Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
June 20, 2016
Facebook apologizes for featuring inverted Philippine flag
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Facebook has apologized for featuring an
inverted Philippine flag to mark the country’s June 12 Independence Day after
Filipinos pointed out the mistake. The social media giant greeted users in the
Philippines with the comments: “Happy Independence Day! Here’s to all of the
Philippines’ health, happiness, and prosperity.” But the button that allowed
users to share the greetings had the red portion of the flag on top, instead of blue
— traditionally meaning the country was at war. Facebook took down the post
after several people pointed out the error and apologized, but a screenshot was
circulated on social media.
Toyota gets bullish on plug-in hybrids with new Prius Prime
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota says it may not have been as bullish as rivals in the
past in pushing plug-in hybrids. Toyota Motor Corp. leads the industry in
hybrids, which switch between a gas engine and an electric motor, having sold 9
million hybrid vehicles around the world since the first Prius went on sale in
1997. In contrast, the Japanese automaker has sold only about 75,000 plug-in
hybrids, which charge from a regular household plug, run as a pure electric
vehicle, and switch to a hybrid when the battery runs low. The remodelled
plug-in, called the Prius Prime in the U.S. and Prius PHV in Japan, goes on sale
later this year. Chief engineer Kouji Toyoshima says Toyota took its time to
study the best plug-in solutions.
Vietnamese police break up protest over fish deaths
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Police in Vietnam’s capital have broken up a protest
over what critics charge is the government’s delayed response to massive fish
deaths which they believe are linked to industrial pollution. A protester, Le
Hoang, said more than 30 people marched peacefully in downtown Hanoi for
about 15 minutes before most were taken to police stations in two busses. He
said they were held for several hours and then released without charges.
Thousands of dead fish began washing ashore along more than 120 miles of
shoreline in four central provinces in early April. Protesters and state media
speculated that a steel complex owned by a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa
Plastic Corp. may have been linked to what was an unprecedented
environmental disaster for the Southeast Asian country. The fishing and
tourism industries in the provinces have been badly affected by the incident.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said the
government should provide people with basic answers to the fish deaths instead
of cracking down on peaceful protesters.
ACT exams cancelled in South Korea, H.K. over breach
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Operators of the ACT college entrance exam
cancelled the tests for students in South Korea and Hong Kong at the last
moment over what they said was a verified breach of test materials. The
cancellation affected about 5,500 test takers who will receive refunds of test fees,
according to ACT spokesman Edward Colby, who said the company believes it
was the first time the exam was cancelled for an entire country. The ACT, an
Iowa-based nonprofit organization, had planned to administer the tests at 56
different locations in South Korea and Hong Kong on a Saturday earlier this
month. ACT decided to cancel the test soon after it received “credible evidence”
that the test materials had been leaked, Colby said. “We are extremely
concerned about any activities that could impact the fairness and integrity of the
test. When individuals attempt to profit by stealing test materials and selling
them, it can hurt thousands of students who did nothing wrong, as it has in this
case,” Colby said in an e-mail conversation. Colby said he couldn’t comment on
when and how the test materials might have been leaked because the incident is
still under investigation. He said the ACT exams will be administered in South
Korea and Hong Kong again in September. The sudden cancellation of the exam
caused confusion in South Korea, where many students didn’t know of the
decision until they arrived at the test sites, according to teachers from private
“cram schools” in affluent southern Seoul that specialize in preparing students
for the tests.
FISHY CURE. A member of the Goud family administers “fish medicine” to an asthma patient in Hyderabad, India.
Started by the Bathini Goud family, the therapy is a secret formula of herbs, handed down by generations only to family
members. The herbs are inserted into the mouth of a live sardine, or murrel fish, and slipped into the patient’s throat.
(AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Thousands swallow sardines with
herbal paste to cure asthma
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Tens of
thousands of asthma-sufferers this month
swallowed live sardines, or murrel fish,
smeared with a yellow herbal paste in a ritual
they believe will cure their breathing prob-
lems.
The Goud family that administers the
traditional treatment in the southern city of
Hyderabad says its ancestors received the
secret formula from a Hindu saint about 170
years ago. They refuse to reveal the mixture’s
ingredients, and doctors say it is unproven.
