简体中文
Every Saturday, 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 | US withholds $65 mln from UN agency for Palestinians
The United States held back $65 million meant for the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians on Tuesday, two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened future payments.
State Department officials insisted the decision was not taken to pressure Palestinian leaders, but because the US wants other countries to help fund a reformed UNRWA.
But the call came after a behind-the-scenes tussle between hawks who want to cut all aid to Palestinians and officials concerned about the humanitarian and diplomatic fallout.
Top 2 | Iran vows action on new US sanctions
Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani Monday said the new US sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals warrant "proportional reaction".
Larijani, who is also among the individuals sanctioned, said that the sanctions against the judiciary chief of a country is "crossing all international red lines," the Tasnim news agency reported. Larijani said that Iran would not remain silent on such measures. But he did not disclose what Iran's response will be.
"The US should know that every hostile action will draw proportional reaction from Iran," he said, adding that he does not care about the US sanctions against him.
Top 3 | Hawaii accidentally warns citizens of incoming missile
Television broadcasts and mobile phones in Hawaii were interrupted by an emergency warning of an incoming missile on Saturday. The message sent to mobile phones warned, in capital letters: "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."
A video on social media showed the emergency system interrupting the broadcast of a football match, with a high-pitched sound alerting viewers to their screens which displayed the same warning. The message, which was sent at 8.07am local time (6.07pm GMT), was followed by a retraction 38 minutes later stating the missile alert was a "false alarm".
The message seems to have been sent as part of the US Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, which allows authorised national, state or local government authorities to send alerts regarding public safety emergencies.
Top 4 | Trump defends himself after 'shithole' comments: 'I am not a racist'
In the wake of recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations, President Donald Trump defended himself Sunday by declaring that “I am not a racist.”
Trump addressed the issue briefly as he arrived for dinner at his private golf club with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
Asked what he thinks about people who think he is racist, Trump said, “No, No. I am not a racist.” He told reporters: “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.” Trump also denied making the statements attributed to him, but avoided specifics about what he did or did not say.
Top 5 | Abbas calls Trump's peace efforts 'slap of the century'
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has described US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace efforts as the "slap of the century".
At a meeting of Palestinian leaders, he stressed he would not accept any peace plan from the US after it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
He also accused Israel itself of putting an end to the Oslo Accords, which began the peace process in 1995.
Top 6 | Trump administration to appeal 'Dreamer' immigrant ruling
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said it will ask the Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s ruling last week that blocked President Donald Trump’s move to end a program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.
The Trump administration will file an appeal of the judge’s injunction directly with the conservative-majority Supreme Court as well as seeking to appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the department said.
The Republican president in September rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program put in place in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, effective in March. A variety of Democratic state attorneys general, organizations and individuals challenged Trump’s action in multiple federal courts.
Top 7 | DPRK, ROK to march together in Olympic Games, form joint ice hockey team
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will march together at the opening ceremony and have agreed to form a united women's ice hockey team for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The decisions came after the two sides held working-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom on Wednesday to further discuss the DPRK’s participation in the Games.
Seoul proposed athletes from both countries enter together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games during a high-level meeting with DPRK officials on January 9 – the first in about two years. With Pyongyang and Seoul agreeing on a joint entrance, their athletes will march behind the "Korean Unification" flag at the opening ceremony.
Top 8 | White House supports short-term spending bill to avoid gov't shutdown
The White House on Wednesday expressed its support for a short-term spending bill proposed by House Republicans, in a bid to avoid a government shutdown by Friday if the US Congress fails to pass a funding bill for the federal government.
As a stop-gap measure, the proposed short-term spending bill will fund the US federal government through February 16. It includes a six-year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which Democrats have demanded.
The federal government is running on its third temporary spending bill since the fiscal year of 2018, which began on October 1, 2017 and is set to expire on January 19. US Congress is now discussing a two-year budget deal. However, there still is large gap between Republicans and Democrats over immigration.
Top 9 | EU's Council President says hardest work still ahead on Brexit talks
Despite "sufficient progress", European Council President Donald Tusk told European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Tuesday that the most difficult part of the process was still to come.
One of the most difficult issues embedded in the transition period relates to migration, with the EU reportedly demanding that its "freedom of movement" principle continue to apply during the transition period, which would block Britain from immediately introducing strict new controls on new arrivals to Britain.
Britain evoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union in March of 2017, triggering a two-year negotiation period for a divorce from the bloc. Talks are limited by law to two years, with Britain scheduled to become a third country on March 29 of 2019.
Top 10 | China’s GDP growth in 2017 reaches 6.9％: official data
China’s GDP in 2017 grew 6.9 percent year-on-year, beating the government’s 6.5 percent growth target, the country’s National Statistics Bureau announced on Thursday.
The reading is up from the 6.7 percent the previous year, which marked its lowest growth in a quarter of a century.
However, the world’s second-largest economy has vowed to attach more importance to the quality of development, including healthier economy structure and a better environment, instead of merely economic growth. The 2017 growth is driven by fast growth in consumption and services sector as well as rebounding trade.
Related:
APD Review|The Panmunjom dialogue: A mutual compromise between Kim, Moon
APD Review | No “Spring” in Iran’s Unrests
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
