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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 | Trump signs order on police reform, doesn’t mention racism
Following weeks of national protests since the death of George Floyd, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that he said would encourage better police practices. But he made no mention of the roiling national debate over racism spawned by police killings of black men and women.
Trump met privately with the families of several black Americans killed in interactions with police before his Rose Garden signing ceremony and said he grieved for the lives lost and families devastated. But then he quickly shifted his tone and devoted most of his public remarks to a need to respect and support “the brave men and women in blue who police our streets and keep us safe.”
Trump and Republicans in Congress have been rushing to respond to the mass demonstrations against police brutality and racial prejudice that have raged for weeks across the country in response to the deaths of Floyd and other black Americans. It’s a sudden shift that underscores how quickly the protests have changed the political conversation and pressured Washington to act.
Top 2 | British PM to join Brexit talks, EU officials expect little breakthrough
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will join a videoconference with European Union (EU) leaders on Monday to push for progress in determining post-Brexit relations with the bloc, while officials in Brussels expect little breakthrough, media reported.
Johnson, his chief Brexit negotiator David Frost, and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove are due to hold "high-level talks" with President of the European Council Charles Michael, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli.
Johnson will tell the EU leaders that the Brexit talks must be concluded by autumn "at the latest," because the public and businesses affected by Brexit need certainty, British press The Telegraph reported Sunday. At the teleconference, the prime minister will also demand a "high-quality Free Trade Agreement" that is "consistent with others the EU has agreed, as part of a balanced overall outcome," according to the Express newspaper.
Top 3 | World joins US protests but leaders restrained about Trump
People have taken to the streets of Berlin, London, Paris and other cities around the world to demonstrate in support of Black Lives Matter protesters in the United States and to vent anger over President Donald Trump’s response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
But at the top, the leaders of traditional allies of the United States have taken pains to avoid criticizing Trump directly, walking a fine line to reconcile international diplomacy with domestic outrage.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau let silence speak for itself when asked to comment on the decision to forcibly clear peaceful protesters outside the White House to make way for a Trump photo-op at a nearby church, standing pensively at his lectern apparently mulling his answer for more than 20 seconds before answering that Canada also suffered from “systemic discrimination” — never mentioning the American president.
Top 4 | Trump: US will reduce troop presence in Germany by half until Berlin covers NATO bill
Citing Berlin's alleged delinquency "in their payments to NATO," US President Donald Trump declared on Monday that Washington will reduce its military presence in Germany by more than half.
Following a roundtable on "Fighting for America's Seniors," the US president announced that the US troop deployment in Germany would decrease to 25,000 troops, according to Reuters.
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale noted that the so-called debt refers to the NATO target which urges every member to spend "2% of [its] GDP on defense." Furthermore, the NATO target agreement has a 2024 deadline. German Ambassador to the US Emily Haber confirmed on Monday that the Pentagon has received orders to carry out the planned reduction of US troops in Germany, according to Reuters.
Top 5 | S. Korea's Blue House expresses strong regret over DPRK's demolition of joint liaison office
South Korea's presidential Blue House on Tuesday expressed strong regret over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong by explosion.
Kim You-geun, first deputy director of the Blue House National Security Office (NSO), told a press briefing that the South Korean government expresses strong regret over the DPRK side's unilateral explosion of the inter-Korean joint liaison office building that was opened according to the Panmunjom Declaration.
Kim said the demolition was an act of letting down the expectations of all who wish for the development of inter-Korean relations and the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The comment came after South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement that the DPRK blew up the Kaesong joint liaison office at 2:49 p.m. local time (0549 GMT).
Top 6 | Johnson, Macron hold first face-to-face talks since coronavirus pandemic started
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks Thursday at 10 Downing Street, the first meeting between heads of state in Britain since the coronavirus pandemic started.
The two spent around 45 minutes in private talks, after which they watched a flypast over London by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows and its French counterpart team, La Patrouille de France.
The two did not face the media after their talks, and instead Downing Street issued a statement about the meeting. On Brexit negotiations, Johnson welcomed the agreement to intensify talks in July and underlined that Britain does not believe it makes sense for the negotiations to be prolonged into the fall, according to the statement.
Top 7 | Putin attends first public event after months of lockdown
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday showed up at a ceremony marking the national holiday — the first big public event he has attended since announcing a nationwide lockdown more than two months ago.
Putin observed the hoisting of the national flag at a memorial park in western Moscow and then took part in an award ceremony. He wasn't wearing a mask, and neither did most of those he awarded with Hero of Russia medals.
Putin pointed at the nation's “thousand-year history full of pages of great glory and pride, the unrivalled bravery of our ancestors and their love for their country.” In his speech, he particularly hailed medical workers in his speech, praising their courage and self-sacrifice.
Top 8 | Greek PM visits Israel for talks over economic ties, West Bank annexation
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Israel on Tuesday morning for a two-day visit over economic ties between the two countries and the Israeli planned annexation of the West Bank lands.
It is the first time that a foreign prime minister visits Israel since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in March.
Mitsotakis is leading a delegation of senior officials, including six ministers and deputy ministers, and will hold government-to-government talks over the renewal of Israeli tourism to Greece, energy, and bilateral cooperation, according to Israeli officials. The Greek prime minister is scheduled to hold two meetings with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
Top 9 | A scaled-down ceremony at Windsor marks Queen Elizabeth's official birthday
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth viewed a socially-distanced military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark her official birthday on Saturday, after the coronavirus pandemic forced cancellation of the usual large parade of soldiers through central London.
It was the queen’s first official public appearance since the country went into lockdown in late March.
The 94-year-old queen watched a series of drills by the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in the castle’s quadrangle, instead of the Trooping the Colour event that traditionally marks the occasion. The queen, who has been living with her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip at the castle west of London, has issued a number of rallying messages to the nation in the past three months, including televised addresses that have been a rarity during her 68-year reign.
Top 10 | Ukraine's first lady contracts coronavirus
Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced on Friday via her official social media account that she has tested positive for COVID-19 virus.
According to local media, Zelensky and his two children had also been tested for the virus, and their results were negative. Zelenska said she does not know how she contracted COVID-19, as she tested negative at the beginning of June, and has followed all the quarantine rules of the health ministry, including wearing masks and gloves, and minimizing her number of contacts.
Noting that the danger of contracting the coronavirus is real despite the easing of some quarantine restrictions, Zelenska called on everyone to wear masks in public spaces.
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APD | Strategic and economic factors cause of China-India tension?
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
