Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
March 19, 2018
Nepal’s president elected to second term
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s president, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, was
elected to a second term in voting by national and provincial lawmakers. The
Election Commission said Bhandari received a large majority of the ballots.
Bhandari, who was first elected in 2015, is the Himalayan nation’s first female
president, a largely ceremonial role. She has the backing of the Communist
alliance government that dominated recent parliamentary and provincial
assembly elections. Bhandari has had a long political career. Before becoming
president, she was a powerful leader of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified
Marxist-Leninist.
China shrinking steel industry, but too slowly for west
BEIJING (AP) — China’s steel mills, a target of U.S. President Donald
Trump’s ire, are their industry’s 800-pound gorilla: They supply half of world
output, so every move they make has a global impact. Trump responded with a
blanket tariff hike on steel and aluminum, another metal China’s trading
partners complain it oversupplies. The steel industry swelled over the past
decade to support a history-making Chinese construction boom. Once that tailed
off, the country was left with a glut of half-idle, money-losing mills. Beijing has
closed mills and eliminated 1 million jobs, but is moving too slowly to defuse
American and European anger at a flood of low-cost exports that is double the
volume of second-place Japan. China says it shut down 30 million tons of
capacity last year.
Duterte withdrawing Philippines from Int’l Criminal Court
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says
his country is withdrawing its ratification of a world treaty that created the
International Criminal Court (ICC), where he’s facing a possible complaint for
crimes against humanity. An ICC prosecutor announced in February that she
was opening a preliminary examination into alleged extrajudicial killings
stemming from Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown. Duterte said the international
court cannot acquire jurisdiction over him. He said the Rome Statute that
established the tribunal for heinous leaders cannot be enforced in the
Philippines because it has not been made public as required by law after Filipino
senators ratified it in 2011. Thousands of mostly poor drug suspects have been
killed under Duterte’s crackdown, but he has argued that the killings do not
amount to crimes against humanity or genocide.
Macron hopes to sell jets, submarines to India
VARANASI, India (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says he hopes
his country can sell more fighter jets and submarines to India. In a recent news
conference, Macron said France and India want to “be able to continue with new
volumes and production in line with what has already been signed.” He was
referring to India’s purchase of six conventionally powered Scorpene
submarines in 2005 and 36 Rafale fighter jets in 2016. Macron took a boat ride
with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the River Ganges in Varanasi in
northeast India. During the three-day visit by the French leader, Macron and
Modi highlighted a strong alliance and cooperation in defense, security,
technology, space, and counterterrorism.
Information indicates Myanmar is cleansing Rohingyas
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. adviser on preventing genocide says all
information he has received indicates the Myanmar government intended to
cleanse Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state and possibly even destroy them
“which, if proven, would constitute the crime of genocide.” Adama Dieng
recently visited Bangladesh to assess the situation of the Rohingyas and said
what he heard and witnessed “is a human tragedy with the fingerprints of the
Myanmar government and of the international community.” He said “the
scorched earth campaign carried out by Myanmar security forces since August
2017 against the Rohingya population was predictable and preventable.”
Despite his numerous warnings of the risk of “atrocity crimes,” Dieng said the
international community “buried its head in the sand,” which has cost
Rohingyas their lives, homes, and dignity.
Company cancels blue diamond initial coin offering
SINGAPORE (AP) — The Singapore-based organizer of a $2-million initial
coin offering linked to a promotion involving a 2.08-carat blue diamond ring and
luxury dinner raffle has cancelled the plan, leaving thousands of investors from
dozens of countries in need of refunds. Singapore-registered V Diamonds began
selling tokens backed by the blue diamond ring in November, promising a
one-millionth stake in the ring, set in 18-karat rose gold-plated platinum, for as
little as $2. Ville Oehman, the Finnish founder of V Diamonds, agreed to buy the
ring and dinner from the Russia-based World of Diamonds Group as part of a
wider promotion. In November, he began selling the tokens for $2 or more. In-
vestors also stood a chance to win an “ultimate dinner experience” in Singapore
with a three-hour yacht cruise, gold-plated chopsticks, and an 18-course Miche-
lin star meal on a private jet, according to the presale website. No reason was
given for the cancellation. Karan Tilani, director of the World of Diamonds
Group, said its dining promotion will be launched again, with an option to pay in
crypto-currency. Part of the proceeds will be donated to charity, he said. Initial
coin offerings have been banned in China and South Korea due to worries over
possible financial scams. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has urged
“extreme caution” regarding investments in crypto-currencies that are not
covered by regulatory protection.
