Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
July 1, 2019
Cat filter goof leaves Pakistanis scratching their whiskers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — It was a mistake that had some people in
Pakistan scratching their whiskers. A regional minister was giving a briefing
that was livestreamed on social media when viewers noticed the officials had
unexpected feline features. The cat filter, a social-media feature applying drawn
images onto people’s faces, was on. Social media was quick to pounce on the
image. In a statement posted on Twitter, the ruling party’s social-media team
wrote it had determined “human error” by a hardworking volunteer caused the
mistake. The team said the cat filter was removed “within a few minutes.” The
team says actions have been taken to prevent “such an incident” in the future.
Japan royal duties need review as members decline
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother says the royal
family can perform only so much because its membership is declining. Crown
Prince Fumihito, better known as Prince Akishino, is now next in line to the
Chrysanthemum Throne after his father, Akihito, abdicated at the end of April
and his brother Naruhito succeeded him in May. The family faces a declining
membership, with Akihito and his wife now retired and their three grand-
daughters expected to lose royal status when they each marry a commoner,
under the current Imperial House Law. Akishino told reporters ahead of his trip
to Finland and Poland to mark Japan’s diplomatic centennial that scaling down
imperial duties is inevitable and needs broad public discussion. Naruhito’s
17-year-old daughter, Aiko, and Akishino’s daughters Mako and Kako are not in
line because they are female. The imperial family has 13 women, including six
who could marry and lose their royal status in coming years. Akishino said he
believes royal duties could be shared equally regardless of gender, but declined
to comment on whether female emperors should be allowed.
Tasty deals: Apps help find unsold food and reduce waste
BERLIN (AP) — Growing numbers of people are using technology such as
phone apps to reduce food waste and the carbon emissions it creates. Some build
online communities to share food before throwing it away. Others team up with
supermarkets to create applications that alert consumers when groceries are
about to expire and are marked down. In Germany, phone apps are becoming
popular to find discounted, unsold food from restaurants. While it’s unclear how
big an impact such efforts have in ultimately reducing emissions, they reflect
how environmental concerns are growing and shaping the behavior of
consumers and businesses.
China suspends imports from Canadian pork company
BEIJING (AP) — China will halt imports from a Canadian company after food
safety issues were detected in one batch of pork, the Xinhua state news agency
reported, a move likely to fuel speculation that China is retaliating against
Canada for arresting a Chinese tech executive. After Canada arrested Huawei
chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in December at the request of the U.S.,
China has arrested two Canadians, suspended the permits of two other
Canadian pork importers, and halted all new purchases of Canadian canola
seeds. Xinhua said customs authorities in the eastern city of Nanjing found
traces of ractopamine, a feed additive banned in many countries, in pork
products from Frigo Royal. It said China will suspend imports from Frigo Royal
and also stop accepting health certificates issued by the company’s veterinary
officer. According to Xinhua, China’s Customs Administration will also increase
the number of inspections for ractopamine in Canadian pork imports.
Ractopamine is known as a “muscle drug” that accelerates pigs’ growth. While it
is banned in China, Russia, and EU countries, it has been approved for use in the
U.S. and Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website shows Frigo
Royal — also known as Expedi-Go Transit — on a list of federally registered
meat businesses and their licensed operators.
Singapore probes drones at airport that disrupted 63 flights
SINGAPORE (AP) — Drones buzzing around Singapore’s Changi Airport
caused 63 flights to be delayed or diverted within a week, triggering an
investigation and raising questions about the motives of the offenders. The Civil
Aviation Authority of Singapore said 18 flights at the airport were delayed and
seven were diverted the night before “due to bad weather and unauthorized
drone activities.” It had earlier confirmed that drones were seen flying near the
airport. That caused the intermittent closure of a runway, delaying 37 flights
and diverting one arriving plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Shortly after news
broke of the drone activity at the airport, Singapore’s defense ministry posted a
photograph of a soldier pointing a jammer gun at a “rogue drone” on Facebook.
