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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 13 November 2020
ASEAN summit begins online meetings with regional leaders

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — firmed whether President
Vietnam's prime minister Donald Trump would at-
highlighted challenges tend the online meeting.
Southeast Asian nations Trump attended the sum-
and others faced this year mit in 2017, but sent only
as he opened a regional representatives during the
summit Thursday that is last two meetings.
again largely being held A separate meeting of par-
online due to the pandem- ticipants in a trade initiative
ic. backed by China is sched-
The biannual summit of the uled on Sunday, where the
Association of Southeast leaders are expected to
Asian Nations, chaired by ink a free trade agreement
Vietnam this year, is ex- covering almost a third of
pected to focus on a wide the world economy. The
range of topics, including initiative's members are the
South China Sea disputes, 10 ASEAN nations, China,
the coronavirus and trade. Japan, South Korea, Aus-
The spread of the virus was tralia and New Zealand.
apparent with Cambodia ARTICA screen shows ASEAN leaders attending an online summit, in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, India backed backed out
being represented by its Nov. 12, 2020. of the plan last year and it
deputy prime minister rath- Associated Press does not include the United
er than long-serving Prime States, despite America's
Minister Hun Sen, who is power rivalry and frictions peace, stability and devel- a "Free and Open Indo-Pa- $2 trillion in trade with the
self-quarantining after be- that challenged the inter- opment. Its people need to cific," a vision of economic region.q
ing exposed to a visiting national multilateral system, be cared for and protect- and security cooperation
minister who had the virus. increasingly non-traditional ed to overcome this diffi- that Japan has initiated
During his remarks at the security issues and the rise cult time," Trong said. with the United States to
opening ceremony, which of extremist tendency," Thursday's meetings will in- counter China's growing in-
was livestreamed to ASEAN Phuc said in front of some clude separate summits fluence in the area.
leaders watching from their 200 Vietnamese officials with leaders from China, In the talks with India, Prime
respective countries, Viet- and foreign diplomats of South Korea, and India. Minister Narendra Modi an-
nam Prime Minister Nguy- ASEAN's partners attending ASEAN leaders also had nounced a $1 million con-
en Xuan Phuc highlighted the ceremony in Hanoi. their first summit with new tribution to the COVID-19
challenges being faced Vietnam's Communist Party Japanese Prime Minister ASEAN Response Fund and
during a year of unparal- General Secretary Nguyen Yoshihide Suga. underscored the impor-
leled health crisis and re- Phu Trong called for trust Suga, who took office in tance of digital and road
gional instability. among nations for the ben- mid-September, stressed connectivity between In-
"This year, peace and se- efit of their people as the the importance of coop- dia and the region, India's
curity have been facing pandemic causes havoc eration between his coun- External Affairs Ministry said.
greater threat as the result to people's lives and the try and Southeast Asian An ASEAN-US summit is
of compounding risk rising economy. nations to achieve peace, scheduled on Saturday,
from the unpredictable "More than ever, nations stability and prosperity in but Vietnam's foreign af-
conduct of states, major all over the world need the region, and to promote fairs ministry has not con-

U.N. migration agency: 74 drown after boat capsizes near Libya

nean since last month. the Middle East. Smugglers drowned in a similar ship-
The boat was carrying over often pack desperate fam- wreck off the Libyan coast.
120 migrants, including ilies into ill-equipped rubber The IOM said that it had no-
women and children, when boats that stall and founder ticed a recent surge in the
it capsized off the coast of along the perilous Central number of departures from
the Libyan port of al-Khums, Mediterranean route. At the Libyan shores, with over
said the International Orga- least 20,000 people have 780 arrivals in Italy since
nization for Migration. Only died in those waters since the beginning of October.
47 people were rescued 2014, according to the More than 11,000 migrants
by the Libyan coast guard IOM. had been intercepted and
and fishermen and brought "The mounting loss of life returned to Libya, where
to shore. in the Mediterranean is a they face the risk of human
So far 31 bodies were re- manifestation of the in- rights violations and deten-
trieved as the search for ability of States to take de- tion, read the IOM state-
the remaining victims con- cisive action to redeploy ment.
In these photos taken Nov. 12, 2020, life jackets litter the beach
as a IOM worker speaks with a survivor from a shipwreck off the tinued, added the IOM. much needed, dedicated "IOM maintains that Libya
coast of Libya near the port of al-Khums. In the years since the 2011 Search and Rescue ca- is not a safe port for return
Associated Press uprising that ousted and pacity in the deadliest sea- and reiterates its call on the
killed longtime dictator crossing in the world," said international community
By NOHA ELHENNAWY of Libya on Thursday, the Moammar Gadhafi, war- Federico Soda, IOM Libya and the European Union to
CAIRO (AP) — At least 74 U.N.'s migration agency torn Libya has emerged as Chief of Mission. take urgent and concrete
migrants drowned after said, in the latest in a series the dominant transit point On Tuesday, 13 African action to end the cycle of
their Europe-bound ship of at least eight shipwrecks for migrants hoping to get migrants including three return and exploitation,"
capsized off the coast in the Central Mediterra- to Europe from Africa and women and one child had added the statement.q