Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/9/tokyo-tightening-virus-measures-nearly-100-days-before-olympics Last summer the 2020 Olympic games were postponed due to the pandemic. A year later, the Summer Games are beginning on July 23 in Tokyo. However, Japan is experiencing a surge in cases, which is creating concerns among its citizens. Although Japan has avoided severe outbreaks when compared to other countries, it has suffered 9,300 losses and their… Read more »
Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/10/us-loosens-restrictions-on-taiwan-contacts-in-defiance-of-china Despite pressure from China during a time of high tensions between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. congress recently passed new guidelines that provides more freedom within U.S. and Taiwan relations. This new occurrence formalizes the increased verbal support the U.S. has been demonstrating for Taiwan. These new guidelines make it possible for U.S. officials to meet with Taiwanese representatives… Read more »
Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/9/china-drills-in-disputed-south-china-sea-as-us-bolsters Recently China began drilling deep in the South China Sea in order to retrieve sediment from the seabed. This pursuit is among rising tensions over disputed waters between China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Additionally, the U.S. has begun to increase their naval presence in the region. China’s new technology is offering the state a promising source of energy,… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-wants-mature-relationship-with-china-foreign-minister-says-2021-05-07/ New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, declared that the country is finding it harder and harder to reconcile their economic desire to trade with China with their humanitarian desire to protect human rights in light of China’s abuse against the Uyghur people of the Xinjiang region. Reuters spoke with Nanaia Mahunta, New Zealand’s foreign minister who… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/57083549 In a shocking move, the United States track and field team has canceled its pre-Olympic training in Japan over the growing concern of the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases. Tokyo is to host the 2020 (2021) Olympic games starting on July 23, 2021 but is now under a state of emergency due to the… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-bambooairways-ipo-exclusive/exclusive-vietnams-bamboo-airways-plans-to-raise-200-million-in-u-s-ipo-chairman-idUSKBN2C11TB Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways plans to go public in the United States in hopes of making up to $200 million in the initial offering. Their goal is to hopefully secure a market capitalization of up to $4 billion dollars. They plan to offer a 5% to 7% stake in the IPO which is an attempt to expand… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/thailand-reports-daily-record-1335-new-coronavirus-cases-2021-04-14/ Thailand has a new serge of Covid- 19 cases with the largest number of new cases in one day with a total of 1,335 cases making the third record rise this week alone. The spike follows the Songkran new year holidays, and the Thais are being urged to avoid unnecessary travel and reduce gatherings to help… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/philippines-files-new-diplomatic-protests-over-chinese-boats-disputed-waters-2021-04-14/ The Philippine government has filed a protest to China after having over 240 Chinese boats within the Philippine waters. These boats are believed to be manned by militias and are heavily fishing the Philippine waters. The Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin posted on Twitter that the Chinese “really are fishing everything in the water that belongs… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/world/asia/japan-squid-statue.html Debate has arisen after the fishing town Noto- roughly 180 miles northwest of Tokyo- spent nearly $230,000 in federal Covid-19 relief money on a 43-foot statue of a flying squid. In a town where squid is a delicacy, the statue was built to promote tourism after the pandemic subsides. The five-and-a-half-ton statue sits outside a squid-themed… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/china-high-speed-maglev-train-intl-hnk/index.html The prototype was unveiled to the media on January 13 in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. It is a sleek 21-meter-long (69 feet) high-speed Maglev train that is capable of reaching speeds up to 620 kilometers (385 miles) per hour. The train runs on high-temperature suprconducting power that makes it seem like the train is… Read more »
