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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 | Fauci says White House hosted COVID-19 'super-spreader' event: media
Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. expert on infectious disease, on Friday identified a White House ceremony unveiling President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, as "a super-spreader event" for COVID-19.
The White House held a Rose Garden gathering on September 26, where Trump announced to nominate conservative appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon. More than 100 attendees sat close to each other at the event while only a small number of them wore masks.
Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on October 1 and was later admitted to hospital before returning to the White House to continue to receive treatment.
Top 2 | Germany considering new restrictions as France records 20,000 cases
Germany is considering further coronavirus restrictions if infections there continue to rise amid a second wave of the illness across Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the mayors of 11 cities, agreed a package of measures on Friday that aimed to stem the rise in coronavirus infections.
Cities will now be able to ask the country's health department to send in the military for support if the infection rate surpasses 35 per 100,000 within a week.
Top 3 | Biden hits Trump on economy in critical Pennsylvania county
With the backdrop of a union facility in a key battleground county of Pennsylvania, Joe Biden on Saturday blistered President Donald Trump as only pretending to care about the working-class voters who helped flip the Rust Belt to the Republican column four years ago.
The Democratic challenger has hammered Trump on the economy in recent weeks, from sweeping indictments of how the president has downplayed the novel coronavirus and its economic fallout to a withering personal contrast between Biden’s middle-class upbringing with that of the multimillionaire’s son and self-proclaimed billionaire.
Nowhere could Biden’s arguments prove more decisive than in Erie County. Long a Democratic bastion, it was among the most populous counties in the nation to flip from the Democratic column to Republicans in 2016.
Top 4 | U.S. Supreme Court nominee Barrett pledges to adhere to law
Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's nominee a U.S. Supreme Court position, said she will rule based on the law, not her personal views, in prepared remarks issued on Sunday ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing this week.
A devout Catholic who has a record of opposing abortion rights, Barrett is likely to be probed by Senate Democrats on that issue in particular.
If Barrett is confirmed to the position by the Republican-controlled Senate, the court would have a 6-3 conservative majority. Conservative activists hope the court will overturn the 1973 ruling, Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortion nationwide. Trump picked Barrett to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month.
Top 5 | Iran-backed militias offer truce for US pullout from Iraq
Iraqi militias backed by Iran have agreed to temporarily halt attacks targeting the American presence in Iraq, on the condition that U.S.-led coalition troops withdraw from the country in line with a parliamentary resolution, three militia officials said Sunday.
The militia officials spoke to The Associated Press just hours after a roadside bomb targeted a convoy that was transporting equipment for the U.S.-led coalition, damaging one vehicle, an Iraqi army statement said. The attack on a highway south of Baghdad prompted questions over whether such a truce could hold across all militia factions.
Roadside bombs and in particular rocket attacks targeting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad — located inside the heavily fortified Green Zone — have become a frequent occurrence and have strained ties between Washington and Baghdad.
Top 6 | Azerbaijan, Armenia report shelling of cities despite truce
Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of attacking large cities overnight in violation of the cease-fire deal brokered by Russia that seeks to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Azerbaijani authorities said Sunday that nine civilians have been killed and over 30 wounded after Armenian forces fired missiles overnight on Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, and hit a residential building. According to Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s office, the city of Mingachevir also came under missile attacks early Sunday.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s military officials on Sunday denied attacking Ganja and said the territory’s army is observing the cease-fire. They added that Azerbaijani forces shelled Stepanakert, the region’s capital, and other towns during the night in violation of the truce.
Top 7 | Macron announces curfew for Paris and eight other French cities
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced a night-time curfew in Paris and eight other cities to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Macron said people must stay indoors from 21:00 to 06:00 (local time). The other cites include Rouen, Lille, Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse.
Macron's announcement came as the government reported 22,591 new confirmed coronavirus cases taking the overall tally to 779,063. This was the third time in six days that the daily tally had exceeded 20,000.
Top 8 | India's Modi launches property card scheme to aid rural households
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a property card scheme on Sunday that he vowed would provide clarity of property rights in villages and enable farmers to use their property as collateral for loans from financial institutions.
Two-thirds of India’s population lives in rural areas, where few possess proper land records and property disputes are common.
The government plans to use drone technology to map land parcels in rural areas and cover some 620,000 villages over the next four years, Modi said.
Top 9 | U.K. adds Italy, Vatican City, San Marino to quarantine list
The U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Thursday that travelers returning to the country from Italy, Vatican City and San Marino as of Sunday 04:00 BST must self-isolate for two weeks.
The announcement came after Italy reported its highest single-day rise in coronavirus infections since the start of the outbreak. By adding another 8,804 cases this brought Italy's seven-day rate of cases per 100,000 people to 64.
The addition of Italy to the quarantine list is another blow to the UK's travel industry, as Italy was one of the last major markets without a quarantine requirement for returning holidaymakers.
Top 10 | U.S. judge 'not inclined' to reverse decision on WeChat app store ban
A U.S. judge in San Francisco on Thursday said she was "not inclined" to reverse her decision blocking the government from barring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said at a hearing that she did not think a new filing by the Justice Department "changes the outcome" or changes her analysis.
Last month, Beeler issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Commerce Department order, which was set to take effect late on September 20 in a suit brought by WeChat users.
The Justice Department has appealed Beeler's order to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but no ruling is likely before December.
Related news:
APD | COVID-19 blows away economic dream of Asian youth
APD | New Delhi a fit case for FATF Blacklist!
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
