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Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC March 1, 2021 Most World Cup qualifying games in Asia postponed KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) says the majority of the region’s 2022 World Cup qualifying matches in March will be postponed to May and June — with a few exceptions that include Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. “Taking into consideration the existing travel and quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent, the AFC and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) have jointly agreed to postpone the majority of the upcoming Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” AFC said in a statement. There are four games that will go ahead. On March 25, Saudi Arabia will host Yemen in Riyadh while Tajikistan and Mongolia will also play. Five days later, Mongolia will travel to Tokyo to take on Japan and Australia heads to Nepal. No second-round qualification matches have been played since November 2019. The race is now on to finish that second round, with most of the 40 teams involved having four games remaining before the current deadline of June 15. AFC said it has been working with member associations grouped together to help them make their own arrangements and play out the remaining games at one venue. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it has held discussions with the AFC as well as representatives of its Group H opponents: North Korea, Lebanon, Turkmeni- stan, and Sri Lanka. South Korea is interested in hosting the remaining games in its group. “We are considering it,” said the official, adding that applications have to be sent to the AFC by March 5, with the final decision on the host venues announced ten days later. The winners of the eight groups in the second round, along with the four best-performing second-place teams, will progress to the third round of qualification that is scheduled to start in September. Spy agency: North Korea hackers targeted vaccine tech SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean hackers attempted to steal infor- mation about coronavirus vaccines and treatments, South Korea’s intelligence service says, but it denied a lawmaker’s claim that vaccine maker Pfizer Inc. was targeted. Ha Tae-keung, a member of parliament’s intelligence committee, told reporters that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) told him and other lawmakers during a closed-door briefing that North Korea hacked Pfizer to obtain COVID-19 vaccine technology. After Ha’s comments made headlines, the NIS said it didn’t mention any pharmaceutical company by name when it told lawmakers that North Korean hackers were going after coronavirus vaccine information. In an unusual rebuke, the NIS public affairs office called Ha’s comments “wrong.” Ha stood by his claim when contacted by The Associated Press, saying NIS documents he was shown said “North Korea stole Pfizer (vaccine information) and attempted to steal (technology) from South Korean vaccine and pharmaceutical firms.” He said the lawmakers were required to return the documents at the end of the briefing. Ha said the wording about Pfizer “was so clear that I didn’t even ask about that verbally” during the briefing. The NIS, which has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea, rarely comments on North Korea-related information it provides to lawmakers at private briefings. Ha suggested the NIS was likely trying not to anger North Korea too much. Kwon Bo-young, a public relations manager at Pfizer’s South Korean office, said in a text message that it was checking Ha’s claim with its global headquarters. While North Korea has denied involvement, it has been linked to a slew of prominent cyberattacks in recent years, including a 2013 campaign that paralyzed the servers of South Korean financial institutions, the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures, and the WannaCry malware attack of 2017. Acquiring coronavirus vaccines is crucial for North Korea, whose public healthcare system is in shambles. Many outside experts are highly skeptical about North Korea’s claims to have had no coronavirus cases, but say the country likely has avoided a widespread outbreak thanks to more than a year of stringent lockdowns. PANDA PILE. Baby pandas sit near a Lunar New Year display for the Year of the Ox at the China Conservation and Re- search Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. Ten baby pan- das made their debut at the panda reserve. (Chinatopix via AP) China reserve shows off 10 panda cubs to mark Lunar New Year BEIJING (AP) — Ten panda cubs made their public debut at China’s leading panda reserve last month to mark the Lunar New Year. One appeared shy and covered its face with both paws when it saw the crowd, while another went rogue and crawled away from its keeper before being caught. The pandas range in age from 4 to 6 months, and all resulted from natural mating, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwest China’s Sichuan province. The black-and-white fluffballs made their appearance in a playground at the center adorned with Lunar New Year decorations including lanterns, traditional Chinese knots, paper cars, and