Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
March 7, 2016
Chinese airliner forced to land after rat found on board
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese airliner returned to an airport shortly after
takeoff because a rat was discovered in the cabin. The rodent was found shortly
after a Loong Air flight from the eastern city of Hangzhou left for the
southwestern resort city of Xishuangbanna. It wasn’t clear how the rat gained
access to the plane, although the official Xinhua News Agency said it wasn’t
brought on board as a pet and may have arrived with the meal service. Xinhua
said the plane was fumigated and disinfected after landing, but gave no word on
the fate of the rat. Along with worrying passengers, rats can damage a plane’s
electrical and other systems by chewing through wires.
Long-lost Caravaggio painting makes public debut
TOKYO (AP) — A long-lost painting by Italian master Caravaggio is being
shown to the public for the first time at an exhibit in Tokyo. “Mary Magdalene in
Ecstasy” was found in a private collection in 2014 and identified as an original by
Caravaggio specialist Mina Gregori, an Italian art historian. The 1606 work was
previously known only through copies made by followers of the artist. The
painting is one of 11 Caravaggio works in the show, “Caravaggio and His Time:
Friends, Rivals, and Enemies,” which is on view at the National Museum of
Western Art through June 12. It also includes 40 paintings by other artists who
were influenced by him. Caravaggio, who died in 1610, was an innovative
painter widely viewed as one of the founders of Baroque art. His work influenced
many other 17th-century artists.
N. Korea tells people to work harder in loyalty campaign
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea is urging its people to hun-
ker down and work harder with a “70-day campaign of loyalty” before a major
meeting of its ruling Workers’ Party in May. Red placards went up around the
capital to start the campaign. Thousands of Pyongyang residents went to Kim Il
Sung Square to show their commitment. While the U.N. Security Council is
closer to putting new sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear test and
satellite launch, the North’s government has focused internally on a traditional
socialist struggle to produce more in the workplace and demonstrate loyalty.
China to make permanent residency easier for foreigners
BEIJING (AP) — China plans to make it easier for foreigners to live and work
in the country under new rules for obtaining permanent residency. Guidelines
issued by China’s cabinet aim to expand the categories of foreigners in China
eligible to obtain the Chinese equivalent of a U.S. green card. Procedures will
also be simplified and restrictions relaxed on foreign students seeking jobs in the
country. The changes come as China’s economy is slowing and once-robust
interest among foreign investors is falling. More than 7,000 foreigners have
obtained permanent residency since the policy was adopted in 2004, a small
fraction of the roughly 600,000 living in China. Many of those received the status
as a reward for meritorious service to China’s economy, the arts, and sciences.
Dutch tourist says he’s lucky to survive Nepal tiger attack
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Dutch tourist who survived a tiger attack in
the jungles of southwestern Nepal by climbing a tree said he’s lucky to be alive
and will now have a story to tell. Gerard Van Laar said he was attacked by the
tiger when he and his Nepalese guide were hiking in Bardia National Park. “I
was super lucky to be alive. I would have been dead if it had not been for Krishna
(the guide),” Laar said by phone from Bardia, about 250 miles southwest of
Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. He was able to escape by climbing a tree, but his
guide was attacked and slightly injured as he ran away to draw the attention of
the tiger.
Actor stabbed to death with sword at rehearsal
TOKYO (AP) — An actor was fatally stabbed with a samurai sword while
rehearsing a play at a Tokyo studio. Police were investigating whether the death
was criminal or accidental. Media reports indicated several actors were
performing an action scene when the man was stabbed. Apparently no one saw
what exactly happened. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that the
other actors saw Daigo Kashino hunched over, wounded in the abdomen, when
they turned around after hearing him groan. Kashino, 33, was an actor with the
theater group in downtown Tokyo. He was rushed to a hospital but died hours
later, police said. Police didn’t describe the sword or if it might have had safety
features to prevent injury.
Vietnam suspends guards after inmate becomes pregnant
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Four prison guards in northern Vietnam have been
suspended for alleged negligence after a female inmate, on death row for drug
trafficking, became pregnant, which means her death sentence will be com-
muted to life in prison once her child is born, according to state media reports.
