On April 22, the UK Parliament unanimously declared that China has been committing genocide and crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region, CNN reports. Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, and other minorities.
Read MoreEvery four minutes, someone dies from COVID-19 in Delhi, India. Smoke from mass cremation sites covered the skies in a thick layer, as seen in CNN’s drone footage. On Friday, April 30, the country continued its streak of diagnosing over 300,000 new cases in a single day, the ninth consecutive day with over 200,000 total deaths. There is increasing evidence, however, that the death toll may be five to ten times higher than reported, partly due to the country’s large population of nearly 1.4 billion people. India faces a lack of vaccines, hospital beds, vaccines, and oxygen supplies; even crematoriums are struggling to keep up with the pandemic.
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On April 11, 2021, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, acknowledged that China’s domestically produced vaccines offer little protection against COVID-19, reports The Associated Press.
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Violence erupted in late 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory self-declared as the Republic of Artsakh by its majority Armenian population. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the region became a tinderbox waiting to erupt into conflict following the 1994 ceasefire.
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Ever since Taiwan separated itself from mainland China in 1949, relations between Beijing and Tapiei have been tenuous at best. At worst, the Taiwan Strait is a hotbed for diplomatic and military gridlock as Beijing and Taiwan vie for control of the region. On April 20, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army flew a squadron of 25 aircraft into Taiwan airspace, the South China Morning Post reports. While these exercises are not uncommon in the Taiwan Strait, the incursion comes at a time of great tension between China and the United States’ growing relationship with Taiwan.
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The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is on track to release over a million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean as part of its cleanup efforts. The first release is anticipated to begin in 2023, with the total process expecting to last over a decade. The move comes as water continues to accumulate, despite the plant being decommissioned following a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly disrupted nearly every aspect of global society, making the emergence of several vaccines a welcome development. The United States, along with the European Union, has prioritized the purchasing and distribution of vaccines since early December 2020.
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Myanmar’s military crackdown on protestors is sending shock waves throughout the Asian nation. The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar urged the UN Security Council to consider “potential significant action” in Myanmar to prevent the country from falling into a civil war. The organization also called for a complete reversal of the February 1 military coup and the restoration of the country’s democratically elected government. CNN reports that at least 550 people have been killed by Myanmar’s military in the aftermath of the coup.
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Beijing has increased its naval presence in the South China Sea, fueling regional tensions. The islands of the South China Sea have been disputed between China and other Southeast Asian states since Vietnam’s 2009 reclamation of occupied islands due to overlapping claims of sovereignty.
Read MoreAn eight-car passenger train in Eastern Taiwan derailed on April 3, killing at least 50, including the train driver and a French citizen, and injuring hundreds. The Taitung-bound train was north of Hualien when it derailed in a tunnel, which caused further damage as the cars collided with the tunnel walls, reports CNN. Authorities confirmed they removed all the passengers from the wreckage, although some of the dead have yet to be identified.
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