Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned on Thursday via email a day after he fled the country in the midst of chaos and protests. Last weekend, thousands of protestors stormed his home demanding his resignation. At least 55 have been injured from the clash, although the military denies firing at the crowds. The Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - now the acting president - has also offered to resign after protestors started occupying his home as well. Sri Lanka is scheduled to vote on a new president next Wednesday. Mass protests have occurred since March due to the country’s devastating economic crisis which left people without food, electricity or medicine. The government has defaulted on its mismanaged foreign debt worth $51 billion, asking the IMF for a bailout. Watch our explainer on how Sri Lanka’s economic crisis began here.
Japan’s longest-serving former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated after he was shot twice while giving a speech in Nara prefecture during a campaign event. The suspected assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, was apprehended by the police, but he was successful in killing Abe with a homemade sawed-off shotgun. The shooter jaywalked across a two-way street, towards the former prime minister, shooting twice towards his back. According to TBS NEWS DIG, Yamagami assassinated his target in a matter of five seconds while the Nara police and the security had their backs against him. The Japanese news media is raising questions as to why there wasn’t more protection around the former prime minister. Yamagami had a grudge against former prime minister Abe. He believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a "huge donation” that led her to go bankrupt. On Monday, the president of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church confirmed that the suspect’s mother was a member – but said neither Abe nor the shooter himself had been members. The Unification Church - whose members are often called the “Moonies” - is a South Korean church notorious for its cult-like behaviors and rituals like mass wedding ceremonies.
The day before his term ends, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's government ordered the closure of investigative website, Rappler. The site was founded by Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, a critical player in exposing former-president Rodrigo Duterte’s human rights abuses during the drug war. Rappler’s reporting has been on government members and Duterte’s inner circle’s radar - the company has been banned from attending presidential events since 2018. “When you give up your rights, you never get it back” says Marina Ressa when the Philippine gov’t ordered the investigative website Rappler to shut down. Rappler’s staff are on high alert, as the country moves from a Duarte to a Marcos presidency. Rappler’s impact goes beyond its own interests, independent news sites will take cues from Rappler as to how to safeguard freedom of expression in the Philippines.
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed over 1,000 people in Afghanistan last Wednesday morning, with 1,500+ are likely to be injured. Rescue teams are still searching for others buried under the ground. Now, there’s even a threat of a cholera outbreak as people remain without shelter, food and clean water, according to the United Nations. Thousands of people were already facing a humanitarian crisis after the Taliban takeover - now, the Taliban is asking for international help. Pre-quake context: President Biden’s executive order to divert half of Afghanistan’s ($7B) aid to 9/11 victim’s families has been met with criticism: a statement by 14 U.N. independent rights experts also blamed the U.S. government for making life worse for Afghan women through blocking billions of dollars that could be used to provide desperately-needed humanitarian relief to tens of millions in the country. The Washington Post reports that the US and the Taliban are scheduled to hold talks in Qatar this week, to discuss allowing the Afghan central bank to use its frozen funds in order to deal with the crisis.
Goodbye Jumbo Floating Restaurant. After floating in Aberdeen Harbor in Hong Kong for 46 years, the iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed away, and it unexpectedly capsized at the South China Sea. Millions of guests, including celebrities like Chow Yun Fat and Queen Elizabeth, visited to dine at the establishment. Celebrated by many, it was featured in Hollywood films like the 1974 James Bond movie “The Man with the Golden Gun” and the 1996 classic Cantonese comedy “the God of Cookery.” Although the restaurant is an iconic Hong Kong landmark, it took a massive financial hit during the pandemic. Jumbo temporarily closed by March 2020, and the Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises permanently closed its door when they couldn’t find a buyer. With no prospective buyer, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises got the restaurant towed to be stored for the time being on June 14th, 2022. The floating restaurant started to capsize almost a week after towing - near Paracel Islands. No crew members were injured. Hong Kong lawmakers are now calling on the government to launch a more thorough investigation.
Your summer just got less spicy. Sriracha maker, Huy Fong Foods Inc, said that we may be in short supply of Sriracha for the next few months. They’ve had to suspend its production because bad weather conditions during the Spring harvest resulted in poor quality chili peppers. The Great Sriracha Shortage is the worst food news of 2022. Are you ready for a Sriracha-less summer?