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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 | Trump operation replaces Lewandowski after claims of sexual impropriety
Corey Lewandowski, a top aide to former President Trump, has been removed as chairman of the MAGA Action political action committee, just days after he allegedly sexually harassed a Trump donor this past weekend.
Trump's director of communications Taylor Budowich announced on Twitter that former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi would be replacing Lewandowski as the head of the MAGA Action PAC.
"Pam Bondi, the very talented and honorable frmr AG of FL, has our complete faith and confidence in taking over MAGA Action. Corey Lewandowski will be going on to other endeavors and we very much want to thank him for his service. He will no longer be associated with Trump World," wrote Budowich.
Top 2 | Senate reaches deal to avoid government shutdown, Schumer announces
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that senators have reached a deal on a stopgap government funding measure to prevent a shutdown.
"We are ready to move forward," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "We have an agreement on.. the continuing resolution, to prevent a government shutdown and we should be voting on that tomorrow morning," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Without passing the bill, the federal government would face a shutdown after the calendar turns to Friday. The deal announced by Schumer keeps the government open through Dec. 3.
The House passed a government funding bill last week on a party-line vote of 220-211.
Top 3 | US to allow visa-free travel for visitors from Croatia
The U.S. government said Tuesday that Croatia would soon join the countries whose people can visit without a visa in a sign of closer economic and security ties.
The State Department and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement that the European nation of about 4 million would join the program no later than Dec. 1.
It is the 40th country to be added to the visa waiver program.
People will be able to come to the U.S. for up to 90 days for tourism or business without a visa. The countries in the program must meet requirements related to counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security, and border management.
Top 4 | U.S. Central Command chief takes full responsibility for attack killing 10 Afghan civilians
Commander of the U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said Tuesday he took full responsibility for the August 29 drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians.
"We acted based on the intelligence read that we saw on the ground. We acted several times on intelligence that we saw, and we were successful in other occasions in preventing attacks," he told a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "This time, tragically, we were wrong."
The U.S. admitted in mid-September that a drone strike in late August in Kabul of Afghanistan killed as many as 10 civilians, including 7 children.
McKenzie said the strike was "a tragic mistake" and he as a commander took full responsibility.
Top 5 | Pentagon chief tells French counterpart U.S. supports Sahel mission
France has Washington's continued support for counterterrorism efforts in Africa's Sahel region, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his French counterpart in a phone call on Monday.
France has about 5,000 troops in the Sahel region of West Africa to fight Islamist militants and receives logistical support from the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that France was reducing its presence in the region.
Austin's conversation with French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly comes as the United States is seeking to repair relations with Paris after Washington announced on Sept. 15 a security partnership with Australia and Britain that sunk a major defense contract for a French submarine builder.
Top 6 | Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou arrives in China after release by Canada
Meng Wanzhou received a hero's welcome on her return to China, after fighting extradition to the U.S. for almost three years. Huawei's Chief Financial Officer and daughter of the company's founder was finally released and allowed to return home.
“Finally I came back home.” Ms. Meng told the cheering, flag waving crowd of well-wishers at China's Shenzhen airport as she stepped down from the chartered Air China flight from Vancouver
“After suffering for more than 1,000 days, I'm finally back to my motherland. The long wait overseas was full of struggles. But after I stepped down from the aeroplane, I can feel the exciting warmth of my homeland.” She added.
Top 7 | Facebook refutes reports claiming Instagram is harmful to teens
After internal research surrounding the impact of Instagram on teenagers was made public in a Wall Street Journal report, Facebook has hit back, claiming the report has misunderstood not only the purpose of the report, but the results of the research itself.
The Wall Street Journal report in question claimed Facebook, via its own internal research, was well aware of the negative impacts instagram was having on teenagers -- particularly teenage girls -- an impact Facebook played down in public. The story, based on a "trove of internal communications" reviewed by the Journal, raised concerns around the photo-sharing app, prompting US lawmakers to press the world's largest social network for more answers.
The Wall Street Journal report in question claimed Facebook, via its own internal research, was well aware of the negative impacts instagram was having on teenagers -- particularly teenage girls -- an impact Facebook played down in public. The story, based on a "trove of internal communications" reviewed by the Journal, raised concerns around the photo-sharing app, prompting US lawmakers to press the world's largest social network for more answers.
Top 8 | M5.7 earthquake rattles Occidental Mindoro, Philippines
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 struck the Philippine province of Occidental Mindoro early Monday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The quake, which struck at 1:12 a.m. local time, hit at a depth of 74 kilometers, about 23 kilometers northeast of Looc town.
The quake, which was tectonic in origin, could trigger aftershocks and cause damage, according to the institute.
Top 9 | In Washington, the road almost never taken
Lost in the swirling debate over the reconciliation package, the budget, and the debt ceiling, is a simple but powerful reality: A historic infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in June with support from both parties, including all the Democrats, has been sitting idle in the House for more than a month.
That such a bill, already passed by a Senate so frequently blamed for bottling up good ideas, is now stuck in the House is a commentary on what ails our politics most. Both sides prize the other side losing more than they value the nation's well-being, and they can't just take a win when it is staring them both in the face. Legislators in the sort of bind the Democratic majority now finds itself can't even imagine the idea of opening serious negotiations across the aisle. Look at what's happening: Reporters and pundits are hanging on any inkling of news about what's happening between and among Democrats. Few can even conceive the idea that there might be a bipartisan way forward.
Top 10 | Sidney Powell countersues Dominion Voting Systems after failing to get its lawsuit against her tossed in court
Sidney Powell, the attorney who filed multiple lawsuits in an effort to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, on Friday filed a countersuit against the voting-technology company she accused of manipulating the results, according to new court documents.
Powell emerged a key figure in the spread of election conspiracy theories last year, falsely claiming that Dominion Voting Systems tilted the US election to boost now-President Joe Biden.
She also alleged - without evidence - that Dominion secretly aided a rival election-technology company, Smartmatic, and had links to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