The Thanh Nien newspaper said Nguyen Thi Hue, 42, was arrested in 2012 for
drug trafficking and sentenced to death in 2014. A court rejected her appeal the
same year. The paper reported that while in prison Hue paid $2,300 to a male
inmate to help her get pregnant. It said the 27-year-old male inmate twice put
his sperm in a plastic bag with a syringe in a mutually agreed place and Hue
inseminated herself. She became pregnant and is expected to give birth in about
two months. Under Vietnamese law, Hue will have her death sentence
commuted to life imprisonment for having a child under three years of age. In
2007, two prison guards in the northern province of Hoa Binh were sentenced for
up to five years in prison for abuse of power for allowing a female inmate to get
pregnant with a male inmate.
HAZARDOUS HABIT. An Indian family takes a selfie on Mumbai’s coastline. India is home to the highest number
of people who have died while taking photos of themselves, with 19 of the world’s 49 recorded selfie-linked deaths since
2014, according to San Francisco-based data-service provider Priceonomics. The statistic may in part be due to India’s
sheer size, with 1.25 billion citizens and one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Mumbai sets no-selfie zones
as deaths linked to selfies rise
By Rishabh R. Jain and Manish Mehta
The Associated Press
UMBAI, India — Look around in
any major Indian city, and you will
find someone with an arm out-
stretched, mobile phone in hand, smiling
widely and clicking away. Even Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has embraced the
medium, posting pictures online he’s snapped
with various world leaders.
But the pursuit of the most epic selfie can
have lethal consequences.
India is home to the highest number of
people who have died while taking photos of
themselves, with 19 of the world’s 49 recorded
selfie-linked deaths since 2014, according to
San Francisco-based data-service provider
Priceonomics. The statistic may in part be due
to India’s sheer size, with 1.25 billion citizens
and one of the world’s fastest-growing smart-
phone markets.
Alarmed by the trend, Mumbai has declared
16 no-selfie zones across the city, as authori-
ties warn people against taking unnecessary
risks.
In early February, an 18-year-old college
student on a class picnic lost his balance while
taking a selfie atop a rock near a dam near the
central Indian city of Nashik. He fell into the
water and drowned, along with a classmate
who jumped in to try and save him.
In January, an 18-year-old woman fell and
drowned in the sea while taking a photo of
herself at Mumbai’s Bandstand Fort, a
popular tourist spot.
An engineering student sustained fatal
head injuries when a rock he was standing on
cracked and sent him tumbling. He’d been
M
trying to take a selfie with friends in front of
the Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu.
And in January 2014, three students
between the ages of 20 and 22 died when they
stopped to take a photo with a speeding train
approaching, and were hit. They’d been on
their way to visit the Taj Mahal.
In Mumbai, police have declared selfies
off-limits in areas perceived as risky —
particularly along the coastline in spots with
no railings or barriers. Anyone venturing into
off-limits areas, even if they take no photos,
risks being slapped with a fine of 1,200 rupees
(about $18).
After the woman’s death, the city’s police
conducted a survey to identify such dangerous
places, police official Dhananjay Kulkarni
said. The city also plans to run an awareness
campaign.
Despite clearly marked signs demarking the
selfie-free zones, people can still be seen
clicking away, and often going to the edges or
standing on ledges to get the most thrilling
shots.
“When you are travelling alone, and do not
have anyone to take your pictures, then it’s
only selfie,” said Murtuza Rangwala, a student
in Mumbai.
Mumbai psychologist Keerti Sachdeva said
she doesn’t expect the constant pursuit of
selfies to end any time soon, saying one proba-
ble reason is the need for acceptance and love.
“You know people have this sort of feeling in
adolescent age, especially that they need to get
this acceptance from everyone, that I am a
smart person, I am a good-looking person,”
Sachdeva said. “So for acceptance and recogni-
tion, they are indulging in taking of selfies.”
Jain reported from New Delhi.
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Exchange Rates
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78.425
4042.1
6.5202
2.1075
7.766
67.095
13132
30191
113.83
8130.5
4.1123
107.46
104.77
3.0628
46.928
72.87
3.751
1.3829
1203.3
144.75
32.959
35.435
22290