Photo taken on April 20, 2023, shows the area where the body of a baby was found in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. (Kyodo)
A 19-year-old Vietnamese technical trainee was arrested Thursday after the body of a baby boy was discovered in an empty lot in western Japan, local police said.
The woman, who submitted to voluntary questioning, lived near where the body was found in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, and is suspected of abandoning it between around December and Tuesday. According to an autopsy, the baby had been dead between one and four months.
She has admitted to abandoning the body.
The 52-year-old president of the company where the woman works said, “I didn’t notice any signs of pregnancy because she was in winter outfit or work attire.”
The woman came to Japan in October and has been staying in the company’s dormitory. Six other Vietnamese women work for the company.
A local resident called the police after discovering the body of the baby lying naked and face down at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. There were no external wounds on the body, according to the police.
The arrest comes after another Vietnamese trainee was acquitted by the Supreme Court last month for abandoning her stillborn twins.
Japan introduced the technical internship program in 1993, aiming to transfer knowledge and skills to developing countries. But the scheme has been criticized as providing cover for companies to import cheap labor from across Asia and allowing to create a hotbed for human rights abuses.
There have also been cases in which trainees have been forced to return to their home countries after giving birth, even though Japan prohibits the mistreatment of workers by law, including firing them on the grounds that they are pregnant or have delivered a child.
The aftermath of a deadly stampede in Sanna, Yemen Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (ANSAR ALLAH HOUTHI MEDIA OFFICE via AP)
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A crowd apparently panicked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemen’s capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 73 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials.
The tragedy was Yemen’s deadliest in years that was not related to the country’s long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.
Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.
A crowd apparently spooked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemen’s capital late Wednesday. (AL-MASIRAH TV CHANNEL via AP)
Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless, and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate footage of the aftermath released by Houthi officials showed bloodstains, shoes and victims’ clothing scattered on the ground. Investigators were seen examining the area.
The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sanaa, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.
People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor, during Ramadan.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Brig. Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, blamed the crush on the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.
Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official, said 78 people were killed, according the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite TV channel. At least 73 others were injured and taken to the al-Thowra Hospital in Sanaa, according to hospital deputy director Hamdan Bagheri.
The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was being held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.
The Interior Ministry said it had detained two organizers and an investigation was under way.
The aftermath of a deadly stampede in Sanaa, Yemen Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (AL-MASIRAH TV CHANNEL via AP)
The Houthis said they would pay some $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative, while the injured would get around $400.
Yemen’s capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government.
That prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government.
The conflict has turned in recent years into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, killing more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians and creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, need help and protection, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.
In February the United Nations said it had raised only $1.2 billion out of a target of $4.3 billion at a conference aimed at generating funds to ease the humanitarian crisis.
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AHMED AL-HAJ reported from Saana and SAMY MAGDY reported from Cairo
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn disclosed that the current government has postponed the tourism tax, which will charge a fee of 300 baht (8-9 U.S. dollars) per foreign tourist, from its original implementation date of June 1, 2023 due to an inability to prepare the system in time.
The new date might be in September of this year, coinciding with the formation of the new government.
Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn
Mr. Phiphat stated that the government wanted to grow total tourism income to 25% of Thailand’s GDP by 2027, or within the next five years from 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19, which had accounted for almost 18% of GDP.
A minister from the Bhumjaithai Party also stated his desire to return to work as the Minister of Tourism as before in order to continue Thai tourism policies and aims. He will convince the new government to establish a budget for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in order to stimulate the tourist sector and help it achieve its objectives.
“We require financial assistance.” It was no different than the men on the front lines, who were given toothpicks to go into war with, would be unable to fight and would perish.” said Phiphat.
According to Nikkei Asia report, this tax will be collected on visitors entering Thailand. This fee is waived for foreign nationals who enter Thailand using a border pass or border crossing letter; local government officials at the border, as well as those who do not have passports but have a letter of permission to work in Thailand, are exempt.
The estimated collection of 3.9 billion baht this year will be used as accident insurance for tourists, who used 300 million to 400 million baht worth of services at government hospitals from 2017 to 2019. The fees will also go toward repatriating the remains of foreign travelers who die while in the country.
The new entry fee is separate from the departure tax that has been included in airfares for decades. The exit fee varies based on the airport, with Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi Airport charging the most, at 700 baht.
Since the pandemic, the TAT’s focus has shifted from increasing traveler volume to attracting long-stay and high-spending tourists.
