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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2021)
ASIA / PACIFIC Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER June 7, 2021 Don’t gawk or give food: Wandering elephants near China city SPECTACULAR SIGHT. Residents watch the lunar eclipse at Sanur beach in Bali, Indonesia, on May 26, 2021. The total lunar eclipse, also known as a super blood moon, is the first in more than two years with the red- dish-orange color the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) Lunar eclipse coinciding with supermoon dazzles By The Associated Press The moon put on a show for many parts of the world late last month, as the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincided with a supermoon. The blazing orange moon dazzled as it hung over the skies of the Pacific as well as the western half of North America, parts of South America, and eastern Asia. The reddish-orange color of the super “blood” moon is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon. More lunar shows are coming. On November 19, there will be a nearly total eclipse where the moon dims but doesn’t turn red. The next total lunar eclipse will be May 2022. The last one was January 2019. Lives Lost: Indonesian doctor’s musical passion led to love Continued from page 3 is. ... He never complained,” his mother said. Marampe discovered his other passion when he was young, learning to play music on a mini keyboard before taking piano lessons. His love for gospel music connected him to his future fiancée, Septiani. They met at church in 2011, and a friend set them up on a date the next year. They became inseparable after that. As their romance developed, so did their love for music, and they formed their group despite both having busy jobs. Septiani is a fashion designer, and Marampe was a general medical practitioner at a hospital. Because of his work, Marampe worried about contracting the coronavirus. Septiani said he told her that one of his patients showed symptoms of the virus but didn’t want to be tested. Marampe got tested himself that April and was positive for COVID-19. But he never blamed anyone, Septiani said. He was treated at a hospital, and on his eighth day there, Marampe recorded a video that he posted to Instagram. “For me, being a doctor is something I’m proud of. I can serve my patients. I can help so many people. And I have no regrets at all. For my friends at the frontline, keep your spirits up,” Marampe said in the video. His condition improved, and he was released from the hospital after 13 days. But the next morning, his fiancée found him struggling to breathe. He died on April 25, 2020, becoming one of 38 doctors the coronavirus had claimed in Indonesia at that point. There are many reasons for the deaths, according to Indonesian Medical Association spokesman Halik Malik, including a lack of protective equipment, testing delays, and limited medical resources. Marampe spent his final days in a hospital isolation room, so he spoke his last words to Septiani as she rushed him to the emergency room. “He said, ‘Honey, I really love you. I love you so much.’ ... And then he said again, ‘Honey, I am a doctor. I know my condition now,’” Septiani said. Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series of stories remembering people who have died from the coronavirus around the world. BEIJING (AP) — Elephants in a wandering herd in southwest China walked down paved roads and poked their trunks through windows as they neared a city and authorities rushed to protect both the animals and people. It’s not clear why the 15 elephants made their long trek from a nature reserve which has been documented and monitored both on the ground and from the air by a dozen drones. Authorities have urged people in the area to stay indoors and are blocking roads with construction equipment while seeking to lure the animals away with food. The elephants have already walked 300 miles from the reserve in Yunnan’s mountainous southwest. They appear healthy in images showing them roaming through farmland, villages, and down paved roads at night in urban areas. One city along their route, Yuxi, deployed hundreds of trucks along a road to discourage the herd from approaching, the Beijing News reported. Drivers ate and slept in the vehicles for days, even as they heard the elephants moving about after dark, the newspaper said in a video clip posted online. Then the elephants turned up at a retirement home and poked their trunks into some of the rooms, prompting one elderly man to hide under his bed, according to residents interviewed by online channel Jimu News. The Xinhua News Agency reported that the herd made it to the Jinning district on the edge of Kunming, a city of 7 million people that is the capital of Yunnan province. The government of the semi-rural district issued a notice urging residents not to leave corn or other food out in their yards that might attract the animals and to avoid contact with them. It was “forbidden to surround and gawk at the elephants” or to disturb them by PERPLEXING PACHYDERMS. In these aerial photos taken on May 28, 2021, and released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a herd of 15 wild Asian elephants are seen in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. The wandering herd has already walked 300 miles from the reserve in Yunnan’s mountainous southwest. (Hu Chao/Xinhua via AP) using firecrackers or other materials, the notice said. Sixteen animals were originally in the group, but the government says two returned home and a baby was born during the walk. The herd is now composed of six female and three male adults, three juveniles, and three calves, according to official reports. Chen Mingyong, an Asian elephant expert cited by Xinhua, said the incident is the longest-distance migration of wild elephants recorded in China. Chen said it was possible their leader “lacks experience and led the whole group astray.” No injuries have been announced, but reports say the elephants have damaged or destroyed more than $1 million worth of crops. When and how the elephants will be returned to the reserve isn’t clear. Elephants are the largest land animals in Asia and can weigh up to 5 tons. China reports human case of H10N3 bird flu, a possible first Continued from page 2 global influenza surveillance systems that watch for human cases of bird flu, since a strain named H5N1 cropped up in the late 1990s in Hong Kong’s crowded live-poultry markets. Between 2013 and 2017, another bird flu named H7N9 infected more than 1,500 people in China through close contact with infected chickens. With that history, authorities aren’t surprised to see occasional human cases of various bird flu strains and they monitor closely for any signs one is spreading between people. Looking for a new career? Explore openings for Caregiver, Director of Communications, Electrical Apprenticeships, Forklift Driver, Graphic Designer, Machine Operator, Security Guard, and more on pages 13 & 14!