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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2018)
ASIA / PACIFIC Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER Python swallows Indo woman JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A 23-foot-long py- thon has swallowed a wom- an in central Indonesia, a village official has said. The victim, 54-year-old Wa Tiba, went missing while checking her vegeta- ble garden near her village on Muna island in South- east Sulawesi province, according to the village chief, Faris. Her family went to look for her in the garden, but found only her belongings, including sandals and a flashlight, said Faris, who uses a single name. The family and villagers launched a search for the woman, and found the snake with a bloated belly about 50 yards from where her belongings were found. The villagers killed the snake and carried it to the village. “When they cut open the snake’s belly, they found Tiba’s body still intact with all her clothes,” Faris said. “She was swallowed first from her head.” Videos posted on some websites showed villagers slicing open the python’s carcass to reveal the woman’s body. Faris said the victim’s garden, about a half mile from her house, is located in a rocky area with caves and cliffs believed to con- tain many snakes. Reticulated pythons, which are widespread in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, grab onto their prey with dozens of sharp curved teeth and then squeeze it to death before swallowing it whole. Reports of humans being killed by pythons are ex- tremely rare. In the wild, they are known to eat monkeys, pigs, and other mammals. It is the second python attack on a human in Indo- nesia since March last year, when a 25-year-old man was swallowed whole in West Sulawesi province. June 18, 2018 Kirin investigates if donations went to Myanmar’s forces By Yuri Kageyama The Associated Press OKYO — Japanese beer company Kirin is investi- gating whether donations intended for charity instead went to Myanmar’s military, which is accused of brutal attacks against Rohingya Muslims. Amnesty International has urged Japanese authorities to look into donations that Kirin’s subsidiary, Myanmar Brewery, made in September and October. A televised ceremony for a $6,000 donation showed the com- mander of Myanmar’s military. Tokyo-based Kirin Holdings Co. acknowledged it needs to better monitor its donations and said it had halted them in Myanmar until the investigation is finished. It was unclear how long that will take. Seema Joshi, head of business and human rights at Amnesty International, said Japan has a responsibility to ensure companies don’t contribute to rights abuses. “Not only is there a risk that these donations actually funded the operations of military units involved in crimes against humanity, but the choice to appear in a donation ceremony with T DONATION INVESTIGATION. Rohingya refugee Yosar Hossein, age seven, carries his baby sister, Noyem Fatima, and walks followed by his other siblings and mother Firoza Begum on a mud bank leading to a Bangladesh army-run processing center in this file photo. Japanese beer company Kirin is investigating whether donations intended for charity instead went to Myanmar’s military, which is accused of brutal attacks against Rohingya Muslims. Amnesty International has urged Japanese authorities to look into donations that Kirin’s subsidiary, Myanmar Brewery, made. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File) Myanmar’s top military leaders also sends a worrying message that Myanmar Brewery endorsed the military’s actions against the Rohingya population,” she said. Kirin said it believes other dona- tions likely didn’t go to the mili- tary, with $2,000 worth of rice and cooking oil going directly to victims of violence in western Rakhine state and $22,500 in October going to civilian volunteers. But the company acknowledged it did not really know how the money was used. Myanmar security forces are accused of rape, killing, and torture of minority Rohingya, 700,000 of whom have fled to Bangladesh following counterinsurgency operations in Rakhine state. Amnesty International has been in contact with Kirin since March Dallas duel: Wild card turns tables at National Spelling Continued from page 10 After her defeat, she was swarmed by dozens of current and former spellers who wished her well, smiling throughout. “She was just as graceful as she could be,” bee program manager Corrie Loeffler said. Her close friend, Jashun Paluru of West Lafayette, Indiana, finished fourth, spelling with flair and spending most of his time in between words chatting animatedly with Naysa. Karthik, for his part, took no pleasure in vanquishing a familiar foe. “I wouldn’t say it was revenge,” he said. “We weren’t against each other. We were against the dictionary.” We’ll help you get there by listening, learning and finding the home loan that lets you achieve your dreams. Apply online at bannerbank .com/ home- loans Conventional Refinance Construction over the donations. In correspon- dence released by the watchdog, which Kirin also confirmed, the beer company initially defended its donations as humanitarian. “The decision to participate in the donation round was based on the nature of the request and the trust we have in our business partner’s adherence to the explicit terms of our joint venture agreement, which prohibit any use of Myanmar Brewery’s funds for military purposes under any circumstances,” Kirin president and chief executive Yoshinori Isozaki said in a letter to Joshi dated April 27. Amnesty noted that the donations were made at the height of the campaign against the Rohingya, which the U.N. and the U.S. have described as “ethnic cleansing.” Kirin acquired a 55 percent stake in Myanmar Brewery in 2015 for $560 million from Fraser and Neave, based in Singapore. Kirin, which also makes non-alcoholic beverages such as juices and bottled teas, has been expanding its business in Southeast Asia as well as Brazil and China. It owns a stake in San Miguel in the Philippines.