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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 | President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People.
President Xi said that Director Wang Yi and State Councilor Qin Gang described their talks with Secretary Blinken as candid and in-depth. The Chinese side has made its position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali. The two sides also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues.
State-to-state interactions should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity. I hope that Secretary Blinken, through this visit, could make positive contributions to stabilizing China-U.S. relations.
Top 2 | JQatar and UAE resume diplomatic representation
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced the restoration of their diplomatic representation, said the Qatar News Agency (QNA) on Monday.
Qatar's embassy in Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai, as well as the UAE's embassy in Doha will reopen on Monday, according to the report.
Both sides stressed that the significant step reflects the determination of the leaderships of both countries and contributes to the advancement of joint Arab initiatives, fulfilling the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples, QNA said.
Top 3 | U.S. adjourns Sudan talks, says format 'not succeeding'
The United States on Wednesday adjourned Sudan talks because the format was "not succeeding" in the way it wanted, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said on Thursday.
"On Wednesday, yesterday, we adjourned those talks ... because the format is not succeeding in the way that we want," Phee told a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Thursday.
Sudan has witnessed deadly armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the capital of Khartoum and other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.
Top 4 | Nearly 170 dead amid heatwave in N India
A scorching heatwave in two of India's most populous states has overwhelmed hospitals, filled a morgue to capacity and disrupted power supply, forcing staff to use books to cool patients, as officials investigate the number of deaths that has reached nearly 170.
In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 119 people have died from heat-related illnesses over the last several days while neighboring Bihar state reported 47 fatalities, according to local news reports and health officials.
Top 5 | 2023 Special Olympics convene in Berlin
The 16th Special Summer Olympics kicked off in German capital Berlin on Saturday with more than 7,000 athletes from around 190 countries and regions competing in 26 sports.
During the opening ceremony, China's Artistic Gymnastics coach Gao Chengshuang, representative of coaches, took an oath, while German tennis player Sophie Rensmann lit the main cauldron with the torch.
China send out a delegation of 128 people, of which 89 are athletes, who will compete in 11 disciplines including athletics, badminton, basketball, football and gymnastics.
Top 6 | African leaders arrive for Ukraine talks with Russia's Putin
African leaders hoping to mediate in the Ukraine conflict were welcomed to a government palace near St Petersburg on Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said after meeting the leaders in Kyiv on Friday that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdrew its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory.
He added that he could not understand what could be gained from the delegation meeting Putin.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in Kyiv that the leaders had come "to share the African perspective" and saw talks with Russia as part of the mission.
Top 7 | UK parliament backs report saying Boris Johnson misled over Partygate
The British parliament on Monday endorsed a report that concluded that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately lied over rule-breaking parties.
Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted on Monday 354 to 7 to endorse the Privileges Committee's report.
Johnson abruptly resigned from the parliament earlier this month after seeing an advance copy of the findings of a yearlong investigation into his conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdown-breaking parties were held at Downing Street.
Top 8 | $1.5b pledged to curb Sudan's slide into 'death and destruction': UN
Donors at a UN conference on Monday pledged close to $1.5 billion to combat the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and help its neighbors host refugees fleeing the fighting.
Sudan is descending into death and destruction at an unprecedented speed, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned as he urged donors to step in and curb the unfolding catastrophe.
"Today, donors have announced close to $1.5 billion for the humanitarian response to Sudan and the region," the UN's humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said at the conference.
"This crisis will require sustained financial support and I hope that we can all keep Sudan at the top of our priorities."
Top 9 | Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax crimes, reaches deal on gun charge
U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes and to enter into an agreement that could avert a conviction on a gun-related charge, according to a court filing on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in the court filing that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his 2017 and 2018 taxes on time. He has been under federal investigation by a federal grand jury in Delaware since 2018.
The president's son also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Top 10 | Hope for rescuing Titan passengers grow dim as time passes
The clock is ticking on rescue efforts to find five people in a missing submersible in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The commercial vessel Titan by the company OceanGate lost contact with its research ship at 5:45 a.m. eastern on Sunday, June 18.
At the time, it was at about 3,500 meters (2.2 miles) below sea level, experts believe, and nearing it's destination of the wreck of the Titanic, which is located 3,800 meters (2.3 miles) below sea level.
The submersible has an estimated a maximum emergency oxygen capacity of 96 hours, or about four days.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
