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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 | Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate
Former U.S. Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he has picked Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.
In a tweet, Biden called Harris "a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants." Elected in 2016, Harris, now 55, was the second African American woman in history elected to the U.S. Senate. Before that, she served as attorney general of California.
With Biden's selection, she becomes the third woman in U.S. history to serve as a vice presidential candidate, following Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic vice-presidential pick in 1984 and Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential pick in 2008.
Top 2 | Trump loses bid to add fourth debate with Biden in early September
U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign on Thursday lost its bid to add a fourth debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in early September.
In rejecting the request, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it remains committed to the current schedule of three 90-minute debates beginning in late September. It would only add a fourth debate, or move an existing debate to earlier in the month, if both sides in the campaign for the Nov. 3 election agreed to it, it said.
Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had asked for either a fourth debate in the first week of September or for the first debate to be moved up from Sept. 29 because voters in some states would already be able to cast votes before then. The commission said voters will have a choice whether to watch a debate before casting a ballot, adding voters “are under no compulsion to return their ballots before the debates.” Trump, a Republican, is trailing Biden in most national opinion polls.
Top 3 | Russia first to register vaccine against COVID-19: Putin
Russia has registered the world's first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
"As far as I know, this morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus infection has been registered," Putin said during an online meeting with the Russian government. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko confirmed at the meeting that the vaccine issued in Russia is the first in the world, while other countries are conducting clinical studies of vaccines under development.
Murashko said that the new vaccine, after passing all necessary checks, showed that it forms a stable immunity. Putin said he hoped that the mass production of the vaccine registered in Russia should begin in the near future, and vaccination will be available to everyone in the country voluntarily.
Top 4 | TikTok to sue Trump administration over executive order ban: Report
TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration, challenging the U.S. president's executive order banning the video-sharing app in the United States, according to NPR.
TikTok will file the federal lawsuit as soon as Tuesday, the outlet said, citing a person "who was directly involved in the forthcoming suit but was not authorized to speak for the company."
NPR reported that the lawsuit will argue Trump's action is unconstitutional because it didn't give the company a chance to respond. TikTok also alleges that the administration's national security justification for the order is baseless, according to the source.
Top 5 | Trump says he signed order reimposing 10% aluminium tariffs on Canada
President Donald Trump said he signed a proclamation Thursday to reimpose 10% tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada that had been suspended more than a year earlier.
“Canada was taking advantage of us, as usual,” Trump said during a lengthy, campaign-style speech at a Whirlpool manufacturing plant in Ohio. “The aluminium business was being decimated by Canada,” he said. “Very unfair to our jobs and our great aluminium workers.”
The announcement comes just over a month after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – the Trump-backed trade pact that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA – went into effect. The text of Trump’s proclamation says that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross informed Trump that Canadian aluminium imports “increased substantially” in the months after the decision to lift the tariffs in mid-2019.
Top 6 | Lebanese president says losses from Beirut's explosions exceed 15 bln USD
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday that losses from the explosions that hit Beirut's port on Aug. 4 exceed 15 billion U.S. dollars, LBCI local TV channel reported.
"Primary information states that losses exceed 15 billion dollars in addition to the port's damage and the need for reconstruction material to rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed by the explosions," Aoun said in a phone call he received from the King of Spain Felipe VI.
Aoun told the king that he appreciates any support for Lebanon in this field. The king said that Spain will continue supporting Lebanon by sending more aids to help the Lebanese population during these tough times. Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 at around 6:10 p.m. local time (1510 GMT), shaking buildings all over Lebanon's capital, while killing at least 171 people and wounding 6,000.
Top 7 | Trump weighs blocking U.S. citizens coming home who may have COVID-19
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a measure to block U.S. citizens and permanent residents from returning home if they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Reuters.
The official said a draft regulation, which has not been finalized and could change, would give the government authorization to block individuals who could "reasonably" be believed to have contracted COVID-19 or other diseases.
Trump has instituted a series of sweeping immigration restrictions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, suspending some legal immigration and allowing U.S. border authorities to rapidly deport migrants caught at the border without standard legal procedures.
Top 8 | Johnson fears loss of UK's power and magic if Scotland breaks away
Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday that Britain would be weaker if the union that binds its four nations were broken - his latest rejection of a growing push for Scottish independence.
Disagreements between Britain’s constituent nations - Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England - over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic have damaged relations already badly strained by Brexit. That is particularly the case in Scotland, which voted against leaving the European Union and where opinion polls show support for independence narrowly outweighs support for its 300-year union with England.
Scotland voted 55 percent to 45 percent against independence in a 2014 referendum, but the Scottish National Party which runs the semi-autonomous nation wants another vote. Although voters there backed staying in the EU, Britain as a whole voted to leave.
Top 9 | Twitter, TikTok held talks about potential combination: WSJ
Twitter Inc found itself at the center of China-U.S. tensions for holding preliminary negotiations about a potential combination with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources.
The report said it was unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok, which would involve the video-sharing app's U.S. operations. Microsoft is still seen as the front-runner in bidding for the app's U.S. operations, the report said. The selling of TikTok's U.S. operations was forced by Trump's administration's potential ban based on the decision of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) citing national security concerns.
Trump has said that TikTok must find a buyer for its U.S. operations by September 15 or face a ban. He issued an executive order on Thursday that would bar people in the U.S. from transactions with the Chinese owners of messaging app WeChat and short video app TikTok.
Top 10 | Palestine slams U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel, UAE
Palestine on Thursday slammed the peace agreement reached between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel under U.S. sponsorship.
The Palestinian presidency described the agreement as "disgraceful," considering it a "blow to the Arab Peace Initiative and the decisions of the Arab and Islamic summits, and an aggression against the Palestinian people." The presidency recalled its ambassador to Abu Dhabi over the move.
In a televised statement following an urgent leadership meeting chaired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the presidency said it rejected linking the suspension of the Israeli annexation plan to any normalization of relations between Israel with the UAE or any other nation.
Related news:
How Pakistan got Independence?
Kamala Harris’ selection as VP resonates with Black women
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
