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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 |**Passenger plane carrying 132 people crashes in south China, rescue underway
A Boeing 737-800 passenger jetliner with 132 people on board crashed into a mountainous area in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at about 2:38 p.m. on Monday.
The crashed plane, operated by China Eastern Airlines, was flying from Kunming, the capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province, to Guangzhou, capital of the southern Guangdong Province. The plane lost contact while flying over the city of Wuzhou, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed.
The crash site is located at Molang Village, Langnan Town in Tengxian County, Wuzhou City in Guangxi, according to a local emergency department.
There were 123 passengers and nine crew members aboard the flight MU5735, which took off at about 1:15 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Guangzhou at 3:05 p.m.
The number of casualties remains unknown.
Top 2 | Russia not to initiate reconciliation with West: Lavrov
Russia remains open to cooperation with Western countries, but will not initiate an improvement in the relations with them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday.
"Let's see how they will get out of the impasse they have driven themselves into. Their values, the principles of the free market, the inviolability of private property, and the presumption of innocence are all trampled on by themselves," he said.
According to Lavrov, the United States is sending diplomats to many countries to ask them to withdraw from cooperation with Russia.
"It looks like our American colleagues have lost the feeling of reality or are swelling with the super-superiority complex," he said.
**Top 3 |**Survivors in China plane crash 'very unlikely': Flight expert
A Chinese flight expert said it's "very unlikely" there's any survivor in the plane crash on Monday as rescuers still putting all efforts in to searching.
The search and rescue team have found more plane debris and some personal belongings scattered near the site in southern China where a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed with 132 people on board.
The medics found some burned identification cards, bank cards and wallets on the way to the crash site near Molang Village, Tengxian County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. All the personal belongings were collected as evidence.
"The aircraft was diving straight to the ground at a very high speed, which means there must have been a really terrible impact," Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told CGTN.
**Top 4 |**Pakistan, China vow to push for more achievements in practical cooperation
Pakistani President Arif Alvi and visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Islamabad on Tuesday, vowing to push for more achievements in bilateral practical cooperation.
Hailing the traditional friendship between the two countries, Alvi said that Pakistan hopes to further strengthen bilateral cooperation with China in automobile, textile, medicine, agriculture and information technology sectors.
Wang said that China is ready to advance cooperation with Pakistan in traditional areas while expanding cooperation in emerging areas such as information technology, e-commerce and digital economy.
China encourages more qualified Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in Pakistan to help Pakistan enhance its capacity for independent development and explore a development path suited to its national conditions.
**Top 5 |**UNHCR chief condemns discrimination and racism against Ukrainian refugees
The head of the UN refugee agency United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, on Monday condemned the "ugly reality" that some refugees fleeing Ukraine, including foreigners who had been studying or working there, have been subjected to racism and discrimination.
Grandi said that many citizens from countries neighboring Ukraine, such as Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania, had provided "overwhelming acts of welcome and compassion," opening their hearts and homes to Ukrainians.
But, he added: "We also bore witness to the ugly reality, that some Black and Brown people fleeing Ukraine – and other wars and conflicts around the world – have not received the same treatment as Ukrainian refugees."
"They reported disturbing incidents of discrimination, violence, and racism. These acts of discrimination are unacceptable," he said.
**Top 6 |**NATO extends Stoltenberg term for a year due to Russia-Ukraine crisis
NATO chose stability on Thursday by extending Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's term in office for an extra year to help steer the 30-nation military alliance through the security crisis sparked by Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Stoltenberg tweeted Thursday that he is "honored" by the decision of NATO leaders to extend his term until September 30, 2023.
"As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our alliance strong and our people safe," he said, after U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts agreed to extend his term at a summit in Brussels.
The former Norwegian prime minister was named to NATO's top civilian post in October 2014. It's the second time that his term of office has been extended. His mandate was due to expire in September.
**Top 7 |**China, like-minded countries concerned about human rights violations against Indigenous people
China and a group of countries on Monday called on the UN Human Rights Council to continue attending to serious human rights violations against Indigenous people and take necessary action.
Delivering a joint statement on behalf of the group of countries at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, said they are deeply concerned about some countries' serious human rights violations against Indigenous people.
"In the past centuries, the countries in question have oppressed and exploited Indigenous people, violating their human rights and fundamental freedoms, looting their land and resources, killing with brutality their population and eliminating their culture," he said, adding that some Indigenous children, who were sent to "residential schools" for assimilation, were abused and many died unnatural deaths – the truth of which has been covered up to this day.
**Top 8 |**Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing briefs ASEAN envoys on current situation
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) envoys met with Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday in the latest efforts after the military takeover of the Asian country.
They discussed "the situation of protests and violence stemming from political disagreement" and humanitarian cooperation, said the council's Information Team in a statement.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, ASEAN's current special envoy, and Lim Jock Hoi, secretary-general of ASEAN, attended the talks in Nay Pyi Taw.
Min Aung Hlaing apprised the ASEAN envoys of the results of the 2020 general elections and the situation of terrorist actions in Myanmar, the release said.
**Top 9 |**China completes high-thrust rocket engine test
China has completed a test of its high-thrust oxyhydrogen engine designed for a Long March-5 rocket, which will launch the space station lab module Mengtian, the engine maker said Tuesday.
Fired up for 100 seconds during the test on Monday, the engine is now ready to enter the final assembly of the rocket, said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Designed for the core stage of the Long March-5 series carrier rockets, the engine is the most advanced cryogenic liquid rocket engine ever designed and manufactured in China. There will be more than 20 experimental tasks that the rocket engine will undergo to test its performance further.
China will finish the construction of its space station this year. It will consist of a core module attached to two laboratories, Wentian and Mengtian, with a combined weight of more than 90 tonnes once completed.
**Top 10 |**Hillary Clinton tests positive for COVID-19
Hillary Clinton said on Twitter she's tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, but added that she's "feeling fine."
She said former President Bill Clinton tested negative.
Hillary Clinton, 74, tweeted that her husband is "quarantining until our household is fully in the clear. Movie recommendations appreciated!"
The former secretary of state added that she's "more grateful than ever for the protection vaccines can provide against serious illness" and she encouraged Americans to get vaccinated.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
