Welcome to another week of news! There have been a few big stories this last week, so let’s get started.
On the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed “profound grief” over the country’s actions during the war, but fell short of an actual apology.
There were two massive explosions in the city of Tianjin, China this week. As of this writing, the death toll is 112 (many firefighters) and hundreds injured. Investigators found 70 times the legally allowed amount of sodium cyanide at the site. In one bright spot, rescuers pulled one survivor from the rubble.
Two men were arrested in connection to the murder of Bangladeshi blogger Niloy Neel.
A plane carrying 54 people crashed in the mountain region of Papua in Indonesia.
Pakistan celebrated its 69th Independence Day (great pictures in the link). Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his well wishes over Twitter, though there has been increased tension between the two countries lately.
The conservative party of Myanmar has forced out the leader of the ruling party, Thura Shwe Mann.
North Korea threatened an attack on South Korea, as the country did not cancel military exercises with the U.S. Meanwhile, South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned North Korea about getting too sassy.
A court in Mumbai said that Nestlé-owned Maggi Noodles may resume producing their products, but they would be subject to additional testing. The noodles were found to have unsafe levels of lead.
In the meantime, the Indian government filed a $99 million lawsuit against Nestlé.
The outgoing U.S Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno is urging the U.S to stay in Afghanistan and offer more support to Afghan forces.
The World Health Organization is ramping up efforts to eliminate polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Finally, the Humans of New York project is wrapping up their series in Pakistan and is highlighting the work of Syeda Ghulam Fatima, who is working to eliminate the practice of bonded labor. She’s been putting all her own resources into fighting brick kilns who have powerful allies in the government. There is a link to donate to her cause on the Facebook page.
