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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2018)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC March 5, 2018 Seoul footing record tab for North Korea at Olympics PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — How much was it worth to Seoul for hundreds of North Koreans to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics? Try $2.5 million. According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, that’s the record amount the nation allotted to pay the bills of more than 400 North Koreans at the Winter Games. Only 22 of those people were athletes. The North’s performers — a 140-member orchestra with vocalists and dancers, an all-female 229-member cheering squad, and a demonstration taekwondo team — were a major attraction at and around the games. That’s because their presence itself is seen as a sign of eased tensions after a rough year and because of the exotic appeal they have due to the general isolation of their country. Duterte bans reporter from presidential palace compound MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president has banned a reporter from entering the presidential palace compound to attend news briefings because her online news organization’s license to operate was revoked by the government’s corporate watchdog. President Rodrigo Duterte invoked the Securities and Exchange Commission ruling in banning Rappler reporter Pia Ranada from the Malacanang palace complex, where he, his spokesman, and other top officials hold news briefings. The commission ruled that Rappler violated a constitutional prohibition on foreign ownership of news media. Rappler, known for its critical reporting of Duterte’s presidency, and media watchdogs called the move an attempt to muzzle the press. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. argued that it was not, saying she can report by watching news conferences on television. Malaysian rapper held for allegedly insulting Islam in video KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police say an ethnic Chinese rapper has been detained over complaints that his latest music video featuring dancers wearing dog masks and performing obscene moves insulted Islam and could hurt racial harmony. It was the second time in two years that Wee Meng Chee, popularly known as Namewee, was investigated over his music videos. Police say Wee was detained after they received four public complaints that his video marking the Chinese Year of the Dog had “insulted Islam and could negatively impact racial unity and harmony.” In the video entitled “Like a Dog,” Wee sits on a chair in a public square in the government administrative capital with dancers wearing dog masks around him. Several of them mimic the “doggy-style” sex move. U.S. fighter jet dumps fuel tanks near fishermen in lake TOKYO (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet dumped two fuel tanks into a lake in northern Japan, creating a fuel slick, as about 10 fishermen were catching clams in boats below, according to officials. No one was injured. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that an F-16 jet assigned to Misawa Air Base dumped the external fuel tanks after developing an engine fire while flying above Lake Ogawara. The air force said the aircraft returned safely to the base and there were no injuries to the pilot or people on the ground. Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera said officials spotted parts believed to be from the aircraft in the lake. He said the water surface was smeared with fuel. The local fisheries association and town officials were assessing the impact of the fuel leaking from the tanks. Clams, icefish, and smelt are in season at the lake. Local fisherman Takao Ebina said his colleagues saw huge columns of water rising from the lake’s surface about 330 feet from where they were catching clams. “It’s scary. They might have been hit if the fuel tanks had fallen a bit closer,” he said. There have been a series of recent incidents involving the U.S. military on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, including parts of aircraft falling on schools. DIGITAL DESIGNS. Ryo Taniguchi, right, the designer of the characters that will serve as mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics Games, receives a 3-D model of his designed characters in Tokyo. The mascots were selected after a vote among school children across Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) School kids rule: Digital designs are 2020 Olympic mascots By Jim Armstrong The Associated Press OKYO — The school children have had their say: A pair of futuristic digital characters will be the mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Organizers unveiled the winning designs at a school in Tokyo. A total of 205,755 classes at 16,769 ele- mentary schools took part in selecting three short-listed designs, with their classes casting a single vote. The winning pair, clad in the ichimatsu checkered pattern of the official logo of the games, received 109,041 votes. “The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games