Good morning. A gas crisis looms over Europe, anger grows in Shanghai and Singapore executes a mentally retarded man.
Infrastructure: Ukrainians are blowing up their own bridges and dams in an attempt to stop Russia’s advance. In Demydiv, a village north of Kiev that Ukrainians deliberately flooded, residents couldn’t be happier. “We saved Kiev,” someone said.
State of the war:
About 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Britain said.
Rising public anger in Shanghai
Now in their fourth week of Covid lockdown, many Shanghai residents are finding creative ways to circumvent government censorship to document the tragedy they see unfolding in the city.
They have teamed up to repost deleted content, for a time when censors’ ability to keep up was overwhelming, collecting images of rotting food or screaming matches with local officials, telling the authorities’ story of a neat , cheerful response to an outbreak was refuted.
The outpouring of grief, anger and frustration represents the greatest challenge to Communist Party leadership in years. It is a direct challenge to China’s leader Xi Jinping, who has entrenched his legitimacy in a pursuit of “zero Covid”.
Details: Large numbers of people shared a video, “Voices of April,” detailing residents’ complaints; in one post, to avoid censorship, the video was played on a cartoon computer viewed by SpongeBob SquarePants.
Cases: The Shanghai outbreak may be abating. On Wednesday, the municipality announced the lowest number of new cases in weeks: 12,309. Only 171 of these were detected among people who were not already in isolation.
Beijing: About 139,000 employees are engaged in a massive testing effort. The capital has only known 138 cases, three dozen of which have been linked to a single school.
Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
Other updates:
Singapore’s controversial execution
Singapore, which has some of the world’s strictest drug laws, has executed a Malaysian man convicted of smuggling 1.5 ounces of heroin into the island. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, was executed by hanging, according to his lawyer.
The case attracted international attention and called on business leaders to postpone the implementation. His lawyers and human rights organizations said he should be spared because he had an intellectual disability. Nagaenthran, who had an IQ of 69, was unable to fully understand his actions and was forced to carry the drugs, his defenders said.
Background: Singapore argues that the death penalty is a deterrent to drug smuggling. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was “deeply concerned” about an increase in executions there. “The use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes is incompatible with international human rights law,” it said.
THE LAST NEWS
Asia
Once upon a time, Jews hid Torah scrolls in golf bags to take them to Dubai. But now that the United Arab Emirates have normalized diplomatic relations with Israel, Dubai’s Jewish community has become more open – hosting numerous weekly services, kosher restaurants and even challah baking parties.
Lives Lived: Kane Tanaka, the oldest person in the world, survived two world wars, the 1918 flu pandemic and cancer. She died in Japan at 119.
Fast food of the future
Drive-through restaurants, an American innovation that went mainstream in the 1970s, are often associated with burgers and fries. But now some Vietnamese chefs are aiming for the same fast food success, writes Priya Krishna.
In Houston, which has a large Vietnamese population, several drive-through Vietnamese restaurants have opened in recent years. Others are popping up all over the country. Americans’ increasing familiarity with the cuisine is also helping the trend, one owner said.
Cassie Ghaffar, an owner of Saigon Hustle in Houston, said she hoped to emulate the success of Panda Express. Saigon Hustle serves banh mi (sandwiches), bun (vermicelli bowls), and com (rice bowls).
“The drive-through is less intimidating,” Ghaffar said. “It gives more people the chance to try Vietnamese cuisine.”
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook?
There are endless ways to roast a chicken. Try this well-seasoned option, topped with a sweet-tacky maple glaze, sliced with paprika and vinegar.
