It's true that Asians live forever. Tanaka Kane-san was born in 1903 and lived through 5 eras: Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa. According to Guinness World Records, Kane-San became the world's oldest living person on Jan. 30, 2019 at 116 years and 28 days old. She held the title for three years, until her death last week at the age of 119. She ran a family mochi shop, and loved soda and sweets. Rest in peace, Tanaka Kane-San.
China’s Zero-COVID Policy meant lower rates of COVID infection than most other countries, but Western media has circulated violent flaws in China’s lockdown system in Shanghai. Tensions are high, as police in hazmat suits clashed with residents in Shanghai who refused to leave an apartment complex that was cordoned to become a quarantine facility. This comes from the added pressure on citizens' quality of life - people are facing food shortages due to overwhelmed supply chains and delivery services. Since the pandemic Western countries like the United States have seen nearly 1M deaths from COVID. What do you think of China’s Zero Covid Policy? Would this work in your country?
Imran Khan was ousted from the office of Pakistan’s PM after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament on April 10th. A week before, Khan had tried to dissolve Parliament to block the vote from happening, but the Supreme Court overruled this move as unconstitutional. The National Assembly elected Shehbaz Sharif as their interim 23rd prime minister. Khan claimed that U.S. foreign policy ousted him to overthrow his government, adding that he looks to the public to protest against a “US-backed regime” in Pakistan. Shehbaz has faced corruption allegations and spent time in jail during Imran Khan's tenure, however, he has not been convicted of an offense and maintains the allegations are politically motivated.
April 1st 2022 marks a step towards justice for Dalit garment workers in India: H&M signed an agreement to end sexual violence against majority-women garment workers at its largest Indian suppliers. The move comes after the outrage over Jeyasre Kathiravel an H&M-associated factory worker in Tamil Nadu was murdered by her supervisor a year ago. Jeyasre’s family says she endured sexual harassment at work for months. Making our mainstream clothes shouldn't compromise the safety of garment workers in Asia. With this new agreement, all H&M workers, supervisors and executives are required to take gender-based violence training. The agreement was signed during Dalit History Month, and this is the first time a major clothing brand and a retailer is pledging to do their due diligence to ensure garment workers can thrive in a safe working environment.
On March 21, 2022, a China Eastern passenger plane crashed with 132 passengers on board. The aircraft reached an altitude of nearly 30,000 ft and began to nose dive. The plane hit the ground in less than 2 minutes and all 132 were pronounced dead. The plane was a Boeing 737-800, supposedly one of the safest aircrafts. The unusual nosedive is contrary to the design of the aircraft making experts suggest that a significant mechanical error or pilot action would have had to happen. The crash site recovery team found both of the black boxes containing the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data. These may hold clues that would provide more clarity to the 375 family members of the 132 casualties.
Western sanctions on #Russia don't just affect Russia–they also have implications on neighboring Central Asian economies. Kazakhstan relies on Russian ports to export two-thirds of its oil supplies. Last year alone, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan sent 7.8 million workers to Russia. These countries depend on seasonal migration for work and remittance payments. Most Central Asian countries are profoundly dependent on Russian natural gas and those countries are vulnerable to its supply shortages. Millions of Central Asians from countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will face unemployment and an increase in food scarcity. Energy and job security in Central Asia will be more important than ever, but reducing this dependency can't happen overnight.