According to the Bureau of the Budget, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports received a total budget of 5,295.5 million baht in the fiscal year 2023, an increase of 4 percent compared to the fiscal year 2022, which received a budget of 5,092.9 million baht.
At the same time, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) received a budget of 3,258.9 million baht, while for the fiscal year 2022, it received a total budget of 2,871 million baht.
The sun and moon are photographed near Exmouth, Australia, during a solar eclipse on Thursday, April 20, 2023. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AP)
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Under a cloudless sky, about 20,000 eclipse chasers watched a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia’s northwest coast into brief midday darkness Thursday with an accompanying temperature drop.
The remote tourist town of Exmouth, with fewer than 3,000 residents, was promoted as one of the best vantage points in Australia to see the eclipse that also crossed remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor.
An international crowd had been gathering for days, camping in tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain on the edge of town with cameras and other viewing equipment pointed skyward.
People wear protective glasses as they look up at a solar eclipse in Exmouth, Australia, Thursday, April 20, 2023. . (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AP)
NASA astronomer Henry Throop was among those at Exmouth cheering loudly in the darkness.
“Isn’t it incredible? This is so fantastic. It was mind-blowing. It was so sharp and it was so bright. You could see the corona around the sun there,” the visibly excited Washington resident said.
“It’s only a minute long, but it really felt like a long time. There’s nothing else you can see which looks like that. It was just awesome. Spectacular. And then you could see Jupiter and Mercury and to be able to see those at the same time during the day — even seeing Mercury at all is pretty rare. So that was just awesome,” Throop added.
Julie Copson, who traveled more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from the Australian west coast port city of Fremantle north to Exmouth, said the phenomenon left her skin tingling.
“I feel so emotional, like I could cry. The color changed and seeing the corona and sun flares …,” Copson said.
“It was very strong and the temperature dropped so much,” she added, referring to a sudden 5 degree Celsius (9 degree Fahrenheit) fall in temperature when the moon’s shadow enveloped the region.
In Indonesia’s capital, hundreds came to the Jakarta Planetarium to see the partial eclipse that was obscured by clouds.
Azka Azzahra, 21, came with her sister and friends to get a closer look by using the telescopes with hundreds of other visitors.
Indonesian youths wear protective glasses to watch solar eclipse in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
“I am still happy to come even though it is cloudy. It is happy to see how people with high enthusiasm come here to see the eclipse, because it is rare,” Azzahra said.
The call to prayer resounded from the city’s mosques when the eclipse phase began as Muslims said eclipse prayers as a reminder of God’s greatness.
The hybrid solar eclipse tracked from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and was mostly over water. The lucky few people in its path either saw the darkness of a total eclipse or a “ring of fire” as the sun peeked from behind the new moon.
A partial solar eclipse is seen through the cloud over Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Such celestial events happen about once every decade: The last one was in 2013 and the next one isn’t until 2031. They occur when Earth is in the “sweet spot” so the moon and the sun are almost the exact same size in the sky, said NASA solar expert Michael Kirk.
At some points, the moon is a little closer and blocks out the sun in a total eclipse. But when the moon is a little farther away, it lets some of the sun’s light peek out in an annular eclipse.
“It’s a crazy phenomenon,” Kirk said. “You’re actually watching the moon get larger in the sky.”
Several other upcoming solar eclipses will be easier to catch. An annular eclipse in mid-October and a total eclipse next April will both cross over millions of people in the Americas.
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Burakoff reported from New York. Associated Press journalist Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The case in which a famous net idol and an Air Force cadet were discovered shot to death inside a room in a luxury condominium in the Asoke neighbourhood of Bangkok on April 19 has been ruled domestic violence.
According to police investigation, Miss Supitcha Prechajaroen or Jijee, 19 was shot dead by her boyfriend Phumiphat Chaiwanichaya or Ikkyu, 17, the cadet at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, and the son of a General. Ikkyu then committed suicide by self-fire. He passed away alongside Jijee on the bed on April 18.
Officers conducting the investigation discovered a 9 mm pistol at the crime site, which they believe Ikkyu used for murder.
After checking Ikkyu’s social media accounts, the authorities discovered that he was obsessed with firearms. There are numerous recordings of him engaging in carbine and rifle shooting practise.
The text messages also revealed that Ikkyu constantly threatened his girlfriend with physical harm. This is included in the message threatening to shoot the woman if she does not pick up the phone: “I will definitely shoot you.”
