简体中文
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 | Chinese finance minister, U.S. treasury secretary had exchanges on fiscal policies
Chinese Minister of Finance Liu Kun met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing on Saturday night.
They had exchanges on the macroeconomic situation of the two countries and the world, on fiscal policies of the two countries and on addressing global challenges.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Saturday also met with Yellen in Beijing. The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation on global challenges and maintain exchanges.
Top 2 |** U.S. to give Ukraine cluster munitions, UN chief voices opposition**
The U.S. announced on Friday that it will send Ukraine cluster munitions, prohibited by more than 100 countries, as part of an $800-million security package, drawing opposition from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for Guterres, said the secretary general supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.
Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. But once they're left unexploded, the bomblets function very similarly to landmines, which means they can still detonate decades after they are dropped.
Top 3 |** Iranian FM: Tehran, Khartoum agree to resume ties, reopen embassies**
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Saturday that his country and Sudan have agreed to resume bilateral relations in the near future.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf held after their talks in Iranian capital Tehran earlier in the day, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
Top 4 |** France's Macron rejects NATO push to open liaison office in Japan**
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday opposed a NATO push to open a liaison office in Japan, a rebuff that has revealed cracks within the Western military alliance.
Spearheaded by the United States, the alliance has looked to step up military cooperation with its Asia-Pacific partners.
For the second year running, the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea attended a NATO summit.
Top 5 | DPRK urges international community to stop Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday slammed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for "patronizing and facilitating Japan's projected discharge of nuclear-polluted water."
The DPRK also urged the international community to stop Japan from discharging its nuclear wastewater into the sea, according to a press statement from the country's Ministry of Land and Environment Protection, state news agency KCNA reported.
Pyongyang's statement comes after the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, issued a report on July 4, saying that Japan's plans to release "treated water" stored at the power plant into the sea are consistent with IAEA safety standards and the discharges of the "treated water" would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
Top 6 | South Korea's population projected to drop by 27 percent in 2077
South Korea's population is projected to drop by 27 percent from the current 52 million to 38 million in 2070 as people refrain from getting married, statistical office data showed on Tuesday.
There were 192,000 marriages in 2022, down sharply from 295,000 in 1970, according to Statistics Korea, a government office.
Residents had been increasingly reluctant to get married and have children for various reasons, such as the high cost of housing and raising children, as well as high youth unemployment.
Top 7 | Chinese mission to EU voices strong opposition to NATO smear
China has strongly rejected the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders calling the country a "systemic challenge" to Euro-Atlantic security as alliance leaders gathered for a two-day meeting in Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) made the remarks late Tuesday in light of the NATO summit joint communique issued earlier in the day. The communique also claimed that "China's stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values."
Noting the NATO statement is ridden with Cold War mentality and ideological bias, the spokesperson said in a statement published on the mission's website that the China-related content in the communique disregards basic facts, wantonly distorts China's position and policies, and deliberately discredits China.
Top 8 | Thailnd's Pita the only PM candidate for parliamentary vote
Opposition party leader Pita Limjaroenrat was nominated as only the candidate for Thailand's prime minister after a joint session of both the Senate and House of Representatives was convened on Thursday.
Pita, who led his Move Forward party and its ally to win a majority of the parliamentary seats in the May 14 election, faces a big challenge in securing the required backing of more than half of a 750-member bicameral parliament.
Pita has had a bumpy ride and was dealt a major blow on the eve of Thursday's vote when two legal complaints against him gained momentum, prompting hundreds of demonstrators gathering in Bangkok to show their support for Pita.
Top 9 | Poll shows 49% of Colombians want to live elsewhere
The number of Latin Americans who want to emigrate grows every year.
New polling shows Colombians top the list of Latin Americans who urgently want to leave their country.
Top 10 | Volcano erupts on Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland
A volcano erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense seismic activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday.
The eruption began at around 4:40 p.m. on Monday, according to the IMO.
"At the moment, it's a very small eruption," said Matthew Roberts of the IMO’s service and research division. He added there was no direct imminent hazard to people in the region.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
