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Asia Beat: Apr 3 2008
President Suharto Lucie Blackman Potala Palace HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has confirmed the return of a cholera outbreak in Hanoi.More than 40 people have been taken to hospital for acute diarrhea and seven of whom tested positive for cholera. A newspaper said most of the patients had eaten raw shrimp paste and uncooked vegetables. None had been vaccinated against cholera. Ricky Martin
JAKARTA, Indonesia (pix)- An Indonesian court has acquitted the late former president Suharto in a civil corruption case, but ordered his charitable foundation to repay more than US$100mn to the state.
Indonesia’s government had sought $1.4bn in damages from Suharto and the charity he founded, alleging that the former leader skimmed off millions of dollars of state money. Suharto died in January without facing criminal prosecution over allegations that he oversaw massive corruption during his 32-year rule that benefited his family and cronies.
NEW DELHI, India - Rinki Kaushik, the 15-year-old girl who slipped into coma on January 7 after she was allegedly hit by a teacher has died. According to her father Naresh Kaushik, the Class 10 student of the privately-run Dinkar National Model School in east Delhi went into coma because her teacher, Dhirendra Kumar Dinkar, assaulted her. The education department de-recognised the school on March 5 for resorting to corporal punishment.
TOKYO, Japan - Japanese prosecutors have appealed against a verdict clearing a former businessman of raping, drugging and killing Briton Lucie Blackman eight years ago.The not guilty verdict on Joji Obara, 55, in the Blackman case showed a gross misunderstanding of the facts, the prosecutors said.
In one of Japan's most horrendous sex crime cases, former property developer Obara was sentenced last year to life imprisonment by Tokyo District Court for raping eight women and drugging, raping and slaying Australian Carita Ridgway in 1992. In a surprise ruling, however, Obara was cleared of similar charges regarding Blackman, 21, who had been working as a bar hostess in Tokyo's Roppongi nightlife district when she vanished in July 2000.
SINGAPORE - More underage youngsters have been caught smoking in the first two months of 2008 compared to the corresponding period over the last two years, data from Singapore's Health Sciences Authority. During January and February, 1 164 people under the age of 18 were nabbed, more than the 1 113 caught in the first two months of last year and 1 069 in 2006. Those caught are sent for counselling to quit smoking and may be fined up to C$300. Eleven outlets selling cigarettes to youths have been fined so far this year.
KUALA LMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian Artistes' Association (Karyawan) has expressed fear for the entertainment industry following the formation of new governments in five states by opposition parties perceived as conservative.Already ruled by the Muslim political party PAS, Kelantan state has been notorious for initiating controversial rulings since the party took over 18 years ago.
Entertainment spots like bars, dance clubs and karaoke joints and concerts, gambling and alcohol have been deemed unhealthy. Female retail and restaurant workers have to follow strict dress codes - the headscarf is mandatory for Muslims, and cleavage and navel-baring clothing is not allowed for even non-Muslims.
LHASA, Tibet - (pix) Tibet's architectural landmark, the Potala Palace, Wednesday reopened to tourists, ten days after it was closed for security reasons following the riots March 14.The palace, built in the seventh century and on the world cultural heritage list, was closed the day after the riots in which 18 civilians and one police officer were killed, said Jampa Gesang, head of the Potala Palace administration office. The Potala Palace received more than one million tourists in 2007, a 56 percent increase year-on-year.
Late last year, more than 300 people were infected with cholera in an outbreak that expanded to 11 provinces in northern Vietnam. Cholera chiefly spreads through drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacteria.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (pix) - Pop star Ricky Martin was in Cambodia last week to raise awareness about human trafficking Some 2.5 million people are involved in forced labor as a result of trafficking, and 161 countries _ on every continent and in every type of economy _ are affected by the crime, the U.N. said.
Most victims are between the ages of 18 and 24, and an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, U.N. figures show. The Ricky Martin Foundation does most of its work in Latin America.
BEIJING, China - At least 60 people are still jailed in China over 1989 protests that led to a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations centered at Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a human rights activist said. Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong, John Kamm urged China to release the 60 to 100 Tiananmen protesters before the Beijing Summer Olympics in August.The June 1989 protests at Tiananmen Square led to a military crackdown that killed hundreds of people.
Saiga |
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (pix) - A rare antelope species already under threat from poaching in Mongolia is facing a new danger - worsening traffic. As affluent residents acquire motorbikes and cars in parts of western Mongolia, they are clogging roads that run along a key migration route for the Saiga which, if not addressed, could reduce their already low numbers.
The Saiga - an odd animal which has a deer's body, a camel's head and a bulbous nose - has seen its numbers drop from 1 million in the 1980s to as low as 50,000 in its range, which includes Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and the Russian Republic of Kalmykia.
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