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 | China urges more consensus building in Iran nuclear talks
A senior Chinese diplomat called for expanding consensus, "properly handling" differences and jointly promoting breakthroughs during the ongoing eighth round of the Iran nuclear talks, which resumed in Vienna on Monday.
"On the Iran nuclear issue and related nuclear non-proliferation issues, 'pragmatism' and double standards should not be adopted in pursuit of selfish interests," said Wang Qun, the Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed concern over a pact among Australia, Britain and the United States (AUKUS) under which Washington and London will support Canberra in building nuclear-powered submarines, marking the first time a non-nuclear weapons state is acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.
Top 2 | Former S. Korean President Park Geun-hye to be released at midnight
Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to be released from her sentence on Thursday midnight, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Last week, current South Korean President Moon Jae-in granted a special pardon for the new year to Park due to deterioration of her health and part of efforts to promote national unity.
Top 3 | Putin hails Commonwealth of Independent States on 30th anniversary
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as leaders of the CIS gathered for its 30th anniversary, Tass reported.
They attended an informal summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
Putin said the idea of establishing this organization was "justified," and ties preserved since the Soviet era continue to play a positive role, including in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Putin also said the leaders will discuss cooperation to overcome the pandemic.
Top 4 | Biden, Putin hold phone call amid heightened tensions over Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin via phone on Thursday amid heightened tensions over Ukraine.
Biden urged Russia to "de-escalate tensions with Ukraine" and made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will "respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," according to a statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the phone call.
Biden also expressed support for diplomacy, starting early next year with the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, at NATO through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the statement.
Top 5 | DPRK leader Kim Jong Un convenes key party meeting ahead of new year
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un this week opened a key ruling party meeting, state media reported on Tuesday.
The session could serve as a venue to unveil the country's major policy directions for the new year, Yonhap said.
The 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday, the KCNA said.
"The plenary meeting is to review the implementation of main Party and state policies for the year 2021," the report said.
Top 6 | Thousands of flights canceled as Omicron hits Christmas holiday travel
Airline carriers globally scrapped at least 2,366 flights on Friday, which fell on Christmas Eve and is typically a heavy day for air travel, according to a running tally on the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. Nearly 9,000 more flights were delayed.
The website showed that 1,616 Christmas Day flights were called off worldwide, along with 365 more that had been scheduled for Sunday.
Commercial air traffic within the United States and into or out of the country accounted for more than a quarter of all the canceled flights over the weekend, FlightAware data showed. In Australia, thousands of festive journeys were affected on Friday, with more than 100 domestic flights from Sydney and Melbourne to other cities cancelled.
Top 7 | NATO chief seeks NATO-Russia Council meeting in January
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has sought a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council next month and contacted Moscow to secure its attendance, an alliance spokesman said Sunday.
Stoltenberg has on several occasions in recent months offered to resume dialogue with Moscow through this body, set up in 2002 but currently inactive because of the conflict in Ukraine.
But the Russian authorities have not responded favourably.
"We are in touch with Russia" about the January 12 meeting, said the NATO spokesman, who asked not be identified.
Top 8 | Biden lifts Omicron travel ban on 8 Southern African countries
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Dec. 28, lifted travel restrictions imposed against eight Southern African countries over the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Under the presidential Proclamation 10315 issued on Nov. 29, foreign travelers were barred from entering the U.S. if they had been in any of the countries within the past 14 days. The order applied to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Biden issued another proclamation revoking the initial order, noting that developments made in understanding the new strain had rendered it unnecessary.
Top 9 | Biden signs $770 billion defense bill
U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022, which authorizes $770 billion in defense spending, the White House said on Monday.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for the defense bill.
Top 10 | Afghan interim government distributes China-donated aid
An event for distributing humanitarian aid donated by China to 34 Afghan provinces was held on Friday in Kabul with senior officials in attendance, including Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriations Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani.
Earlier this week, the Red Cross Society of China handed over 10 million yuan worth of aid, including medical and education materials, to the Arab Red Crescent Society.
Haqqani told China Media Group that China is a good neighbor and he expressed the interim government's gratitude for the essential aid being provided.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
