APD | Weekly top 10 hot news (Sep 17- Sep 23)

APD NEWS

text

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 | Xi sends congratulatory letter to International Day of Peace celebration

1b8c1cbd2264460db4d1bbe07388169b.png

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the commemorative event observing the International Day of Peace in Beijing on Wednesday.

Noting that the international security situation has undergone profound and complex changes, Xi said he proposed the Global Security Initiative.

The initiative stresses pursuing common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries.


Top 2 | China, Russia to safeguard global strategic stability, partnership

e5e3959fbcdf46798d5a83ce2d71a884.png

China and Russia agreed on Monday that the two countries will enhance mutual trust and support each other's development paths in accordance with its national condition, jointly safeguard global strategic stability, and consolidate and replenish the bilateral connotation of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks when co-hosting the 17th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, in China's Fujian Province.

Yang said the China-Russia relations have flourished in recent years under the guidance of both leaders. The two sides keep deepening strategic coordination and firmly supporting each other's core interests and major concerns, which enriched the cooperation connotation in various fields, Yang noted, adding that jointly safeguarding the UN-oriented international system and international order based on the international law for global fair and justice has set the example of major-country relationship on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to international community.


Top 3 | UN chief calls for action to make Africa a success

dcb6bbddeb1a47f2a11879eebd1b6c7b.png

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called for action to make Africa a success, and said "the world must see Africa for what it is: a land of enormous potential and resources."

Guterres made the remarks in a speech at the inaugural meeting of the Global African Business Initiative (GABI), which took place in New York over the weekend on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

He called on governments and the private sector to work together to create the conditions for the continent's success. Bold investments and new finance models can put the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart of business models, he added.


Top 4 | Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Cuban FM Bruno Rodriguez

878199f3be7f43c887c72b6ba299fb9d.jpg

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 19.

Wang Yi said that China and Cuba are good friends, good comrades and good brothers who trust each other and share a common destiny. The two heads of state have established good friendship and maintained close communication. Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, the Chinese side is willing to work with Cuba, to deepen solidarity and cooperation, and to consolidate and develop the special friendly relations between China and Cuba. Thanks to the Cuban side for its firm support for China in safeguarding its core interests, China also firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and independence, and unswervingly supports Cuba in accelerating its development and revitalization. Wang Yi said he believes that Cuba will continue to make new and greater achievements on the road of building socialism.

Wang Yi emphasized that the two sides should further strengthen strategic alignment, steadily advance the cooperation in jointly building the "Belt and Road", expand cooperation in agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, and other fields, and transform the high-level political mutual trust between the two countries into more practical cooperation results.


Top 5 | Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Solomon Islands FM Jeremiah Manele

b7c98efd9e7e48cdbf217db250db4cf9.jpg

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi mets with Solomon Islands' Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Wang Yi stressed that the cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is a model of South-South cooperation. Developing countries also have the right to development, and their people should also live a happy life. The cooperation between China and the Pacific Island countries is stepping up.

Among the six cooperation platforms tailored for the island countries, the emergency material reserve, the cooperation center for climate change, the poverty reduction and development cooperation center have been established. The agricultural cooperation center, the disaster prevention and control center, and the JunCao Technology Center will be put into use as soon as possible. Solomon Islands is welcome to make good use of the above centers to benefit the people of Solomon Islands.


Top 6 | China, Russia to hold meetings on security, law-enforcement

da2c3fcccc6840bdb11b276ee43e98a9.jpg

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, will travel to China for the 17th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation and the 7th meeting of the China-Russia law-enforcement and security cooperation mechanism from September 18 to 19, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Sunday.

Patrushev's visit is at the invitation of Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Guo Shengkun, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Mao said.

Yang and Patrushev co-chaired the 16th round of strategic security consultations in May last year as the two countries celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.


Top 7 | Iran calls for nuclear deal guarantees, closure of IAEA inquiry

132127bb47e841249e76434da3666702.png

Iran needs reassuring guarantees as well as the closure of the ongoing inquiry into the Islamic republic by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before a nuclear deal can be reached, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday.

According to a statement published on the Iranian presidency's website, Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Iran is ready to reach a "fair and stable" nuclear agreement, but considering the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran's demand to "receive reassuring guarantees" is "completely reasonable and logical," said Raisi.


Top 8 | Putin announces partial military mobilization in national address

ed57917a46b842e8b79292502e5e7d21.jpeg

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesdayannounced a partial military mobilization aimed at "protecting Russia's sovereignty and integrity."

In his first national address since authorizing the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February, Putin restated that the "liberation" of the entire territory of Donbas remains the unchanging goal, according to TASS news agency.

He accused the West of trying to "weaken, divide and destroy" Russia. "The West wants Russia to break up into many warring regions," he said.

Putin called on the Russian government to "immediately" solve the problem of financial support for the defense industry to "increase the production of weapons."


Top 9 | Biden says COVID-19 in U.S. 'over' even as hundreds die daily

310bfd93f91e491489f8f73e08c5657d.png

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday that "the pandemic is over," even though the country continues to grapple with coronavirus infections that kill hundreds of Americans daily.

"The pandemic is over," Biden said during an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" program on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, an event which drew thousands of visitors.

"We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing."


Top 10 | Millions displaced in Pakistan after flood, many without clean water

ed020de1386f4309ac84904ff0ea7550.png

Millions of people are displaced from their homes in Pakistan and taking shelter in relief camps after weeks of flooding that left more than 1,500 dead across the country.

Many of the worst affected regions are seeing a rise in water-born illnesses including malaria, dengue fever and skin problems.

As the waters slowly recede, which authorities say could take up to six months, some displaced Pakistanis have to drink and bathe in the stagnant water, increasing the the threat of cholera and other water borne diseases.

Millions living in the make-shift camps are under scorching the sun with little cover.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)