, arrangements have been made to vaccinate all school employees of 10,155 schools in the country under this program, Peiris said.
The minister added that this program had been launched directly under the directives of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following which discussions were held with all the provincial governors, chief secretaries, provincial directors of education, and the health division.
Top 9 | Democrats bet on early Latino outreach to avoid ’20 pitfalls
On a sweaty recent Thursday afternoon, Alex Berrios was instructing his team on how to get people to register to vote. Extend your hand, he said; it makes folks more likely to stop. Smile a lot, that works, too. But immediately take no for an answer so you don’t seem too pushy.
Berrios, co-founder of a new nonprofit, Mi Vecino, or “My Neighbor” has a lot riding on developing the right pitch. His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. He was role-playing how best to approach them in front of Walgreens, amid games of dominoes at a senior center or outside El Bodegon, a supermarket chain specializing in Colombian products.
Fifteen months before the midterm elections, groups like his are mobilizing across the country — both Democrats who have enjoyed a historic Latino allegiance and Republicans emboldened by gains in 2020 — all trying to lock down the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.
Top 10 | As Taliban 'Seizes' Key Crossing With Iran, Moscow Says Group Controls 2/3 of Afghan-Tajik Border
A Taliban* spokesman said that the terrorist group had captured Afghanistan's biggest trade crossing with Iran.
"The port of Islam Qala is now under our full control and we will try to put it back in operation today," Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgents said, as quoted by the AFP.
The Taliban's claim could not be verified as there has been no confirmation of the border crossing's fall from the Afghanistan government.
Islam Qala is one of the country's main ports of entry; Kabul uses it to trade with Iran.
