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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 | Brexit finally arrives Friday: A momentous yet quiet moment
Britain and the bloc fought tooth and nail for the best part of four years — with insults flying across the English Channel — over the terms of their divorce. Now, on the eve of one of the most significant events in European Union history, the political eruptions have ceased and an uneasy quiet reigns: the calm before the next storm.
Both sides are spent and drained from the Brexit fight, and neither has much appetite for an extravaganza to mark the occasion.
The EU would prefer the night to pass without anyone noticing. After all, it is losing one of its biggest members, a diplomatic, military and economic power on a par with Germany and France. The U.K. is the first nation ever to turn its back on the EU in the 62-year history of this experiment in political union.
Top 2 | Kobe Bryant, daughter perish in copter crash, 7 others dead
NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California on Sunday, his sudden death at age 41 touching off an outpouring of grief for a star whose celebrity transcended basketball.
The chopper went down in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Authorities said that nine people were aboard the helicopter and presumed dead, after earlier putting the death toll at five. Bryant, an all-time basketball great who spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was among the victims, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
Top 3 | China sees 14,380 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, 304 deaths
The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 14,380 by the end of Saturday, the commission said, noting that a total of 304 people had died of the disease.
The commission added that 2,110 patients remained in severe condition, and 19,544 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.
A total of 328 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.
The commission said 163,844 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 8,044 were discharged from medical observation on Saturday, with 137,594 others still under medical observation.
Top 4 | State of emergency declared as bushfire threatens Australian capital
Australian officials declared a state of emergency for the capital city of Canberra and surrounding regions on Friday, as soaring temperatures and strong winds threatened to propel a large bushfire beyond the control of firefighters.
Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said the decision to declare the first state of emergency since fatal wildfires in 2003 indicated the potential danger over the weekend.
Officials said an uncontrolled fire in the ACT’s south, on the doorstep of Canberra, had grown to 185 sq km, almost 8% of the territory’s land mass.
Top 5 | Death Toll in Turkish Earthquake Reaches 22, 1,000 Wounded
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the tremors reached a 6.8 magnitude near the town of Sivrice on Friday. The centre added that the quake may have been felt by around 120 million people in the region.
The death toll from the intense earthquake that hit Turkey has climbed to 22, with over 1,000 wounded, Anadolu reported on Saturday, citing emergency services.
The Turkish authorities dispatched up to 500 rescue teams to the site of the events, while mobile operators announced that their services would be free in the provinces of Elazig and Malatya, hit by the disaster.
Top 6 | Palestinian president says to cut relations with Israel, U.S. over Trump's peace deal
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said here on Saturday that his authority informed the Israeli and U.S. sides that it will "cut all relations" with them over the recently released U.S. peace plan.
"We told the Israelis that we will not have any relations with them or with the United States, including security relations," Abbas told an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
Announced in Washington on Jan. 28 by U.S. President Donald Trump, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S. peace plan was rejected by the Palestinians.
Top 7 | Trump impeachment: Republican Senate 'coverup' prompts backlash
Outraged by what they see as a coverup in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, grassroots activists are planning a massive “payback project” designed to punish Republican senators at the ballot box.
Even as key Republican senators acknowledged Trump’s guilt on charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress, they defied public opinion on Friday by voting to block witnesses and documents, paving the way for the president to be acquitted and claim exoneration.
Republican fealty to Trump has long wearied liberals but the senators’ move appeared to cause a new level of anger. The Indivisible Project, a progressive group, announced it would target nine senators, among them majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, in November’s elections.
Top 8 | Trump signs new trade deal with Canada, Mexico into law
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the revised United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) into law in an outdoor ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
Hundreds of guests were invited to attend the ceremony, including U.S. workers, farmers, CEOs, lawmakers, and officials from Mexico and Canada. Democratic leaders who negotiated with the administration for months over the revision and helped secure the House passage, however, were absent.
"We have replaced a disastrous trade deal," the U.S. president said in the ceremony, referring to the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Top 9 | Five rockets strike near US Embassy in Baghdad - Reports
At least five explosive projectiles landed near the US Embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Sunday, according to security sources who spoke to AFP.
It remains unknown if there were any injuries stemming from the incident. No one has yet claimed responsibility for launching the projectiles.
Tensions in Baghdad remain high following weeks of protests, with demonstrators expressing anger and fatigue over Iraqi government management and the continued of American forces in the country.
Top 10 | Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire on Kashmir LoC
Troops of India and Pakistan exchanged heavy fire and mortar shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir on Sunday evening, state-run broadcaster -- All India Radio (AIR) said Monday.
The two sides targeted each other's positions and civilian areas in Degwar sector of Poonch about 185 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The broadcaster quoting Indian army sources said Pakistani army opened unprovoked fire on civilian areas and Indian forward posts on Sunday evening.
Related news:
Powerful earthquake jolts eastern Turkey, killing 18
Germany's Merkel in Turkey for talks with Erdogan
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
