Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
August 3, 2020
Pakistan wraps up anti-polio drive amid surge in cases
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan wrapped up a five-day vaccination
campaign against polio in the former Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan
and elsewhere in the country amid a surge in cases, officials said. Vaccinations
started July 21, aiming to have about 800,000 children inoculated. Fortunately
during the campaign, there were no reports of militant attacks on polio teams or
police escorting them, said Aimal Riaz Khan, a spokesman for the polio
emergency center in the northwest. Medical workers participating in the drive
also urged parents and families to abide by social-distancing regulations to
avoid a spike in coronavirus cases. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world
where polio — a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the polio virus
— is still endemic. The other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria. The Taliban and
other militants in Pakistan often attack polio teams and police escorting them,
claiming the anti-polio drive is part of an alleged western conspiracy to sterilize
children or collect intelligence. Pakistan had hoped to eliminate polio by 2018,
when only 12 cases were reported. But last year saw a surge and so far this year,
108 cases have been registered. Khan said the polio spike came after February,
when Pakistan halted anti-polio campaigns amid increasing coronavirus
infections. Pakistan has reported more than 270,000 infections, including 5,763
deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the new virus.
Uncertainty pushes gold price to record $1,926 per ounce
BEIJING (AP) — The price of gold surged to a record above $1,926 per ounce
July 27 as investors moved money into an asset seen as a safe haven amid jitters
about U.S.-Chinese tension and the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Gold rose more than $30 to $1,926.20 by early afternoon in Asia. It added 1.5%
after breaking its 2011 record high July 24. Prices of gold and silver have jumped
as rising infection numbers and job losses in the United States and some other
economies fuel concern the recovery from the virus and the worst global
downturn since the 1930s might be faltering. Precious metals, along with bonds,
often are seen as stores of value when financial markets decline. Forecasters
watch their prices as an indicator of how investors see the economic future.
Rights group urges Indonesia to end caning
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The human-rights group Amnesty Interna-
tional has urged Indonesia to abolish caning after two women were struck about
100 times each as punishment for offering prostitution online. The women were
caned publicly in Langsa city after they were found to have violated Shariah law
in Indonesia’s deeply conservative Aceh province. They were arrested in March
along with five alleged sex workers. Amnesty International Indonesia executive
director Usman Hamid said caning is “a cruel and inhumane practice that
causes both physical and mental trauma. It is a punishment that must never be
normalized nor tolerated.” Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority
Indonesia that practices Shariah law, a concession made by the central
government in 2001 as part of efforts to end a decades-long war for
independence. Hundreds of people have been publicly caned since the
punishment was introduced in Aceh in 2005. In a statement, Hamid urged the
Indonesian government “to repeal all regulations that contradict international
law and standards. We are also calling on the government to repeal all
regulations which criminalize or otherwise punish sex workers and introduce
legal protections from intimidation.” Offenses that are punishable by caning
include same-sex sexual relations, premarital sex, and other sexual relations
outside marriage, consumption of alcohol, gambling, sexual abuse, rape, and
accusing a person of adultery without providing four witnesses.
Court approves move of zoo elephant to sanctuary
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court approved the relocation of an
elephant to a sprawling animal sanctuary in Cambodia after animal-rights
activists launched a campaign saying the pachyderm that spent three decades
in the Islamic nation was being mistreated at the capital’s small zoo, officials
said. The decision was hailed by the World Wide Fund for Nature, which said its
representative in Pakistan “has been part of the continuous efforts to address
welfare issues regarding Kaavan,” the 33-year-old elephant that was given to
Pakistan in 1985 by Sri Lanka. The group had proposed that the animal be
moved to a 25,000-acre sanctuary in Cambodia, which already houses elephants
and has rehabilitated over 80 elephants so far. Mian Aslam Amin, Pakistan’s
federal minister for climate change, called the ruling by the Islamabad High
Court a “sad but correct decision,” which he said was made for the benefit of
Kaavan, the lone elephant at Islamabad’s zoo. He said Kaavan would be
relocated, but gave no dates for it. The elephant was well-loved by children and
was treated well until recent years when it was chained. Authorities had said
that was done for the safety of visitors after observing occasional aggression in
the animal’s mood.
