By Eric Card Northwest Asian Weekly “Don’t forget about where you come from. It’s very, very important in your life, where you come from.” These are the first words uttered by Satnam Singh Bhamara in the documentary “One in a Billion,” recently released on Netflix, chronicling his arduous journey in trying to become the first-ever […]
Tokyo breaks ground on new 2020 Olympics National Stadium
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo held a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 11 for a $1.5 billion National Stadium to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, and other dignitaries launched the construction at the site of the demolished National Stadium, which was used during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, by putting […]
Smog alert: Chinese city cancels flights
BEIJING (AP) — A smog-shrouded Chinese city canceled airline flights on Dec. 18 due to poor visibility and parents took children to hospitals on the second day of a pollution alert across the country’s north. The official Xinhua News Agency said 35 flights in Tianjin, east of Beijing, were delayed or canceled. Highways into the […]
Weekends at last: Taiwan workers to get 2 days off a week
By Ralph Jennings Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Since Taiwan industrialized in the 1960s, its workers have strived to do whatever their employers asked, including putting in free overtime, out of fear of being replaced. “We wanted to contribute to our company, and in return, we want the company to respond in positive ways […]
Vietnamese comic Minh Beo sentenced in sex crimes case
WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) — Vietnamese comedian Minh Beo has been sentenced to 18 months in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in California. Orange County prosecutors said on Dec. 16 that the 38-year-old must also register as a sex offender. The comedian, whose real name is Minh Quang Hong, pleaded guilty in August […]
Lawrence Colburn dies; helped end Vietnam’s My Lai massacre
By Chevel Johnson Associated Press Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67. Lisa Colburn, speaking with The Associated Press on Dec. 15, said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with […]
An international ‘Rogue One’ cast for a new ‘Star Wars’ era
By Lindsey Bahr AP Film Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — “Star Wars” has always had a wide variety of faces and languages in its films, but, besides a few outliers, the diversity was mainly limited to that of the various creatures inhabiting the planets. “The Force Awakens” cracked that seal a bit, but it’s the […]
Fijian man found guilty of trying to sell devices to China
By Martha Bellisle Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A jury has found a Fijian man guilty of coming to the U.S. to buy devices used in aircraft, satellites, and missiles so he could sell them to China, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. After a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle […]
Vietnamese woman dies from gunshot during robbery
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY A woman shot during a robbery in South Seattle on Dec. 15 has died. Officers responded to 39th Avenue South and South Warsaw Street at 8:30 p.m. to reports of shots fired. Eyewitnesses said 45-year-old My-Linh Nguyen was walking in the area when the suspect approached her and tried to […]
Model who broke industry barriers dies
China Machado, a legendary supermodel and fashion editor who was one of the first women to break high fashion’s color barrier, has died at 86. A Facebook page associated with Machado’s fashion line announced on Dec. 18 that she had died. The New York Times, citing Machado’s family, says she died of a heart attack. […]