Briefly

UNITED STATES

White House airs $916b stimulus plan

The White House on Tuesday proposed a new $916 billion COVID-19 relief package to Congress as the country's economy faces the risk of a double-dip recession. "This proposal includes money for state and local governments and robust liability protections for businesses, schools and universities," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday evening in a statement after presenting the proposal to Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mnuchin said he has also reviewed the proposal with US President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders. Mnuchin and Pelosi had been negotiating a new COVID-19 relief package for months, but failed to reach an agreement before the presidential election in November.

SOUTH KOREA

Moon says his govt keeps CPTPP in frame

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday that his government will continue to consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. With the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in November, South Korea will complete free-trade agreement negotiations with Indonesia and Israel by the end of this year to diversify its export markets, Moon said. Moon said his country will speed up free-trade negotiations with India, the Philippines, Cambodia and Uzbekistan, while expanding exports through free-trade talks on services and investments with China and Russia. The CPTPP is a major trade deal between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It was signed in March 2018 and entered into force in December 2018.

FRANCE

Alps helicopter crash claims five lives

Five people were killed in a helicopter crash in the French Alps on Tuesday and a sixth was injured and fighting for his life, French President Emmanuel Macron said. The helicopter was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission when it went down at an altitude of 1,800 meters, local authorities said. The pilot of the aircraft, which also had another pilot on board as well as two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers, was able to eject and give the alert. Three helicopters were dispatched but had been unable to reach the accident site due to fog while rescue teams were also trying to approach by ground, the Savoie prefecture said.

AUSTRALIA

Lawmakers probe extremism threat

Australia on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into combating violent extremism, after a concerted push for the government to ensure it is equipped to face a growing threat from the far-right. The country's powerful parliamentary intelligence and security committee announced it will examine the spread of radical movements and the threat they pose to Australians. Conservative Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton prevented the probe from focusing solely on emerging far-right terror, ordering it to instead broaden its focus to include Islamist groups. The announcement came a day after a New Zealand inquiry into the massacre of 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch by an Australian white supremacist gunman called for sweeping changes to counterterrorism operations.

Xinhua - Agencies