Yunhan Zhang will never forget the day he became the victim of a hate crime. Mr Zhang was behind the counter of his tea cafe off Dupont Circle in Washington when it happened.
“A man just walked in saying, ‘Chinese tea, Chinese people, Covid-19’,” Mr Zhang recounted.
The man, who was caught on security footage but remains at large, pulled out a can of pepper spray and squirted Mr Zhang in the face.
Mr Zhang’s eyes burned for hours after the November 10 incident and yet he considers himself lucky. “I was happy it was only pepper spray because it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
Since the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, there has been an alarming spike in violence against Asian Americans. According to Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate, a group formed in 2020 to monitor the increasing number of reported attacks, there have been more than 2,800 incidents against members of the Asian community around the country.
“We know this is taking place across the country. It’s in rural areas as well as urban areas,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and one of the founders of the group.
In the San Francisco Bay area, there have been a string of shocking incidents, many caught on camera, of brutal acts of violence against elderly Asians.
The most horrific incident occurred on January 28. Eighty-four-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for a morning walk when a man ran across the street and bowled him over. Mr Ratanapakdee, a grandfather who had just received his Covid-19 vaccine, died from his injuries two days later.
San Francisco police have charged 19-year-old Antoine Watson with murder and elder abuse. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In New York City, a 71-year-old woman was punched in the face while waiting for the subway. It was one of four potentially race-related attacks against Asian Americans in New York last week. The attacks prompted hundreds of New Yorkers to attend an anti-violence rally in Manhattan on Saturday.
The recent spate of attacks have echoed across the country. In Washington on Friday, the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus held a press conference to denounce the violence.
“It breaks my heart that today’s press conference is even necessary. But the Asian-American community has reached a crisis point that cannot be ignored,” said Judy Chu, a representative from California.
At the press conference, which was attended by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Ms Chu called for better legislation to protect the Asian Americans. “We need legislation that helps us respond to the increase in hate crimes and violence. That’s why we’re calling for a hearing on and the passage of the no-hate act which would improve hate crime reporting and provide victims with more support to address these crimes,” she said.
In some cases, local law enforcement have been slow or reluctant to classify incidents as hate crimes. Ms Kulkarni said there have been several cases where incidents appeared to be obviously motivated by hate, but police chose not to pursue such charges.
She referred to two incidents in particular, including a 2015 incident where a man killed three young Muslim Americans in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police there refused to charge the man with a hate crime.
Many blame the recent wave of anti-Asian violence in the US on former president Donald Trump. While in office, Mr Trump repeatedly referred to the virus as the “Chinese virus”, “Wuhan Virus” or “Kung Flu” — language that many say not only contributed but emboldened many to act out.
“Sadly, president Trump was active in fomenting hate against our community and really put people in harm's way. We know that from our data,” said Ms Kulkarni.
One of those people was Mr Zhang. The 29-year-old has lived in the US for twelve years. He says he noticed an increase in hate towards his community during the Trump administration particularly at the beginning of the pandemic. “Starting in late May, we had seen this type of escalation, verbal attacks, physical attacks, property damage. So, for months, I’ve seen things escalate, but nothing as bad as November and it was definitely the worst.”
Mr Zhang fears it won’t be the last. “I wouldn’t be surprised if something else happens,” he said from behind the very counter he was attacked at.
Mr Zhang and his wife have worked hard to achieve their own slice of the American dream, to be small business owners, and yet that dream has been tarnished by the recent attacks.
Instead of celebrating their success in managing to keep their cafe open during the pandemic, they have been busy devising safety plans in case of another attack.
“We came up with one or two plans for emergency situations. For example, the first one would be, what if somebody comes back, or he comes back with a gun? Where can we run, which door to lock, which number to call what to do in that type of situation.”
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
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The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Company%20Profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
More on animal trafficking
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.