A mass shooter in Thailand killed 36 people, including 24 children, in a daycare last week. Panya Khamrap attacked the staff and children during nap time before killing himself. Only one child, a three year old girl, survived. Panya was an ex-police sergeant who was fired earlier this year for drug possession. Authorities initially blamed his drug use, but his autopsy revealed no trace of drugs in his system. His colleagues and neighbors share that he showed troubling signs, like locking his girlfriend and son in his house, and praising another 2020 mass shooting in Thailand by a soldier who took 29 lives. Victims were cremated at Rat Samakee Temple in Northern Thailand on Tuesday, where hundreds gathered to mourn.
One of China’s biggest #MeToo cases just settled in Minnesota, and both parties’ lawyers say the “misunderstanding” has consumed substantial public attention. In 2018, Chinese tech billionaire Liu Qiangdong was accused of rape by then 21-year-old student, Liu Jingyao. Known as China’s Jeff Bezos and founder of JD.com, Liu Qiangdong attended a global business program where Liu Jingyao was volunteering. Liu Jingyao alleged that after a group dinner with executives, she was followed to her apartment and raped by Liu Qiangdong. She has faced endless online shaming and blaming for her allegations, which the founder denied. On Saturday, just two days before trial was set to begin, they settled because the incident “has brought profound suffering” to them and their families.
Indonesian police fired teargas at soccer fans this past weekend, leading to one of the worst stadium disasters in history. After fans ran onto the field in Kanjuruhan Stadium, police used excessive force that led people into narrow exits where they got trampled. Officers are now being investigated. 125 people are dead, including 33 children, and more than 300 injured after home team Arema FC lost to its rival Persebaya Surabaya. The police chief says, things got “anarchic” once fans started attacking officers and damaging cars. FIFA’s security guidelines clearly prohibits the use of firearms or “crowd control gas” inside stadiums. Since Saturday, vigils have been gathering to mourn the victims–and the government says officers responsible will face criminal charges.
Kim Jung-youn lost her father this year, and became the world’s youngest billionaire because of it. Founder of Nexon, Korea’s largest gaming company, Kim Jung Ju passed away in February and left both his daughters 1 billion dollars’ worth of stakes at his holding company. Nexon is known for iconic games like Maplestory, Dungeon & Fighter, and Kart Rider. But outside of Nexon, Kim was known for philanthropic work like founding a children’s hospital and Asia’s first museum dedicated to computers and gaming. Kim’s company issued a statement that he was suffering from depression, while also being the 3rd richest man in Korea at the time. His daughter has now surpassed 20-year-old Kevin David Lehmann, who was the world’s youngest billionaire, owning half of his father’s German drugstore chain.
Violent clashes between British Hindu and Muslim groups erupted in Leicester, England this past weekend - and spread to nearby Smethwick on Wednesday. Earlier headlines tied these events to the recent India vs. Pakistan cricket matches in the Asia Cup tournament, but locals say the tension has been brewing for weeks, fueled by disinformation. Social media videos show both groups engaging in acts - like men marching in Muslim areas shouting a far-right Hindu nationalist chant, and other outside a Hindu temple vandalizing religious flags. 47 people in total have been arrested since late August. Leicester had previously been called a model city for multiculturalism, with Hindus and Muslims making up almost an equal percentage of the population according to the 2011 UK Census data. Now, community leaders from both sides are urging for solidarity and calm, and calling out “foreign extremist ideology” for causing division.
Cox’s Bazar is now the biggest refugee camp in the world. Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are at a breaking point, with almost 1 million refugees. And the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who have suffered decades of persecution, are left with little basic rights and no secure way of returning home. More than half of this vulnerable population are children under 18. Refugees are not only banned from education and work, they are vulnerable to trafficking. The fragile temporary shelters are prone to fires, floods and landslides every year. Myanmar's Buddhist-majority state cracked down on the Rohingya in 2017, killing at least 7,000 people and forcing almost 700,000 refugees across the border. Today, human rights and aid groups say these camps will collapse, and are calling for the Bangladeshi government and the UN to work together to come up with measures beyond confinement. Here is a list of non-profit organizations that are helping the Rohingya on the ground rated by Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=5522