Miss Supitcha Prechajaroen or Jijee, 19 and Phumiphat Chaiwanichaya or Ikkyu, 19.
Jijee’s father also disclosed that his daughter ended her relationship with this man two months ago due to his violent behaviour. He questioned how Ikkyu was able to handle the firearms.
Men attacking or killing their girlfriends or spouses has become routine news at all levels of society, particularly in cases of jealousy and when a woman asks to end a relationship.
According to a survey conducted by the Foundation for the Promotion of Social Equality Together in 2021, at least seven Thai women were subjected to physical, mental, health, and social damage on a daily basis for as long as there were admitted women. On average, up to 30,000 cases of violence against women are reported each year, which is the one of highest number in worldwide.
Investigators inspect burnt out corridor following a fire at a hospital in Beijing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. More than a dozen people have died in a fire at the Beijing hospital that forced the evacuation of dozens of patients on Tuesday, Chinese state media reported. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospital’s head and her deputy.
The fire broke out at the private Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and forced dozens of people to evacuate. Some who were trapped had to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.
A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died in the incident, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of Fengtai district.
Police officers gather outside the barricaded building following a fire at a hospital in Beijing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The cause of the fire is under investigation but officials say they believe it originated from welding sparks from work being done in the hospital’s inpatient wing. Among the 12 people who were detained was the head of the construction crew.
A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of them in critical condition, officials said. Rescue crews and medical staff from around the city were mobilized, with squads plucking some of the 142 people who were evacuated from air conditioning units on the building’s exterior.
More than a dozen people have died in a fire at a Beijing hospital that forced the evacuation of dozens of patients on Tuesday, Chinese state media reported. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Safety rules are frequently ignored in China, but accidents on the level of the Changfeng fire are treated with a much higher level of scrutiny. Construction accidents sometimes result from corners being cut on work hours and safety conditions, while local officials are bribed to ignore violations.
The central government has pledged stronger safety measures since an explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers.
Police officers and security guards gather outside the barricaded hospital following a fire at a hospital in Beijing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. More than a dozen people have died in a fire at a Beijing hospital that forced the evacuation of dozens of patients on Tuesday, Chinese state media reported. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
An article by “Wong Tawan” in Khaosod Newspaper raised concern a possible link between the hacker “9near”, who hacked the personal data of 55 million Thais, and the Thai general election, which will be held on May 14.
The suspect is Sgt. Lt. Khemrat Boonchuay, 33, a soldier in the Royal Thai Army. It is reported that he was a member of the army’s information operation or IO and may have been involved with someone close to the government.
Khemrat chose “9near” as the pseudonym for his hack. When translated into Thai, the name means “move little,” which is a satirical name for a liberal political party “Move Forward”. The party’s main concern is to fight the coup and introduce social reformation, especially in the army.
Sgt. Lt. Khemrat Boonchuay or “9near”
He claimed to have knowledge of information technology. When he came across a website selling personal data, he bought the data of 8 million people for 8,000 baht. But the public does not believe him.
When the Minister of Digital Economy and Society and the Cybercrime Police do not openly announce the case or provide regular updates on the case, preferring to let the story fizzle out, the public thinks even more that the 9near hacker might have something to do with politics, especially the elections.
Although the suspect’s department has suspended his work and sent him to the army prison, or the Prime Minister as Minister of Defence along with senior commanders insist that Khemrat did this for his personal benefit and had nothing to do with the army, the public is still suspicious.
As part of getting ready for the election, Bang Khen District put up a list of candidates for MPs in a district and a list of voters for the public to check.
The question has been raised in public whether it is possible for a low-ranking soldier to operate alone. Some say that his direct commander should also take responsibility for his actions, as safety is at stake here.
The fact that the personal data of 55 million Thais were hacked from a government health application “Mhor Phrom”, which contains comprehensive data about a person including an individual identification number, date of birth and phone number, makes the situation even more worrying.
“9near” turned himself in to police on April 12 after hiding to avoid arrest for weeks.
If this data is leaked to government agencies whose power could easily be manipulated to keep themselves in power, amidst numerous polls indicating that opposing parties are in the lead, it could be worrying that the information is being used in bad faith and endangering democracy.
If you look back at the history of corruption, you find that there have been many tactics. As we live in a digital age, the new corruption could also make use of these.
