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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 takes the helm, appeals for unity to take on crises
Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and summoning American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation’s historic confluence of crises.
Then, taking his place in the White House Oval Office, he plunged into a stack of executive actions that began to undo the heart of his polarizing predecessor ’s agenda on matters from the deadly pandemic to climate change.
At the Capitol, with America’s tradition of peaceful transfers of power never appearing more fragile, the ceremony unfolded within a circle of security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Top 2 |'Doomsday madness': Foreign Ministry slams Pompeo's anti-China tweets
Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's anti-China tweets, saying "the top U.S. diplomat, who prides himself on lying, cheating and stealing, has once again shown the world what the doomsday madness of sticking to the lying diplomacy to the end is."
A long-term anti-China hawk in the Trump administration, Pompeo tweeted around 30 anti-China posts during the weekend, including attacks on the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese media entities, policies concerning the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and China's response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"For the political virus and lies that Pompeo keeps concocting and spreading, China has repeatedly exposed them one by one with facts, and his anti-China performance has no market," Hua said.
Top 3 |UK hopes to be able to consider lockdown easing in March: minister
Britain’s government hopes it can meet its target for rolling out COVID-19 vaccines and be able to consider easing lockdown restrictions by March, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.
The country, which has Europe’s highest COVID-19 death toll, has been under a national lockdown since Jan. 5, when schools were closed for most pupils, non-essential businesses were shut to the public, and people were ordered to work from home where possible.
“What we want to do is get out of this national lockdown as soon as possible,” Raab told Sky News television.
Top 4 |India starts world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination drive
India started inoculating health workers Saturday in what is likely the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign, joining the ranks of wealthier nations where the effort is already well underway.
India is home to the world’s largest vaccine makers and has one of the biggest immunization programs. But there is no playbook for the enormity of the current challenge.
Indian authorities hope to give shots to 300 million people, roughly the population of the U.S and several times more than its existing program that targets 26 million infants. The recipients include 30 million doctors, nurses and other front-line workers, to be followed by 270 million people who are either over 50 years old or have illnesses that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.
Top 5 |China provides donation to Iraq to combat COVID-19
The Chinese Embassy in Iraq on Thursday delivered donation to Iraq, helping the Iraqi government confront the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the livelihood of Iraqi people.
Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao and Iraqi Interior Ministry's Senior Deputy Minister Hussein al-Awadi signed the handover of the Chinese donation in the presence of representatives from foreign and finance ministries.
The Chinese donation includes 56 ambulances with their spare parts, 266 generators, and motorcycles, computers, laptops, printers, etc.
Top 6 |California Recommends to Suspend Moderna Vaccine Batch Due to High Number of Adverse Events
Moderna, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently reviewing the batch after around 10 people suffered "a possible severe allergic reaction".
According to the California Department of Public Health, doses from Moderna Lot 041L20A are suspected of causing a "higher-than-usual number of adverse events", and should be put away before a probe is concluded.
The said incidents appear to be localised at a single community clinic, which was reportedly closed for several hours after the adverse reactions were reported.
Top 7 |Moon urges Biden to learn from Trump’s N. Korea diplomacy
South Korea’s president on Monday urged the incoming Biden administration to build upon the achievements and learn from the failures of President Donald Trump’s diplomatic engagement with North Korea.
A dovish liberal and the son of northern war refugees, Moon Jae-in had lobbied hard to help set up Trump’s three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but their diplomacy stalemated over disagreements over easing crippling U.S.-led sanctions for the North’s disarmament.
Biden has accused Trump of chasing the spectacle of summits rather than meaningful curbs on the North’s nuclear capabilities. North Korea has a history of staging weapons tests and other provocations to test new U.S. presidents, and Kim vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches that were seen as aimed at pressuring the incoming Biden administration.
Top 8 |FBI Examines National Guard Troops Amid Fears of Insider Attack During Biden Inauguration
On 6 January, a pro-Trump rally in Washington, DC turned into a violent siege of the US Capitol, resulting in five deaths and widespread damage. Many current and former military and law enforcement officers are said to have joined the mob, prompting speculation the protesters had support on the inside.
US defence officials have shared concerns about a potential insider attack or other threat from law enforcement members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on 20 January, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.
The Pentagon reportedly urged the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington, DC as the city is under turmoil amid allegations the participants in the Capitol siege could have been helped by those assigned to protect the building.
Top 9 |Indonesia air crash investigator hopes for recovery of cockpit voice recorder
Indonesia's air accident investigator is still hoping to recover the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet to better understand information obtained from the flight data recorder (FDR), an official said on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Boeing Co 737-500 plane crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta on Jan. 9 with 62 people on board.
Information stored on the flight data recorder has been downloaded and includes 370 parameters as well as 27 hours of recordings covering 18 flights, including the accident, National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) Investigator Nurcayho Utomo said in a video statement.
Top 10 | U.N. Security Council approves new U.N. Libya mediator
The United Nations Security Council approved on Friday the appointment of veteran diplomat Jan Kubis as the U.N. Libya envoy, diplomats said, nearly a year after the last mediator stepped down.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had proposed that Kubis succeed Ghassan Salame, who quit the role in March last year due to stress. Salame’s deputy Stephanie Williams has been acting Libya envoy.
Kubis, a former Slovakian foreign minister, is currently the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon. He has also served as the U.N. special envoy in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
