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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 | Victorious, Taliban face fierce new test in Afghanistan
Having conquered Afghanistan, the Taliban now face the formidable task of keeping the peace within their own ranks and running a country on the brink of ruin, experts say.
To outsiders, the hardliners may appear homogenous and united on all ideological and strategic matters.
But like any other large political organisation, the decades-old Islamist group has its divisions, rivalries, allegiances and factions.
The fissures were largely kept in check during the 20-year effort to defeat US-led foreign troops and a Kabul government widely reviled as corrupt.
With that common enemy vanquished, just weeks into Taliban rule, the group's divisions appear to be coming into sharper relief.
Top 2 | Talks continue in Guinea over return to civilian rule following coup
Talks are continuing in Guinea over a return to civilian rule following the September 5 coup that overthrew President Alpha Conde.
The National Committee for the Rally of Guinea (CNRD), led by coup leader Colonel Mamadi Doumouya, met on Wednesday with diplomats in the capital, Conakry for the second day of talks.
The CNRD has already come under pressure to set a timeframe for holding fresh elections.
Speaking after Wednesday's meeting, Lebanon's Ambassador to Guinea, Fadir Zahir, expressed his country's desire to see the West African nation return to normalcy.
Top 3 | 40-plus tax increases: A rundown of House Dems’ $2 trillion tax plan
House Democrats this week are moving forward with their long-awaited plan to raise taxes to help pay for their next big spending package. With more than 40 separate tax increases, collectively worth $2 trillion, it would be the largest package of tax increases in decades — and a test of Democrats’ willingness to raise rates.
Lawmakers want the money to fund plans to greatly boost government benefits, from expanding access to pre-K programs to beefing up Medicare — though Democrats remain at odds over the plan’s total size, with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia balking at designs to spend $3.5 trillion.
Democrats are now racing to move the plan though the House, with the Ways and Means Committee taking it up Monday and Tuesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to have it approved and out of the House by the end of this month.
Top 4 | China, Singapore vow to enhance cooperation in pandemic control, digital economy
China and Singapore on Monday agreed to enhance cooperation in combating COVID-19 and developing the digital economy.
The pledge was made during a meeting between visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
At the meeting, Wang said the China-Singapore relations have advanced with the times, playing a leading role in regional cooperation.
China is willing to work together with Singapore to bring into full play the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the highest-level and most influential cooperation mechanism between the two countries, in order to push the bilateral cooperation to new heights, Wang said.
Top 5 | Justice Amy Coney Barrett picking up 'mores' of Supreme Court, Breyer says
Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Amy Coney Barrett found common ground Monday over shared concern that the nation's highest court is increasingly viewed in ideological terms.
Barrett, in one of her first public speeches as a justice, told an audience Sunday in Kentucky that "this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks," according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Breyer, asked about those comments in an interview with the Washington Post on Monday, said that he agrees "with I think the approach is that she's taking there."
Top 6 | 5 questions about California's recall targeting Gov. Newsom
California's recall on Tuesday will be the biggest election since Joe Biden became president, and its results may hint at the political trajectory of the country.
In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen as having the upper hand in his bid to fend off the GOP-fueled recall. Republican talk show host Larry Elder is the leading Republican replacement.
But California's recalls are like no other elections. Voters have to decide whether to recall the officeholder — in this case, Newsom — and then answer a second ballot question over who should be the replacement. This unorthodox process has had wild outcomes before — it led to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming governor in 2003.
Top 7 | Australia's third most populous state narrowly avoids COVID-19 lockdown
Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, said on Sunday it does not need to order a lockdown after detecting zero COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours.
The state on Saturday reported five cases of COVID-19, with state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warning that a lockdown could be needed to stop the spread of the virus.
However, it said testing had yet to detect any further cases, avoiding the need for such a measure.
Top 8 | On anniversary day, Catalans rally for independence in Barcelona
Thousands of Catalans chanted, sang and waved flags as they marched through Barcelona on Saturday, calling for the region's independence from Spain.
The march, organized by the grassroots Assemblea Nacional Catalana ANC, was the first since Spain's government pardoned nine Catalan separatist leaders who had been jailed for their role in a 2017 botched bid for independence, which was Spain's biggest political crisis in decades.
Most marchers wore face coverings. Police said about 108,000 people took part. ANC put the figure close to 400,000.
Top 9 | Greek PM outlines updated economic policy, voices optimism
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented on Saturday evening the government's updated economic policy for the next few months, promising a new model of development that will be beneficial for all.
Voicing optimism about the prospects of the Greek economy, Mitsotakis said that the growth target for 2021 is revised to 5.9 percent from 3.6 percent.
The Greek leader announced a series of measures aimed to alleviate the pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic and reforms to boost growth.
Top 10 | FBI releases newly declassified document on September 11 attacks
The FBI on Saturday released a newly declassified 16-page document related to logistical support provided to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, AP reported.
The document describes contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the U.S. but offers no evidence the Saudi government was complicit in the plot, according to the report.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
