Welcome back lovelies! I hope the new year has started off well for all of you.
Events and news don’t stop, even when we are on break, so there’s lots to cover, though many of the stories are ongoing.
Once again, an airplane belonging to an Asian airline has crashed. AirAsia Flight 8501 lost contact with air traffic control after leaving Surabaya, Indonesia and headed to Singapore. Since then, wreckage and the bodies of passengers have been found. Unlike Malaysian Air Flight 370, which has yet to be found, the focus now is not so much on a search, but on what went wrong.
For those who have a slight fear of flying, like myself, the odds of dying in a plane crash are still highly unlikely.
Obama has declared the “war” in Afghanistan officially over, but troops will remain to help support the Afghan government.
Boo if you live in China: the government has blocked Gmail at the IP level, meaning that users of third-party email like Gmail will have to use a VPN to get around the block.
The UN is now urging the Myanmar government to grant full citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim minority. The government has been trying to declare the Rohingya as Bengalis, effectively labeling them unauthorized immigrants.
Due to the hack that allegedly was carried out by North Korean hackers, Obama has ordered additional sanctions against the country.
The North Korean government has responded to Obama’s recent actions by using a racial slur.
This piece is really great and explains all the problems with the USA’s rallying around a sub-par movie.
Renewed tensions at the India/Pakistan border have lead to deadly clashes.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse to rival China.
Yo climate change deniers, Southeast Asia is getting hit hard by storms and floods and people, are you know, dying.
Bangladesh’s ex-Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, is currently being held under lockdown in her opposition parties offices ahead of scheduled protests against her political rival.
Finally, Art Basel has appointed a new director for Asia, Adeline Ooi, who will oversee the development of the fair in Hong Kong in March of 2015.
2 replies on “News in Asia Is Back”
Go India! I think. If y’all are going to do it with thinking about human rights, equality and the environment. Please, I know I ask much.
Oh wow. That’s a lot of heavy news to be starting the year with – it’s shocking, too, the *range* of awfulness that has been happening, from natural disasters to travel tragedies, and political issues. Thanks for keeping us all informed!