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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 blasts Trump’s WHO funding cut, fears it worsens pandemic
Nations around the world reacted with alarm Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a halt to the sizable funding the United States sends to the World Health Organization. Health experts warned the move could jeopardize global efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
At a briefing in Washington, Trump said he was instructing his administration to halt funding for WHO pending a review of its role “in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” The United States is WHO’s largest single donor, contributing between $400 million and $500 million annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years.
The European Union on Wednesday said Trump has “no reason” to freeze WHO funding at this critical stage and called for measures to promote unity instead of division. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc “deeply” regrets the suspension of funds and added that the U.N. health agency is now “needed more than ever” to combat the pandemic.
Top 2 | Sanders endorses Biden for White House
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders announced on Monday that he is endorsing former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for the White House.
The endorsement came less than a week after Sanders dropped out of the race seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, making Biden the presumptive nominee.
Sanders said on Monday that "it's no great secret" that he and Biden have differed on policy, while pointing out that their biggest priority is to defeat sitting President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Top 3 | Trump claims ‘total’ authority to reopen economy, over govs
President Donald Trump claimed the “total” authority Monday to decide how and when to reopen the economy after weeks of tough social distancing guidelines aimed at fighting the new coronavirus. But governors from both parties were quick to push back, noting they have the primary constitutional responsibility for ensuring public safety in their states and would decide when it’s safe to begin a return to normal operations.
Democratic leaders in the Northeast and along the West Coast announced separate state compacts to coordinate their efforts to scale back stay-at-home orders or reopen businesses on their own timetables, even as Trump argued it was his call.
But he would not offer specifics about the source of that claim, which governors asserted was a vast power grab, or his plan to reopen the economy. The president’s guidelines have little force. Governors and local leaders have issued orders that carry fines or other penalties, and in some jurisdictions extend into the early summer.
Top 4 | UN General Assembly decides to postpone or cancel pre-scheduled meetings due to COVID-19
The United Nations General Assembly on Monday adopted decisions to either postpone or cancel pre-scheduled meetings due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UNGA decided to postpone the "14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice" until further notice and to consider new dates in due course. The congress was scheduled to take place in Kyoto, Japan, from April 20 to 27, 2020, with pre-congress consultations to be held on April 19, 2020.
Besides, "Fourth Conference of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia, 2020," which was scheduled to be held at UN headquarters in New York on April 24, 2020, will be postponed to a period in 2021 to be decided by the General Assembly at its 75th session.
Top 5 | S.Korea's ruling party wins landslide victory in parliamentary polls amid COVID-19 outbreak
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's ruling Democratic Party has won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections held amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governing Democratic Party secured 163 directly-contested constituency seats, and its sister Platform Party won 17 proportional representation (PR) slots, the National Election Commission said Thursday.
It marked the first time since the constitution was amended in 1987 to end the past military dictatorship and adopt democratic elections that a single political party won three-fifths of the total seats in parliamentary elections.
Top 6 | Russia postpones WWII Victory Day parade over coronavirus
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday postponed a landmark military parade to honor the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II, as Russia struggles to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
The "risks associated with the epidemic, whose peak has not passed yet, are extremely high," Putin said in an address to the nation at the start of a meeting of his Security Council. "This does not give me the right to begin preparations for the parade and other mass events now."
In his address, Putin described the May 9 commemorations as "holy" to Russians, and promised to hold the military parade later this year. "We will force the threat we are facing today to retreat," he vowed.
Top 7 | U.S. claims DPRK's missiles activities 'malicious' threats
The U.S. State Department, Treasury, and Department of Homeland Security Issues, along with the FBI, issued an advisory on Wednesday about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cyber threats that called particular attention to banking and finance.
The State Department claimed in a statement on the advisory that the DPRK's "malicious cyber activities" threaten the United States and countries around the world.
The actions of the DPRK poses a significant threat to the integrity and stability of the international financial system, the statement stressed. It also called on foreign governments, network defenders, and the public to stay vigilant and to work together to mitigate the cyber threat. On the other side, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday that the DPRK's missile tests were not "particularly provocative or threatening" to the United States.
Top 8 | Japan's Abe draws flak from netizens over stay-at-home Twitter video
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has drawn flak from some netizens for a video posted on his official Twitter page showing him relaxing at home to encourage people to refrain from going outside to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Some users have said the video and its optics were insensitive to those who are reeling financially as a result of the virus and are forced to go outside amid the pandemic to make a living.
In the post uploaded Sunday, which shows the prime minister lounging at home dressed in casual attire, stroking his dog and sipping tea, Abe expresses his gratitude for the cooperation of each individuals to stay home, saying it will reduce the burden on medical staff, who are struggling under harsh circumstances.
Top 9 | Iran accuses U.S. of causing insecurity in Gulf
Iran's defense minister said here on Friday that the United States is the cause of insecurity in the Gulf, official IRNA news agency reported.
The "illegal and aggressive" presence of the U.S. forces in the Gulf has been the source of problems for the regional people, Brigadier General Amir Hatami said on the occasion of Iran's Army Day on Friday.
In a tweet on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also slammed the U.S. presence in the waters to the south of Iran, saying that the U.S. forces have come to the Gulf "7,000 miles away from its borders." On Thursday, the U.S. Navy said that eleven military vessels of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted "dangerous and provocative actions" near U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in international waters in the Gulf on Wednesday.
Top 10 | British PM Boris Johnson released from hospital
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from a London hospital where he was treated in intensive care for the new coronavirus.
Johnson’s office says he left St. Thomas’ Hospital and will continue his recovery at Chequers, the prime minister’s country house.
He will not immediately return to work. Johnson has been in the hospital for a week and spent three nights in the ICU.
Related news:
Trump faces intense blowback over decision to defund WHO amid coronavirus pandemic
APD | Philippine President Duterte thanks China, Japan and Republic of Korea for valuable cooperation with ASEAN in the midst of COVID-19
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
