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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 | China keeps position as world's largest manufacturing country
China has maintained its position as the world's largest manufacturing country for the 11th consecutive year with the industrial added value reaching 31.3 trillion yuan ($4.84 trillion), according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday.
China's manufacturing industry makes up nearly 30 percent of the global manufacturing industry. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the average growth rate of the added value of the high-tech manufacturing industry reached 10.4 percent, which was 4.9 percent higher than the average growth rate of the industrial added value, said Xiao Yaqing, minister of industry and information technology at a press conference.
The added value of the information transmission software and information technology service industry has also increased significantly, from about 1.8 trillion to 3.8 trillion, and the proportion of GDP increased from 2.5 to 3.7 percent, Xiao said.
Top 2 | EU to propose digital vaccination passport in March
The European Commission will present a proposal in March to create an EU-wide digital COVID-19 vaccination passport that may allow Europeans to travel more freely over the peak summer holiday period.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the coming legislative proposal in a speech to German conservative lawmakers on Monday, providing a few more details in subsequent tweets.
The Digital Green Pass would provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, results of tests for those not yet vaccinated and information on recovery for people who have contracted COVID-19.
Top 3 | Nigerian governor says 279 kidnapped schoolgirls are freed
Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last week from a boarding school in the northwestern Zamfara state have been released, the state’s governor said Tuesday.
Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle announced that 279 girls have been freed. The government last week said 317 had been kidnapped.
Gunmen abducted the girls from the Government Girls Junior Secondary School in Jangebe town on Friday, in the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation.
Top 4 | Singapore Won't Allow New Diesel Cars and Cabs From 2025
Singapore won’t allow diesel-powered cars and taxis to be registered from 2025, five years ahead of previously scheduled, as part of its push to reduce emissions and encourage adoption of electric vehicles.
About 2.9% of passenger cars in Singapore run on diesel, while the proportion is as high as 41.5% for taxis, according to Land Transport Authority figures. Most goods vehicles and buses in the city-state run on diesel and won’t be affected by the new rule, announced Thursday by the government.
Singapore plans to install 60,000 EV charging stations by 2030, two-thirds of which will be in public car parks and the remainder on private premises, the LTA said in a statement. A new government body is being established to spearhead EV-related policy and consultations will be held later in March over private sector participation.
Top 5 | At Least 10 Rockets Hit Iraq Military Base Hosting U.S. Troops
At least 10 rockets targeted an Iraqi military base in western Iraq on Wednesday that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops, a coalition spokesman said.
The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties.
It was the first attack since the U.S. struck Iran-aligned militia targets along the Iraq-Syria border last week.
Top 6 | India giving COVID-19 vaccines to more people as cases rise
India is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination drive beyond health care and front-line workers, offering the shots to older people and those with medical conditions that put them at risk. Among the first to be inoculated on Monday was Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Those now eligible to be vaccinated include people older than 60, as well as those over 45 who have ailments such as heart disease or diabetes that make them vulnerable to serious COVID-19 illness. The shots will be given for free at government hospitals and will also be sold at over 10,000 private hospitals at a fixed price of 250 rupees, or $3.40, per shot.
Modi, who is 70, got the shot at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Science. He appealed for all to get vaccinated, tweeting afterward, “together, let us make India COVID-19 free!”
Top 7 | Dublin is Top Brexit Relocation Spot for Finance Firms, EY Finds
Dublin is the favorite destination for finance firms moving jobs into the European Union after Brexit, according to a study by consultancy EY.
Three dozen financial services firms are considering moving some U.K. operations to the Irish capital, or have already done so, the review found. Luxembourg is second, attracting 29 companies in total, followed by Frankfurt, which has drawn 23. Twenty businesses are moving business to Paris, according to EY’s survey of public statements by 222 firms through February.
Finance firms have announced that about 7,600 jobs will move from the U.K. to the bloc -- an increase of about 100 since EY’s last tracker, published in October. Almost 1.3 trillion pounds ($1.8 trillion) of assets have also moved, up about 100 billion pounds.
Top 8 | U.S. authorizes J&J's COVID-19 vaccine, making it third available
The U.S. government on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world.
The J&J vaccine is the third authorized in the United States, following ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, both of which require two doses.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the emergency use authorization of the J&J vaccine for adults aged 18 and older following Friday’s unanimous endorsement by the agency’s panel of outside experts. Shipments to vaccination sites are expected to begin Sunday or Monday.
Top 9 | All UK children to get free COVID-19 test kits
Britain’s government says families with children in school will be provided with free coronavirus home test kits as part of plans for schools to reopen beginning on March 8.
Free, twice-weekly tests will be provided to children’s households regardless of whether anyone has symptoms, officials said Sunday. The tests will also be offered to adults working with schools, including bus drivers.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said testing family members will provide “another layer of reassurance to parents and education staff that schools are as safe as possible.” Schools in England have been closed except to children of key workers since January.
Top 10 | Meghan accuses Buckingham Palace of 'perpetuating falsehoods'
Prince Harry’s wife Meghan has accused Buckingham Palace of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and her spouse, saying the royal couple would not be silent in telling their story.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made the comments to American talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview about why they quit their royal roles that is due to be broadcast on U.S. television on Sunday.
An advance excerpt of the interview was released on Wednesday, hours after Buckingham Palace said it was “very concerned” about reports in the Times newspaper that assistants working for Meghan two years ago had been bullied by her.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