flags. “Newborn baby pandas from the class of 2020 ... wish you a happy New Year and lots of good luck in the Year of the Ox,” their keepers shouted with the pandas in their arms, while some tried to clamber away. Bamboo baskets of treats were prepared for the pandas, with the Chinese character “fu,” meaning good fortune and blessings, written on the outside. This mimicked the Chinese tradition of adults giving red envelopes with money inside to children during the Lunar New Year to pass them good wishes and blessings. Instead of money, the baby pandas received snacks. Some were curious about the baskets, while others were distracted by the toys and decorations nearby. As of December, there were 44 panda cubs worldwide, and more than half were bred in China. China has prided itself on its efforts to preserve a species that was endangered for many years. Pandas are also a symbol of China and part of its cultural diplomacy. Associated Press news assistant Caro- line Chen contributed to this story. China considers new actions to lift flagging birthrate BEIJING (AP) — China is considering additional measures to increase its flagging birthrate, more than four years after ending its controversial one-child policy. For decades, China enforced strict controls on additional births in the name of preserving scarce resources for its burgeoning economy. But its plunging birthrate is now seen as a major threat to economic progress and social stability. The National Health Commission has issued a statement saying it will conduct research to “further stimulate birth potential.” It said the initiative will focus first on northeastern China, the country’s former industrial heartland that has seen a major population decline as young people and families depart for better opportunities elsewhere. The region comprising the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang saw its total population decline for the seventh straight year by 427,300 in 2019 over 2018. Authorities said that registered new births fell 15.3% last year to just 10 million. China abandoned its one-child-policy in 2016 to allow families to have an additional child. However, the move had only a temporary effect on the birthrate, with many couples citing the high cost of raising children and other economic and social barriers in deciding not to have more children. Continued on page 4 Throttle problem suspected in Indonesia crash JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A malfunctioning automatic throttle may have caused the pilots of a Sriwijaya Air jet to lose control, leading to the Boeing 737-500’s plunge into the Java Sea last month, Indonesian investigators said. National Transportation Safety Committee investigators say they are still struggling to understand why the jet nosedived into the water minutes after taking off from Jakarta on January 9, killing all 62 people on board. The investigators issued a preliminary report that provided new details of the pilots’ struggle to fly the plane from almost as soon as it became airborne. The lead investigator, Nurcahyo Utomo, said the left engine’s throttle lever moved backward on its own while autopilot was engaged, reducing the power output of that engine before the jet plunged into the sea. He said pilots of previous flights had reported problems with the automatic throttle system on the 26-year-old jet. The pilots’ last conversation with air traffic control was about four minutes after takeoff, when the crew responded to an instruction to go up to 13,000 feet. The plane’s flight data recorder showed the plane reached an altitude of 10,900 feet and then began declining, Utomo said. While on autopilot, power to the left engine was reduced while the right engine’s power remained steady. The pilot fought to bring the plane up, but it rolled onto its left side, Utomo said. A minute later the data recorder showed that the automatic throttle had been disengaged as the plane pitched down. The flight data recorder stopped recording a few seconds later. Divers were able to recover the crashed plane’s flight data recorder, which tracks hundreds of parameters showing how the plane was being operated, but were unable to find the memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder, which could tell investigators what the pilots were doing. Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 2/26 The Rustic River Lodge overlooks the Williamson River. Located near Crater Lake in Chiloquin, Oregon, the lodge accommodates up to 6 guests. Instant book now! View our informational video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNCFMnm_afU We value diversity. The Asian Reporter is published on the first Monday each month. News page advertising deadlines for our next two issues are: April 5, 2021 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, March 31 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, April 1 at 1:00pm May 3, 2021 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, April 28 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, April 29 at 1:00pm 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 84.62 4069.9 6.473 1.994 7.7567 73.92 14250 42025 106.64 9335.9 4.052 118.37 157.09 3.45 48.623 74.603 3.7501 1.3326 1127.4 194.32 27.842 30.45 23035