While the photo wasn’t taken at Changi, it hinted at the anti-drone technologies
that may be used to track down offenders. Drones are largely controlled by
operators via a radio control link, on a frequency that’s similar to Wi-Fi. A
jammer gun temporarily disables the connection. Some observers said the
incursions, which happened on two occasions and less than a week from each
other, could signal the involvement of more sophisticated groups. Unauthorized
drone activity is dangerous around airports because of the risk of collision with
planes that are taking off and landing. Drones cannot be flown within 3.1 miles
of airports or military bases in Singapore without a permit. The offense carries a
penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of 20,000 Singapore dollars. Changi
Airport is among the world’s busiest. It handled a record 65.6 million passengers
last year, but its executives have named rising fuel prices and trade tensions as
challenges going forward.
INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY. Indians perform yoga to mark International Yoga Day in New Delhi, India, on June
21, 2019. Yoga enthusiasts across the world took part in mass yoga events to mark International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Altaf
Qadri)
India uses yoga diplomacy to
assert rising global influence
By Emily Schmall
The Associated Press
EW DELHI — If China has panda
diplomacy, India has yoga.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
successfully lobbied the United Nations to
designate June 21 as International Yoga Day
in his first year in power in 2014.
Since then, just as China under President Xi
Jinping has given countries pandas for their
zoos in a show of goodwill, Modi has used one of
India’s most popular exports to assert his
nation’s rising place in the world.
At the fifth annual International Yoga Day,
Modi practiced various yoga asanas alongside
an estimated 40,000 people in India’s eastern
state of Jharkhand as members of his cabinet
and foreign envoys rolled out their yoga mats
in cities around the world.
“Let our motto be yoga for peace, harmony,
and progress,” Modi said before joining the
hourlong practice.
Most of India’s 191 embassies and
consulates worldwide organized yoga sessions
to commemorate the day, according to the
foreign ministry.
The ministry shared photos of yoga flash
mobs on the streets of Kiev, colorful yoga mats
around Brussels’ Triumphal Arch, sun
salutations under the Washington Monument,
hundreds in seated prayer pose at Moscow’s
Tagansky Park, and more than 500 people in
identical transparent ponchos and black pants
in front of the Yellow Crane Tower in rainy
Wuhan, China.
At an event for diplomats in New Delhi fea-
turing India’s foreign minister, Subrahman-
yam Jaishankar, Israel’s ambassador Ron
N
Malka said Modi’s use of yoga as a tool of
diplomacy is “working quite well” to
strengthen ties between the two countries.
Walter Lindner, the German ambassador to
India, described Modi’s yoga bid at the U.N. a
“clever move.”
“Yoga is a product which you can sell every-
where in the world,” Lindner said, adding that
4 million people were participating in
International Yoga Day events in Germany.
Modi has also used yoga to bolster his image
at home.
Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya
Janata Party won a resounding victory in
India’s recently concluded weekslong general
elections by promoting a “New India” that
pairs rapid economic growth with the
trappings of the country’s ancient roots.
After the final day of polling, Modi, who
casts himself as a Hindu ascetic who closely
follows the religion’s strictures on vege-
tarianism and yoga, retreated to a Himalayan
mountain cave to meditate — with a camera
crew in tow.
Modi last year released a two-minute video
showing him practicing yoga on his lawn at the
prime minister’s residence. Some online
commentators used the opportunity to
compare Modi with India’s first prime
minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Many shared pictures of Nehru doing a
headstand, an advanced yoga posture. Of the
benefits, Nehru wrote in his autobiography,
“The slightly comic position increased my good
humor and made me a little more tolerant of
life’s vagaries.”
Associated Press writer Mariya
Amrayeva contributed to this report.
Affordable Quality Retirement Living
for Seniors 62 years and older
Alberta Simmons Plaza
6611 NE Martin Luther King Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97211
503 . 240 . 4198
. One–Bedroom Apartments with Full
Sized Kitchens and Living Areas
. Planned Activities, Laundry Facility,
Conference & Meeting Room,
Elevator and Library
. Conveniently Located to Shopping,
Restaurants, Pharmacy and
Medical Offices
Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Units per U.S. dollar as of 6/28
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 · · ·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
84.49
4068.0
6.865
2.1053
7.8115
68.917
14072
8710.5
107.82
8710.5
4.13
110.83
159.5
3.3841
51.222
63.1
3.7499
1.3532
1156.4
176.46
31.03
30.68
23370