EASING RESTRICTIONS. A patron wearing a face mask to protect against the coronavirus holds her hand to a tem-
perature scanner while entering a movie theater in Beijing. Beijing has partially reopened movie theaters as the threat from
the coronavirus has receded in the Chinese capital. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Beijing partly reopens movie
theaters as virus declines
BEIJING (AP) — Beijing has partially
reopened movie theaters as the threat from the
coronavirus has receded in the Chinese
capital.
Cinemas in parts of the city deemed at low
risk of cross-infection began admitting movie-
goers under social-distancing rules. Tickets
must be booked in advance, attendance is
capped at 30% of capacity, and no eating or
drinking is allowed during the show.
As with most venues in China, a
temperature check and online travel record
are required for entry. Cinemas have been
closed for around six months but began
reopening in major cities throughout the
country.
Tickets at Poly International Cinema’s
branch near Tiananmen Square sold out, with
the marquee boasting the comedy Dolittle and
superhero attraction Bloodshot. China’s
domestic movie industry has also been
generating major ticket sales while audiences
have warmed to features from India and other
foreign countries.
Movie poster designer Liu Jingyu managed
to grab tickets for both Hollywood films shown
at the Poly cinema, rekindling his hopes after
seeing his earnings dry up over the past
half-year.
“For us who make a living on movies and
who are movie enthusiasts, without movies,
our life is full of pain,” Liu said.
Chinese are enthusiastic moviegoers and
the country was expected to surpass the U.S.
this year as the world’s biggest box office
before the pandemic hit.
Li Xu, manager of the Poly cinema branch,
said he is looking forward to the October
National Day holiday when he expected the
movie market would return to normal. The
weeklong vacation is typically huge for ticket
sales, with Chinese cinemas generating a
record 5 billion yuan ($708 million) from
September 30 to October 7 last year.
British royals share anguish over Indian rhino park’s floods
By Wasbir Hussain and Indrajit Singh
The Associated Press
AUHATI, India — More than 100
animals, including 10 one-horned
rhinoceroses, have died due to
massive flooding at the famed Kaziranga game
reserve in northeastern India, prompting
Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate
Middleton, to express their concern in a letter
to park authorities, officials said.
“Since the first week of June, we are having
no respite with wave after wave of flood that
has wreaked havoc inside the Kaziranga
National Park and Tiger Reserve,” said
Kaziranga’s park director, P. Sivakumar.
G
He said an animal that drowned in a swollen
river near the park in late July brought the
rhinoceros death toll up to 10.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrote
to Sivakumar expressing their distress about
the devastation to Kaziranga National Park
and its precious wildlife. The couple had
visited the park in April 2016 to learn about
conservation and anti-poaching efforts. “The
deaths of so many animals, including
one-horned rhino, are deeply upsetting,” they
wrote.
The ongoing monsoon has dumped rain
across parts of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal,
displacing 9.6 million people, according to the
Continued on page 4
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Brazilian footballer in China faces virus penalty
BEIJING (AP) — Ricardo Goulart, a Brazilian striker who plays for Hebei
China Fortune, faces a possible fine after taking photos with fans without a face
mask, a state news agency reported. The 29-year-old Goulart, who previously
played in Italy, was in the eastern city of Suzhou to prepare for a season opener.
In late July, he posed for photos with fans without a mask, the Xinhua News
Agency said. “He is expected to be fined and warned about his actions rather
than receiving a suspension,” Xinhua said. It gave no details of the possible
penalty.
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Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Units per U.S. dollar as of 7/31
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Indonesian Rupiah ·
Iranian Rial · · · ·
Japanese Yen · · ·
Laos New Kip · · ·
Malaysian Ringgit ·
Nepal Rupee · · · ·
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Papua N.G. Kina · ·
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Russian Ruble · · ·
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Taiwan Dollar · · ·
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Vietnam Dong · · ·
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84.63
4082.7
6.9744
2.0838
7.7501
74.896
14666
42025
105.69
9083.4
4.237
120.5
167.08
3.48
49.085
74.305
3.7503
1.3729
1192.4
185.2
29.345
31.23
23214