Those treated are often poor, but many say it
has benefitted them, and the government
helps make arrangements for the large crowds
who come to Hyderabad, the joint capital of
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states.
The fish is sold cheaply by the Telangana
government and private groups, costing people
15 rupees, or about seven cents, per fish.
The family offers the treatment annually on
a day chosen by astrologers. Family member
Bathini Harinath Goud said the treatments
were held over a 24-hour period on June 8.
The herbal paste is slipped into the sardines
and then put into the mouths of the asthma
sufferers. People who swallow the live fish and
paste are told to follow a strict diet for the next
45 days, abstaining from fried foods while only
eating 25 different items, including lamb, rice,
white sugar, dried mango, spinach, and
clarified butter.
q
Chinese online loan sharks demand nude photos as
guarantees from cash-strapped female college students
BEIJING (AP) — Web-based loan sharks in
China have found an unconventional way of
guaranteeing loans: demanding naked photos
from cash-strapped female college students
who want to borrow money.
The state-run Southern Metropolis Daily
has reported that private lenders are asking
the young women to send nude photos of them-
selves as a form of collateral, along with copies
of their ID cards. They warn the photos will be
made public if payments are not made on time.
One of the borrowers told the newspaper
that she first borrowed 500 yuan ($76) from an
online loan provider with a weekly interest
rate of 30 percent. She kept taking out new
loans to pay off old ones, and her debt snow-
balled to 55,000 yuan ($8,347) when the lender
demanded a nude photo of her as a guarantee
for new loans.
She told the newspaper that many of her
female classmates had been swept into the
scheme but were unwilling to speak up.
The woman was planning to report the
incident to police, the newspaper said.
Posing as a potential client, a reporter for
the newspaper was able to get evidence of loan
sharks demanding naked photos by joining
online chat groups frequented by lenders.
Loan sharks also demanded personal informa-
tion from borrowers, including phone num-
bers, ID numbers, home addresses, parents’
names, contacts for roommates, and student
registration information, which the lenders
threatened to make public should the
borrower default, the report said.
After the story was published, loan sharks
suspended the practice, the newspaper
reported in a follow-up article.
Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Vietnam one of two pilots missing on training flight
Units per U.S. dollar as of 6/19
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam rescued one of the two pilots who went
missing on a training flight in a Russian-made jet fighter, according to state
media and officials. The state-run Nghe An newspaper said a fishing boat
rescued major Nguyen Huu Cuong one day after his Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 with
another pilot went down off the coast of the central province of Nghe An. Cuong
ejected from the plane before it crashed, the report said, adding he was in stable
condition. The Vietnamese Air Force operates 32 Su-30 MK2 planes, according
to state media. Nguyen Cong Luc, deputy commander of the coast guard in Nghe
An province, confirmed the report when contacted by telephone, and said a coast
guard vessel was sent to reach the fishing boat to bring the pilot to shore. The
Thanh Nien newspaper quoted a rescue official as saying the other pilot, Lt.
Colonel Tran Quang Khai, also ejected from the plane, and that the two could
still see each other’s parachutes when they hit the sea. But unfortunately, the
second pilot was not found alive. The incident was the latest in a string of
accidents to hit the military. At least two crashes of military helicopters in the
past two years have killed 24 people. Faced with China’s increased assertive-
ness over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, Vietnam has stepped
up the modernization of its military with the purchase of six Russian-made
submarines and a number of Russian fighter planes. It is also looking to acquire
patrol boats from Japan and India.
Bangladesh Taka· ·
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Papua N.G. Kina · ·
Philippine Peso· · ·
Russian Ruble · · ·
Saudi Riyal· · · · ·
Singapore Dollar · ·
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Sri Lankan Rupee ·
Taiwan Dollar · · ·
Thai Baht · · · · ·
Vietnam Dong · · ·
Tu Phan
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78.367
4083.0
6.587
2.0816
7.7606
67.085
13338
30439
104.16
8106.0
4.1007
107.34
104.7
3.1521
46.45
64.754
3.7503
1.3494
1173.0
144.74
32.378
35.26
22300