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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 | India tops 200,000 dead as virus surge breaks health system
India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse.
The health ministry reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India’s total fatalities to 201,187, as the world’s second most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet.
The country also reported 362,757 new infections, a new global record, which raised the overall total past 17.9 million. The previous high of 350,000 on Monday had capped a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic.
Top 2 | Biden’s declaration: America’s democracy ‘is rising anew’
President Joe Biden declared that “America is rising anew” as he called for an expansion of federal programs to drive the economy past the pandemic and broadly extend the social safety net on a scale not seen in decades.
Biden’s nationally televised address to Congress, his first, raised the stakes for his ability to sell his plans to voters of both parties, even if Republican lawmakers prove resistant. The president is following Wednesday night’s speech by pushing his plans in person, beginning in Georgia on Thursday and then on to Pennsylvania and Virginia in the days ahead.
In the address, Biden pointed optimistically to the nation’s emergence from the coronavirus scourge as a moment for America to prove that its democracy can still work and maintain primacy in the world.
Top 3 | US Navy fires warning shots in new tense encounter with Iran
An American warship fired warning shots when vessels of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came too close to a patrol in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.
The Navy released black-and-white footage of the encounter Monday night in international waters of the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf. In it, lights can be seen in the distance and what appears to be a single gunshot can be heard, with a tracer round racing across the top of the water.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
Top 4 | UK government green lights ‘self-driving’ cars on motorways
The UK government on Wednesday became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year.
Britain's transport ministry said it was working on specific wording to update the country's highway code for the safe use of self-driving vehicle systems, starting with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) - which use sensors and software to keep cars within a lane, allowing them to accelerate and brake without driver input.
The government said the use of ALKS would be restricted to motorways, at speeds under 37 miles (60 km) per hour.
Top 5 | Samsung's Lee family to pay more than $10.8 bln inheritance tax
The family of late Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Chairman Lee Kun-hee said on Wednesday they will pay over 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance tax for his estate and donate his vast private art collection to state curators.
Lee, who is credited with transforming Samsung into the world's largest smartphone and memory chip maker, died on Oct. 25 with an estate local media valued at around 26 trillion won.
The inheritance tax bill - one of the largest-ever in South Korea and globally - has been closely watched due to its potential to dilute the family's controlling stake in Samsung.
Top 6 | ASEAN leaders reach consensus on Myanmar crisis in 5 areas
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached a consensus on five points towards resolving the crisis in Myanmar at a meeting on Saturday, including starting a dialogue and ending violence, reported Reuters citing two anonymous diplomatic sources.
The consensus also included allowing humanitarian help in the country, releasing political prisoners and appointing a special ASEAN envoy for the Myanmar crisis, according to Reuters reports.
The meeting held in Jakarta in Indonesia was attended by leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services and chair of the country's newly formed State Administration Council Min Aung Hlaing.
Top 7 | COVID-19 vaccine rollout keeps waste workers busy, environmentalists worried
Every day, as more people get their COVID-19 shots, millions of syringes, needles and tiny vials are thrown away globally.
Vaccinating the entire population of the United States for example, would require so many needles they would stretch around the earth 1.8 times, according to California-based OnSite Waste Technologies.
Experts warn medical waste firms risk becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of debris and many environmentalists are demanding more sustainable solutions as the vaccine rollout accelerates.
Top 8 | Developing Asia's economy growth forecast to 7.3%
Economic growth in developing Asia is forecast to rebound to 7.3 percent this year, supported by a healthy global recovery and early progress on COVID-19 vaccines, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on Wednesday.
The flagship economic publication of ADB, Asian Development Outlook 2021, says the region's growth is forecast to moderate to 5.3 percent in 2022.
Inflation in developing Asia is projected to fall to 2.3 percent from 2.8 percent last year, as food-price pressures ease in several economies, before rising to 2.7 percent in 2022.
Top 9 | Indonesia navy declares lost sub sunk, all 53 aboard dead
Indonesia’s navy on Saturday declared its missing submarine had sunk and cracked open, killing 53 crew members aboard, after finding items from the vessel over the past two days.
Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said the presence of an oil slick as well as debris near the site where the submarine's last dive on Wednesday off the island of Bali were clear proof the KRI Nanggala 402 sank. Indonesia earlier considered the vessel to be only missing.
Navy Chief Yudo Margono told a press conference in Bali, “If it's an explosion, it will be in pieces. The cracks happened gradually in some parts when it went down from 300 meters to 400 meters to 500 meters ... If there was an explosion, it would be heard by the sonar."
Top 10 | It's About Time: Kamala Harris, Mexican President to Discuss 'Root Causes of Migration'
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will sit down with US Vice President Kamala Harris on 7 May for online talks that will focus on migration-related issues, among other things, Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard tweeted on Saturday.
According to Ebrard, the two will discuss Mexico's tree-planting programme. The latter stipulates paying local farmers so that they can plant fruit and timber trees on one million hectares of land in Mexico in the next few years, which may help keep farmers from leaving their country and migrating to the US.
The VP's office did not single out the tree-planting project, saying in a statement that the 7 May meeting will focus on "the common goals of prosperity, good governance, and addressing the root causes of migration".
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
