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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 | 'US strike' killed top Iran, Iraq commanders at Baghdad airport
Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike on Baghdad's international airport on Friday, Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force has said, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Hashed's deputy chief was also killed in the attack, the force added, which comes after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy following deadly American air strikes on a hardline Hashed faction.
"The deputy head of the Hashed, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and head of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, were killed in a US strike that targeted their car on the Baghdad International Airport road," the Hashed said in a statement early Friday.
Top 2 | Turkish parliament passes Libya deployment bill
Turkey’s parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that allows troops to be deployed in Libya, in a move that paves the way for further military cooperation between Ankara and Tripoli but is unlikely to put boots on the ground immediately.
President Tayyip Erdogan said last week Turkey would deploy troops in Libya to support Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
The bill, opposed by all major opposition parties, passed with a 315-184 vote. Opposition parties said the move may exacerbate conflicts in Libya and endanger Turkish soldiers in the region and Turkey’s national security.
But Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the bill was an important step for protecting Ankara’s interests in North Africa and the Mediterranean, and for achieving peace and stability in Libya.
Top 3 | Pro-Iran protesters attack US embassy over deadly Iraq strikes
Iraqi supporters of pro-Iran factions attacked the US embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, breaching its outer wall and chanting "Death to America!" in anger over weekend air strikes that killed two dozen fighters.
It was the first time in years protesters have been able to reach the US embassy, which is sheltered behind a series of checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone.
A stream of men in military fatigues, as well as some women, marched through those checkpoints to the embassy walls with no apparent reaction from Iraqi security forces.
Top 4 | Iran vows revenge after US kills top general in Baghdad strike
A furious Iran threatened to avenge a US strike that killed a top Iranian commander at Baghdad's international airport Friday, raising fears of a wider regional conflict between the arch-foes.
The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump had ordered Qasem Soleimani's "killing" after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy in the Iraqi capital.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly promised "severe revenge" for Soleimani's death, the biggest escalation yet in a feared proxy war between Iran and the US on Iraqi soil.
Top 5 | Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Cancels India Visit Amid Bushfire Crisis
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was due to visit India from 12-16 January at the initiative of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for crucial trade and defence talks, which was also slated to be his maiden visit to India since coming to power in 2018.
Indian foreign ministry has announced the cancellation of crucial visit by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison due to severe and prolonged bushfires.
Tens of thousands of people remained stranded on Thursday evening while attempting to flee bushfire-ravaged areas of the south-east Australian coast – having earlier been urged to leave before the return of extreme and dangerous weather conditions.
Top 6 | Indonesia floods leave nearly 30 dead, several missing
Indonesia's disaster agency warned Thursday of more deaths after torrential rains pounded the Jakarta region, triggering floods and landslides that killed at least 29 and left vast swaths of the megalopolis underwater.
Tens of thousands fled to temporary shelters across the capital region -- home to some 30 million -- with scores of houses damaged in the deadliest flooding in years, after torrential rains on New Year's Eve.
Images showed waterlogged homes and cars covered in muddy floodwaters, while some people took to paddling in small rubber lifeboats or tyre inner-tubes to get around.
Top 7 | Lebanon Receives Interpol Warrant to Arrest Former Nissan Head Ghosn - Reports
Earlier this week, Ghosn fled Japan where he is facing trial over allegations that he underreported his income during his tenure as a chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. The official, who is a French national of Lebanese origin, escaped to Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities have received a warrant issued by Interpol to arrest former Nissan head Carlos Ghosn, Reuters reported citing a Lebanese judicial source.
The source stated that the warrant, overseen by the Lebanese internal security forces, has not been referred to the judiciary yet.
Top 8 | French police use tear gas to end protest over pension reform
French police used tear gas to disperse protesters blockading a Paris bus depot on Thursday, the latest confrontation between the authorities and unions over plans to reform the pension system.
The protests, now in their 29th day, are the longest since 1968.
Video footage from a BFM television reporter published on Twitter showed police firing tear gas into a crowd at the entrance to the bus depot.
Top 9 | Top DPRK leader warns U.S. against falling into impasse over nuke talks
Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has blamed the United States for the impasse of bilateral nuclear talks, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.
At the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Tuesday, Kim said the more the United States stalls for time and hesitates in the settlement of the DPRK-U.S. relations, the deeper it will fall into an impasse.
In his report, Kim blamed Washington for the current difficulties facing Pyongyang, saying the United States "applied the most brutal and inhumane sanctions against and posed the persistent nuclear threat" to the DPRK over the past seven decades, and that the current situation on the Korean Peninsula "is getting more dangerous and reaching serious phase."
Top 10 | Xi, Putin hail 'extraordinary' bilateral ties in New Year greetings
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages on the coming New Year.
On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, President Xi extended sincere greetings and good wishes to his Russian counterpart and the Russian people.
In the message, Xi said that 2019 has been an extraordinary year for China and Russia since the two countries have upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era amid the 70th anniversary oftheir diplomatic relationship.
Related news:
India, Pakistan Exchange Lists of Nuclear Facilities Amid War Threat
Pence makes repeat visits to three key states in bid to deliver 2020 for Trump
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