MARKING MAYHEM. A man prays to mourn the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami prior to a
special memorial event in Tokyo. Japan marked the seventh anniversary of the 2011 tsunami that killed more than 18,000
people and left a devastated coastline along the country’s northeast that has still not been fully rebuilt. (AP Photo/Eugene
Hoshiko)
Japan marks seventh anniversary
of tsunami that killed 18,000
TOKYO (AP) — They bowed their heads,
hands clasped or palms firmly pressed
together. They stood in grassy areas or
roadsides overlooking the choppy sea. In
Japan’s capital, they lit candles and offered
flowers. Some dabbed at tears.
Japan recently marked the seventh
anniversary of a tsunami that took more than
18,000 lives on the northeast coast and
triggered a nuclear disaster that turned
nearby communities into ghost towns.
Residents along the coast gathered outdoors
to remember the tragedy as sirens wailed at
2:46pm, the moment the magnitude 9.0
offshore earthquake struck on March 11, 2011,
setting off a massive tsunami.
The tsunami overwhelmed sea walls and
washed away buildings, cars, and entire
neighborhoods as it swept inland. It knocked
out power at the seaside Fukushima Dai-ichi
nuclear power plant, causing partial
meltdowns in three reactors.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at an official
ceremony in Tokyo that reconstruction is
making steady progress, but more than 70,000
people are still displaced and many have no
prospect of returning to their homes.
Prince Akishino, the second son of Japanese
Emperor Akihito, expressed hope that the
tsunami would raise awareness and help
prevent or mitigate damage from future
natural disasters.
“It is my earnest hope ... that we hand down
the knowledge to future generations in order
to protect many people from the dangers of
disasters,” he said.
Separately, several hundred people ob-
served a moment of silence and made offerings
at an altar set up in Hibiya Park in central
Tokyo.
Cleaning
up
the
still-radioactive
Fukushima nuclear plant site remains a
daunting challenge that is expected to take 30
to 40 years.
Vietnamese recruited two months before Kim Jong Nam’s murder
By Eileen Ng
The Associated Press
HAH ALAM, Malaysia — A Viet-
namese woman accused of murdering
the estranged half brother of North
Korea’s leader was recruited by a North
Korean suspect at a Hanoi bar two months
before the killing, her lawyer says.
Details about Doan Thi Huong emerged for
the first time since she was charged, along
with Siti Aisyah from Indonesia, with
smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with the
banned VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur’s
airport on February 13 last year. The two are
the only suspects in custody, though
S
prosecutors have said four North Koreans who
fled the country were also involved.
Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told the court
that Huong told police shortly after she was
detained last year that she was introduced to a
Korean man known as Mr. Y by a Vietnamese
bar owner in December 2016. Mr. Y has been
identified in court as Ri Ji Hyon, one of the four
North Korean suspects who fled Malaysia.
Huong said Nguyen Bich Thuy, who was a
former co-worker at a pub, called her and
asked if she wanted to work for a Korean
company as an actress in a “short movie or
funny video,” according to her police statement
read out by Teh. She said she was introduced
Continued on page 4
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Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Units per U.S. dollar as of 3/16
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 · · ·
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83.015
3987.0
6.3348
2.0325
7.8423
64.94
13751
37.718
106.01
8296.5
3.9072
103.92
110.67
3.21
51.952
57.519
3.7501
1.3177
1066.2
156.02
29.121
31.238
22961