A 6-year-old girl from Nan province came to the Chiang Mai Zoo today to see Lin Hui, a famous female panda. She was very sad to learn that she would never get to see Lin Hui again, after the Chiang Mai Zoo announced the death of Lin Hui at the age of 21 on April 19, 2023.
Giant panda Lin Hui takes food at Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Dec. 23, 2022. Lin Hui arrived in Chiang Mai on loan from China at the age of two in 2003. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)
The girl’s grandpa told reporters that his 6-year-old granddaughter wanted to see the Lin Hui panda, but all she found was a sign saying that it was closed for repairs. She was very sad because of this. They didn’t know that Panda Lin Hui had already died before they went to the Chiang Mai Zoo. When his granddaughter heard that the panda had died, it broke her heart.
The girl said she wanted to see the panda, which she had never seen before. She planned to come and feed Lin Hui the panda. This news made her very sad.
A girl is very sad when she learns that Lin Hui had passed away.
During the interview, the girl cried, so her grandfather took her to look at Lin Hui’s picture attached to the entrance of the zoo. But that makes the child cry even louder, until her grandfather and relatives have to take her to travel to other places.
It was reported that Lin Hui had been experiencing irregular symptoms since April 18 and was under intensive care by staff and experts from China. Unfortunately, she passed away at 1 a.m. April, 19. Chiang Mai Zoo said Lin Hui died of old age.
The remark came as some speculate PM2.5 microdust particles may have played part. On Tuesday, a Chinese tourist took the last photos of the panda hours before she passed away and posted them online. It shows that Lin Hui was bleeding from her nose and mouth.
The photos from a Chinese tourist shows that Lin Hui was bleeding from her nose and mouth.
However, Thewarat Vejmanus, a veterinarian who works on the panda study and exhibition project, said that the nosebleeds could be caused by other things besides the PM2.5 situation. The exact reason of death won’t be known until Chinese experts do an autopsy again.
Thewarat also explained that the death of Lin Hui at 21 years and 7 months is a mortality in the normal life expectancy of pandas, which is about 20 years. If it compared to human age, Lin Hui would be about 80 years old.
Lin Hui was born on September 28, 2001 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Her father was Pan Pan and her mother was Tang Tang.
FILE – Xuang Xuang, a male panda, left, plays on the ground, as Lin Hui, right, a female panda, eats a cake made of bamboo and carrots to celebrate her fourth birthday at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai province, on Sept. 28, 2005 (AP Photo/Wichai Traprew, File)
Lin Hui arrived at Chiang Mai Zoo on October 12, 2003, along with another male panda named Chuang Chuang, as goodwill ambassadors between Thailand and China. The two pandas have become favourites of the Thai people while living at the zoo. Both have a cub named Lin Ping, a female giant panda born on May 27, 2009 before being sent back to China in 2013.
Lin Hui was voted third-best personality panda worldwide via the Giant Panda Zoo.com website. She was due to be sent back to China later this year on October 22, after her partner Chuang Chuang died of heart failure at Chiang Mai Zoo on September 16, 2019, aged 19.
Chiang Mai Zoo celebrated Lin Hui’s birthday on September 28. 2022.
Lin Hui had always been a healthy panda. The zoo celebrated her 21st birthday on September 28, 2022, with zoo director Wuthichai Muangman, vice consul general Yang Jiong and Lin Hui’s fans all attending the event and singing her a birthday serenade.
The death of Lin Hui has triggered a flood of sad posts on Thai social media, underpinning her popularity over the past two decades, while executives from the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand and the Chiang Mai Zoo put flowers in front of Lin Hui’s picture and mourned.
According to Associated Press, the life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.
Cars are seen piled on top of each other at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage in the Financial District of New York, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) — A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said.
Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.
Ahmed Scott arrived to collect his car after work and found a disaster in the making.
This photo provided by Charlie Franklin shows a partially collapsed parking garage in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in New York. Officials didn’t immediately release any information on injuries. (Charlie Franklin via AP)
In a video he shot from across the street, someone off-camera yells, “Guard! 911! 911! There’s a building collapsing on Ann Street,” followed by the sound of something crumpling. About 45 seconds later, two women run out, saying the building fell while they were inside it. A man stands on a fire escape as bystanders try to figure out how to help him get down. He eventually did, Scott said.
“I hope ain’t nobody else in there,” Scott recalled thinking, worrying for the garage workers he’d gotten to know.
