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International News
Scientists in Indonesia discover macaque monkeys that fish
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From The Asian Reporter, V18, #24 (June 17, 2008), page 2.
Hungry monkeys raid farmland
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Bands of starving monkeys destroyed crops around Indonesia’s famous Borobudur Buddhist temple in search of food their habitat can no longer supply, an official said. Thousands of long-tailed macaques went searching for sustenance in several villages of Central Java province, said Dedi Rinyadi, who works for the Natural Resources Conservation Agency. The population of monkeys has exploded due to dwindling predators, but drought has led to food shortages, Rinyadi said. The monkeys have stolen crops and destroyed about 990 acres of farmland — including land around the seventh-century Buddhist temple complex of Borobudur outside the sultanate of Yogyakarta. Some have invaded villagers’ yards in search of fruit, vegetables, and rice. Distressed farmers have used firecrackers and air rifles to chase them away. Farmers are worried they are so occupied fighting off the monkeys they will not be able to tend to their land, Rinyadi said.
Four students get probation for celebrity sex tape
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Four Vietnamese students were put on probation for circulating a sex video clip of a soap opera star that was part of a major sex scandal last year, court officials and state media reported. The four were convicted of "spreading depraved cultural items" and given suspended sentences up to 30 months, said court official Nguyen Van Hoi. The clip, filmed about a year ago, featured actress Hoang Thuy Linh having sex with then-boyfriend Vu Hoang Viet. Police said Viet loaned his laptop, where the video clip was stored, to a friend. The four were involved in taking the video from the computer without permission and distributing it, state media reported. It was then copied and posted on the internet and later downloaded by thousands into mobile phones and personal computers in conservative Vietnam. Linh was forced to quit her leading role in "Vang Anh’s Diaries," a popular show for teenagers aimed at teaching young Vietnamese good morals, after she was stormed by public condemnation. Vietnam state-owned television cancelled the show after broadcasting Thuy Linh’s humiliating farewell. The online VietnamNet, a news website, quoted presiding Judge Ngo Thi Yen as saying Linh and Viet should be criticized for recording the sex act because it goes against Vietnamese traditions.
Two boys killed when a bomb they found explodes
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Police in the Philippines say two boys died and another was injured when a bomb they found behind a hospital exploded while they were playing with it. Senior police officer Jessie Go said the boys discovered two bombs in Rapu-Rapu, a mining township in eastern Albay province, and one of them exploded. Go said a nine-year-old boy died on the spot while his 10-year-old friend from Taiwan died at a hospital. Another youth, age eight, was treated for injuries. Police said it was unclear how the bombs ended up in the hospital’s backyard.
China bans fireworks during Beijing Olympics
BEIJING (AP) — China’s capital Beijing is banning fireworks of all types during a more than three-month period surrounding this summer’s Olympic Games. The order extends an existing ban in the city center to the capital’s sprawling suburbs, where many of the Olympic events are being held, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Dealers will be forced to suspend sales and store their stock in specially designated warehouses from July 1 to October 8, Xinhua said. The ban is the latest in a raft of security measures ordered to ensure the August 8 through 24 games go off without a hitch. Some measures have drawn the ire of the International Olympic Committee, foreign residents, sponsors, and broadcast-rights holders, including increasing scrutiny over visas and limits on live coverage in Tiananmen Square.
Japanese zookeeper mauled to death by tiger
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese zookeeper was mauled to death by a tiger while cleaning the animal’s cage, police said. Atsushi Ito was attacked by the 330-pound male tiger at the Kyoto City Zoo in western Japan. A female visitor to the zoo found Ito lying bleeding in the cage. "The tiger bit him on the neck, face, and head," said Toshiomi Ootaguro, a Kyoto police official. "He was cleaning the cage. After the attack, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he was already in cardiac arrest," Ootaguro said. Police suspected Ito had failed to lock a door that connected two cages, allowing the 11-year-old tiger to slip into the area the man was cleaning. The male tiger is one of a pair at the zoo, which was closed after the accident. Zoo officials could not be reached for comment.
Jetliner abandoned in Vietnam for more than a year
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Cambodian commercial jet has been sitting at a Vietnamese airport for more than a year after being grounded for a technical problem and abandoned, an official said. The Royal Khmer Airlines plane has been parked on the tarmac at Hanoi’s international airport since May 2007, said Vo Huy Cuong, head of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration’s Air Transportation Department. The plane was abandoned only a month after Royal Khmer Airlines received its license to operate flights between the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, home to the world-famous Angkor Wat temples, and Hanoi. The Boeing 727 had operated only a few flights when it was grounded, Cuong said. Airline officials have promised Vietnamese authorities they will fix the problem and pay the parking fees, Cuong said. He said this was the first time Vietnamese aviation officials had been faced with an abandoned aircraft.