News
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, culture lead to another vigilante justice death after man beaten by mob of hundreds
The murder of a Sri Lankan Christian man in Pakistan has sparked a national conversation around controversial blasphemy laws and the surrounding culture, which leads many religious extremists to take the law into their own hands.
Mob lynching: Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, the victim of a recent lynching last Friday, was a factory worker in Sialkot, Pakistan. Diyawadana was attacked by a mob of hundreds of people, including some of his coworkers, who accused him of tearing down posters at the factory, thus disrespecting the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
NYPD reveals that hate crimes against Asians surged 361% in 2021
The NYPD divulged that hate crimes in the city have surged 100% in the last year, with an especially high 361% increase against the Asian community.
The numbers: Police executives gave updates on the NYPD Hate Crime Review Panel’s findings and investigations in a conference on Tuesday.
Over a quarter-million people demand marriage equality in Thailand after ‘homophobic’ court ruling
More than 275,000 people have signed a petition demanding marriage equality in Thailand, one of the few countries in Asia that boasts being a warm safe haven for the LGBTQ plus community.
Driving the news: The petition came in response to a Nov. 17 ruling by the Thai Constitutional Court, which determined that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code — the law defining marriage as between a man and a woman — does not violate the nation’s constitution.
Indonesian court rules to save Indigenous ancestral lands from palm oil companies’ exploitation
An Indigenous group in Indonesia’s West Papua province is celebrating a ruling that saves their ancestral lands spanning tens of thousands of hectares from palm oil exploitation.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, the Jayapura Administrative Court in West Papua ruled in favor of Sorong Regency head Johny Kamuru, who was sued after revoking permits that allowed over a dozen palm oil companies to turn Indigenous forest areas into plantations.
Bus conductor in India sparks online outrage for off-boarding a woman due to fish odor
A video of an elderly Indian woman crying and demanding justice after she was kicked out of a bus for smelling like fish has sparked online backlash after going viral.
The fish vendor: Selvam, the 65-year-old fish vendor from Kanyakumari’s Vaniyakudi village, boarded a government bus on the way home on Dec. 6; however, the bus conductor forced her to deboard because of her fish odor, reported The Indian Express.
China claims to have a better ‘democracy that works’ after not being invited to Biden’s Summit for Democracy
China has recently claimed it has a better democratic system than the U.S.
Chinese-style democracy: China’s State Council, the chief administrative authority in the country, made the pronouncement via a recently released position paper titled “China: Democracy That Works,” as published by state media Xinhua.
71-year-old man shot and killed outside elementary school in Chicago’s Chinatown
An elderly 71-year-old man was killed from gunfire in Chicago’s Chinatown on Tuesday.
The incident: The shooting occurred in broad daylight at around 12:30 p.m. on the 200 block of West 23rd Place near John C. Haines Elementary School, according to WGN-TV.
Canadian startup is transforming millions of used, discarded chopsticks into home decor and furniture
Canadian startup ChopValue has embodied the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” by turning old, used chopsticks into furniture and home decor.
A small start: The idea came to Felix Böck after his partner Thalia Otamendi suggested starting with something as small as chopsticks, according to The Guardian.
Hyun Sook Han, adoption trailblazer who helped connect Korean adoptees and families, dies at 83
A Korean social worker who dedicated her life to helping build families through international adoption has died at 83.
What happened: Hyun Sook Han, affectionately known by friends and family as Mrs. Han, passed away from kidney cancer in her home in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Nov. 5, according to The New York Times. Her funeral was attended by a crowd of adoptees and parents whom she helped during her service to her community.
Rohingya refugees sue Meta for $150 billion over Facebook’s alleged role in stoking Myanmar genocide
Rohingya refugees are taking legal action against Meta for allegedly allowing the spread of false news and hate speech against the ethnic group on Facebook.
About the lawsuit: On Monday, an Illinois-based Rohingya woman filed a case against Facebook’s parent company in a California court, seeking a compensation of over $150 billion on behalf of the more than 10,000 Rohingya refugees now living in the U.S., reported The Washington Post.
Debunked: Viral video showing Chinese woman fainting from COVID-19 vaccination
A viral video purporting to show a young girl in China collapsing after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination actually dates back to 2018, before the pandemic began.
The video, which contains disturbing images of a young girl collapsing and subsequently receiving CPR, was shared on Twitter in November. A caption written in Chinese and translated by Agence France-Presse (AFP) read: “A little girl in China suddenly fell to the ground and a warm-hearted person gave her first aid. Is it another phenomenon caused by Covid-19 vaccination?” AFP debunked the anti-vax claims in the video caption, using reverse search to show that the video had in fact emerged from China in 2018. The video appears to have been taken in May 2018 in Qingdao Province, China, and depicts an 11-year-old girl who fainted on the roadside. She was later confirmed to have recovered.Multiple social media accounts reposted the video, which gained thousands of views, all with the same anti-vaccination explanation.
Bakery named for Laotian refugee couple funds scholarships for UConn students taking Asian American studies
Hartford bakery owner Khamla Vorasane has started a $6,000 scholarship fund for University of Connecticut (UConn) students taking classes in Asian and Asian American studies.
Honoring her parents: Vorasane, owner of BouNom Bakery in Avon, named the Nom & Boulieng Vorasane Scholarship after her late parents.