UN diplomat Siddharth Chatterjee makes waves in China with his fitness regime
BEIJING, April 16: Siddharth Chatterjee, the head of the UN in China, is making waves on Chinese social media where he showcased his tough yoga and fitness exploits, including breathing exercises in sub-zero temperatures, which he says helped him to maintain physical and mental equilibrium.
Chatterjee, the UN Resident Coordinator for China, recently released a documentary on the efficacy of deep breathing exercises, which he said will provide immunity from viruses like COVID-19.
Chatterjee’s four-and-a-half-minute documentary titled “Breathing for Good Health” starts with the recitation of the ancient Sanskrit symbol of “Om”, sitting shirtless on a frozen lake bed in Beijing, practising deep breathing workout followed by stomach churning and Sheersh Asan, the headstand exercise has gone viral in social media in China.
“Breathing is the first thing we do when we come to the world and the last thing we do when we leave it,” he says as he sets to begin the exercise in the sub-zero temperature.
Chatterjee, 60, said when he was appointed as the lead UN diplomat in China in 2020, he was close to obesity with high cholesterol, hypertension, and pre-diabetic with a high heart rate.
With high-intensity breathing, fasting and cold exposure, he lost 25 kgs while managing to attain normal blood pressure and other standard health parameters that helped him to achieve physical and mental equilibrium.
Chatterjee’s appointment to head 26 UN offices in China made headlines as it came amid the India-China tensions over the eastern Ladakh standoff which is still unresolved.
Chatterjee, whose family migrated to Kolkata during the freedom struggle from Bangladesh, went through a torrid childhood following the attack of polio and rose to be a decorated Indian military officer serving in the elite para regiment with postings in the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka and counter-insurgency operations in India’s North East. He was decorated for gallantry in 1995. (PTI)
Japanese lower house okays bill to introduce joint custody after divorce
Tokyo, April 16: Japan’s House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill to introduce joint custody after divorce.
At a plenary session of the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, the bill, calling for allowing divorced parents to choose either sole custody or joint custody, was approved by a majority vote, Xinhua news agency reported.
Japan’s current Civil Code grants parental custody to only one of the parents after divorce.
Under the envisioned amendments to the civil law, if parents cannot reach an agreement on custody for their children after divorce, a family court will intervene and make a decision based on the children’s interests.
If there is suspicion of child abuse or domestic violence by one of the parents, the family court will require the other parent to have sole custody under the bill. (IANS)