finally have their mascots,” said Ryohei Miyata, head of the mascot selection panel. “This means a lot, especially in Japan. I cannot wait to see these two characters coming T UNICEF says Pakistan is riskiest country for newborns By Kathy Gannon The Associated Press SLAMABAD — The U.N. children’s agen- cy in a recent report singled out Pakistan as the riskiest country for newborns, saying that out of every 1,000 children born in Pakistan, 46 die at birth. “It’s abysmal,” said Dr. Ghazna Khalid, a leading obstetrician in Pakistan’s north- western Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province. “We don’t need frontline medical doctors. We have plenty of them. We need skilled midwives.” The report, with its dismal figures that show South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa as the worst places for a child to be born, is part of UNICEF’s new campaign, launched to raise awareness to bring down neonatal mortality I Philippine chief justice taking leave, expects impeachment MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — A Philippine Supreme Court chief justice expects to be impeached by the House of Representatives and will go on indefinite leave to prepare for the trial, according to a spokesman. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno will go on leave, but is confident of being cleared of any wrongdoing during the impeachment trial, spokesman Jojo Lacanilao said. Lacanilao stressed the chief justice will not resign amid reports that rival justices demanded she quit in a meeting. Lacanilao said at a news conference that any effort to remove the chief justice outside of an impeachment trial is unconstitutional. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he wanted Sereno and an anti-graft prosecutor impeached, and accused them of allowing themselves to be used to discredit his administration. Seven workers die in India while cleaning drainage pit HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Seven workers died of suffocation while cleaning an underground drainage pit at a poultry farm in southern India, according to police. Deputy superintendent of police Chowdesari said the deaths occurred in Morem village in Andhra Pradesh state. After the first worker entered the drainage pit, he shouted for help because he had difficulty breathing. Chowdesari, who uses one name, said the eight other workers entered the pit to help. He said four died on the spot and three others succumbed later in a hospital. A large number of villagers gathered outside the poultry farm and demanded the arrest of farm officials. Police said they are investigating the deaths. Such accidents are common in India, where workers clean deep drainage pits without protective gear. to life in the stadiums, on the streets, and on TV.” Organizers say the mascots combine tradition with innovation. Their names will be decided by copywriters and other professionals and announced in July or August. The selection process involving school children was introduced to get students enthusiastic about the games while also ensuring transparency. The original official logo was hit with plagiarism allegations and scrapped. The designer of the winning mascots is Ryo Taniguchi, who graduated as an art major from Cabrillo College in California, and is currently active as a character designer/illus- trator. His work has been featured by companies and at exhibitions in Japan. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled for July 24 through August 9, 2020. rates. Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF’s executive director, said after the report’s release that though the world has “more than halved the number of deaths among children under the age of five in the last quarter century, we have not made similar progress in ending deaths among children less than one month old.” “Given that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world’s poorest babies,” she said. UNICEF’s report said that after Pakistan, the Central African Republic is the next riskiest country for newborns, and Afghani- stan is the third. “Babies born in Japan, Iceland, and Singapore have the best chance at survival, Continued on page 4 Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 3/02 Tu Phan Call for: Refinances Purchases Offering: FHA/VA/Conventional Mortgages NMLS # 2289 MLO # 7916 12817 S.E. 93rd Avenue Clackamas, OR 97015 (503) 780-6872 <tu.phan@fairwaymc.com> <www.LoansNow.com> Bangladesh Taka· · Cambodian Riel · · China Renminbi · · Fijian Dollar · · · · Hong Kong Dollar · Indian Rupee · · · · Indonesian Rupiah · Iranian Rial · · · · Japanese Yen · · · Laos New Kip · · · Malaysian Ringgit · Nepal Rupee · · · · Pakistani Rupee · · Papua N.G. Kina · · Philippine Peso· · · Russian Ruble · · · Saudi Riyal· · · · · Singapore Dollar · · South Korean Won · Sri Lankan Rupee · Taiwan Dollar · · · Thai Baht · · · · · Vietnam Dong · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 83.011 3990.7 6.3454 2.022 7.8308 65.234 13757 37353 105.75 8308.9 3.9035 104.28 110.65 3.198 51.9 56.814 3.7505 1.32 1080.5 155.23 29.273 31.444 22616