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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 | EU to counter U.S. climate game changer with own green deal
The European Union responded on Tuesday to U.S. moves to boost its energy transition with its own plans to make life easier for the green industry, saying it would mobilize state aid and a sovereignty fund to keep firms from moving to the United States.
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos that the moves would be part of the EU's Green Deal industrial plan to make Europe a center for clean technology and innovation.
Earlier, International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol told a WEF panel that energy security was now the biggest driver of climate investment.
Top 2 | China's GDP expands 3% in 2022 despite various pressures
China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3 percent year on year to 121.02 trillion yuan ($17.93 trillion) in 2022 despite being mired in various growth pressures, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.
The annual growth rate beat a median economist forecast of 2.8 percent as polled by Reuters. The country's fourth-quarter GDP growth of 2.9 percent also surpassed expectations for a 1.8-percent increase.
In 2022, the Chinese economy encountered more difficulties and challenges than was expected amid a complex domestic and international situation. However, the NBS said economic growth stabilized after various measures were taken to shore up growth.
Top 3 |** Iran calls for joint mechanisms to counter unilateral sanctions**
A top Iranian security official on Tuesday suggested establishing "joint and synergetic" bodies to counter unilateral sanctions, Iranian Students' News Agency reported.
Making the remarks in a meeting with Igor Levitin, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Iran, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani warned that the unilateral sanctions system disrupts targeted countries' development and exacerbates regional and international crises.
Commenting on Iranian-Russian bilateral relations in all areas, Shamkhani stressed the need to implement joint economic projects within the frameworks of the agreements previously reached between Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin.
Top 4 | UK teachers, nurses to strike further over pay disputes
Further strikes were announced by teachers and nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) on Monday, amid the continued cost-of-living crisis and lengthy disputes over pay.
If progress is not made in negotiations by the end of January, February will see the most widespread strike so far by National Health Service (NHS) nursing staff, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said on Monday.
The planned strikes follow walkouts in December and January. "We are doing this in a desperate bid to get ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs - patient care is suffering like never before," said RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen.
Top 5 | Erdogan demands Sweden, Finland hand over up to 130 'terrorists' to Türkiye for NATO bid
Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Türkiye before the Turkish parliament approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.
The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states. Türkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.
Türkiye has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
Top 6 | At least 30 killed as passenger aircraft crashes in Nepal
A 72-seater aircraft crashed on the runway at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal on Sunday morning, killing at least 30 passengers and injuring several others, Nepal's news portal Lokantar has reported.
The flight was carrying 68 passengers and 4 crew members. Rescue work is ongoing.
The airline's spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP the plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.
Top 7 | More classified documents found at Biden home in Delaware: White House
Five additional pages of classified material have been found at U.S. President Joe Biden's family home in Delaware, the White House said on Saturday.
These pages, dating from Biden's time as Barack Obama's vice president, were found after White House lawyer Richard Sauber visited the home on Thursday, he said in a statement.
They are in addition to other documents found at that house in Delaware, which the White House revealed on Thursday, and other documents found at his former office at a think tank in Washington.
Top 8 | Iran fully ready to help rehabilitate power plants in Lebanon: FM
Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday that Iran is fully prepared to help rehabilitate Lebanon's power plants to help it produce energy, the National News Agency reported.
Iran is also ready to provide Lebanon with fuel for its energy production, the Iranian official added.
For his part, Bou Habib expressed Lebanon's keenness to support stability in Iran, saying his country rejects the interference in other countries' affairs.
Top 9 | House Republicans probe Biden documents, ask if Hunter had access
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launched an investigation on Friday into the Justice Department's handling of improperly stored classified documents possessed by U.S. President Joe Biden, and questioned whether his son, Hunter, had access to any.
In a January 13 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said the Justice Department's appointment of Robert Hur as special counsel for the case this week raised "fundamental oversight questions." They demanded all relevant documents and communications between the department, the FBI, the White House and Biden's attorneys.
The letter came a day after Biden's legal team acknowledged it had found classified documents relating to his time as vice president in the Obama administration at his Delaware home, including some in his garage. Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with.
Top 10 | UN nuclear watchdog vows to increase presence in Ukraine
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday that it would step up its presence in Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that he would travel to Ukraine next week to "establish a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts" at all of Ukraine's nuclear power facilities.
The UN nuclear watchdog has previously established a permanent presence of up to four experts at the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), Ukraine's largest such facility, according to the statement.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