To Jadess Speller, a student at nearby Pace University, the collapse “felt like an earthquake — like the earth opened up inside, like that’s how violent it was.” Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.
Cars are seen piled on top of each other at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage in the Financial District of New York, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
One vehicle landed on its end in the garage entrance, a photo posted by Mayor Eric Adams’ office showed.
Authorities believed they had accounted for everyone inside the building, but searches continued Tuesday evening to make sure no one was in any of the squashed cars, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said. One garage employee was rescued via a neighboring roof after being trapped on an upper floor, he said.
“He was conscious and alert and moving around, calling us. He just couldn’t get down,” Esposito said. Four of the injured were hospitalized and in stable condition, and the fifth refused medical attention, he said.
The garage caved in around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange. Pace evacuated an adjacent dorm and classroom building, and canceled all evening classes as it assessed the buildings’ safety. School officials sent the displaced students to a student center while working out other accommodations.
In this image taken from video, New York City Police and Fire Department personnel cordon off an area in New York’s Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, near the site of a partially collapsed parking garage. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Don Mulligan was on the 17th floor of a nearby hotel when he heard a roar like a jet flying overhead and felt the high-rise sway.
“You knew something was happening,” said Mulligan, of Cincinnati. The hotel was evacuated, he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collapse. City Buildings Department records show the three-story structure has been a garage at least since the 1920s, and there are no recent permits for construction.
Messages were left for a parking company that lists the garage as one of its properties.
The collapse left the building “completely unstable,” Adams said at a news conference. Esposito said firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and robotic dog.
In this image taken from video of video being recorded at the scene, New York City Fire Department personnel carry a person on a stretcher away from an area in New York’s Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, following the partially collapsed of a parking garage. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
The building was “all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor,” acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.
William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his friends thought they heard an explosion and ran to a window to look. As they opened the window, a plume of thick dust rose in the air.
When it cleared, they peered down into the parking structure, where cars were tossed asunder and a top deck had cracked open.
Flashnick initially worried for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighborhood.
“We freaked out. Given the history of this place, it’s a little scary,” he said.
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By TED SHAFFREY, BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and JENNIFER PELTZ reported from New York, Michael R. Sisak and Deepti Hajela contributed.
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh holds up the Oscar statuette during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Yeoh won the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" at the Oscars on March 12. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Michelle Yeoh says she is looking for new challenges including as a producer, as she credited perseverance, hard work and passion for her historic Oscar win last month.
The 60-year-old became the first Asian to win the Academy Award for best actress for her performance as a laundromat owner in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The movie won a total of seven awards, including best picture.
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, holds up the Oscar statuette during an event with fans in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Returning to her native Malaysia to celebrate her mother’s birthday, Yeoh said she felt a sense of relief after clinching the award.
“It was a roller coaster ride that started last year when the movie first came out. It was a whole year of not knowing, wanting, hoping, wishing,” she told a news conference. “During the journey, everyone was asking, ‘Do you want the Oscar?’ I said, hell, yes, of course I want the Oscar. Who doesn’t? I am not going to beat around the bush and say no because it represents so much to so many of us.”
Yeoh reiterated that her Oscar victory was a “beacon of hope” for Asian women.
“It shows us it can be done and all of you can do it,” she said.
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh holds up the Oscar award during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Yeoh, who started her career in Hong Kong before becoming a Hollywood star, said she was blessed to have been able to work on diverse movies and with “forward thinking filmmakers to fight for what I truly believe in — representation, diversity, especially empowerment of women.” She said she refuses to be boxed in stereotypical roles but believes in pushing the envelope in her career.
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, holds up the Oscar statuette during an event with fans in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
While she has no interest in directing, she said she may branch out again as a producer.
“Directors have no life. I love my life too much,” she said in jest. “I love producing. I have produced before and now I can start to do so again … now I am able to branch out more because people have started to listen, and appreciate what you can bring forward. As an actor, I love what I can do. I am so lucky to be able to say it’s not a job, it’s really a passion.”
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, right, holds up the Oscar award during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Yeoh said she will be heading back to London to complete the filming of “Wicked,” a two-part movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical directed by Jon Chu. She said she hopes to return to Asia in the next few months.
“I am always looking for a challenge,” Yeoh said. “I believe there is so much to do in our part of the world. All of us collectively. Don’t isolate yourself. Don’t feel that I must always tell my story. We are collaborators, we are storytellers. Let’s work together and do great things.”
