SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Hello, everyone!

In 1999, Tongan pilot ​​Kamelia Zarka made history as the first Tongan woman to captain a commercial plane. Today, daughter Maria Zarka joins her as her First Captain in the cockpit, making them the duo that continues to break barriers for women, mothers and pilots everywhere.

Zarka, at 61 years old, recalls when women pilots only made up 4% of the industry. Now, that percentage has risen to 8%, including a significant increase of women pilots at her workplace, Hawaiian Airlines.

For her, piloting a Boeing 717 aircraft alongside her eldest daughter was a blessing: “I can’t reiterate how much of a gift sharing the cockpit with my daughter, Maria, was to me.”

Spotlight 💡
 

• Kevin Li, a 25-year-old professional magician, delights many in his show at one of the most exclusive magic club in the world, The Magic Castle.

Race in America 🌎
 

• In Detroit, former Costco employee and Muslim Wafa Aziz is filing a ​​state civil rights complaint against the corporation for alleged humiliation and harassment.

In Other Asian News 🗞
 

• In Tokyo, the bribery scandal and corruption case surrounding the former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee led to prosecutors raiding the Osaka-based advertising firm, Daiko. 
• China is accusing the National Security Agency of hacking into information systems of its Northwestern Polytechnical University, where they develop weapons for the nation’s military.

Music and Art 🎶
 

• BTS leader RM will narrate a forthcoming exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). RM will lend his voice to highlight ten selected pieces from “The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art.” The exhibition will include over 130 artworks from 88 artists created between 1897-1965. 
• South Korean singer-songwriter BIBI will make her K-drama acting debut in the second season of Netflix’s “Sweet Home.” No details have been revealed yet about her exact role, but BIBI will join a returning cast including Song Kang, Go Min-si, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young and Park Gyu-young. This will be the vocalist’s second acting role following the 2021 horror film “Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming.”

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• “Splatoon”-inspired squid-themed ice cream is available now at Baskin Robbins in Japan. 

• Kabul’s oldest restaurant has been serving traditional chainaki (lamb stew) in teapots for nearly 70 years. 

• A peek into a “Pokémon” themed hotel room in Japan. 

• South Korea’s major typhoon Hinnamnor has caused massive flooding issues and at least two people dead with ten missing.

• Teesta Setalvad, an Indian activist and critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was released on bail after her arrest in June over suspicions of faking documents on religious riots in 2002.