Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia
www.gasiantimes.com September 1-15 2016
G20 Summit Hangzhou
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photographer: Ben Hioe
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All Rights Reserved: including those to reproduce this printing or parts thereof in any form without permission in writing from Georgia Asian Times. Established in 2004, the Georgia Asian Times is published by Asiamax Inc. All facts, opinions, and statements appearing within this publication are those of writers and editors themseleves, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, endorsements by Georgia Asian Times or its officers. Georgia Asian Times assumes no responsibility for damages from the use of information contained in this publication or the reply to any advertisement. The Publisher will not be liable for any error in advertising to greater extent than the cost of space occupied by the error and will only be made for a single publication date. The Publisher reserves the right to reject any ad or articles submitted for publication that may not be in good taste for a free publication.
GAT Calendar of Events GAT welcome submission of announcement pertaining to community related events. Please email event, date, venue, and time to gat@gasiantimes.com. GAT does not guarantee insertion of event announcement and has the right to deny any posting.
21st Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Date: Saturday, Sept 10, 2016 Time: 7:00 am-6:00 pm Venue: Lake Laneir Olympic Kayak Facility, Gainesville For more info: dragonboatatlanta.com Mid Autumn Moon Festival Organized by Community Based Participatory Partnership Date: Sept 17, 2016 Time: 5:00 pm - 10 pm Venue: 1568 Indian Trail Lilburn Road, Norcross, GA 30093 For more info: moonfest2016@gmail. com JapanFest “Cooler Japan� Date: Sat-Sun, Sept 17-18 Time: 10 am - 6 pm Venue: Infinite Energy Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth Admission: $10, children under 6 free For more info: www.japanfest.org
12th Atlanta Asian Film Festival Date: Oct 7-22, 2016 Venues: KSU, GPC Dunwoody, UWG, LeFont Sandy Springs For more info: www.atlaff.org Laotian American Society (LAS) Annual Gala Date: Saturday, Nov 5, 2016 Time: 6:00 pm - 12:00 pm Venue: The Defoor Center 1710 Defoor Avenue, NW, Atlanta GA 30318 For more info: lasga.org
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
METRO ASIAN NEWS
AG Sam Olens says “gerrymandering” of political districts created bad public policies Chamblee, August 28, 2016 — Georgia’s Attorney General Sam Olens says the “gerrymandering” of political districts lines have created bad public policies. He was speaking as a keynote speaker at the National Association of Chinese Americans (NACA) forum on the U.S. electorate system. Attorney General Olens further elaborated that both political parties were guilty of such abuses and neglected to seek the centered view of opinions. P1070567He encourages minorities to learn about the American electorate system and to serve the community. Olens is also quick to remind potential candidates to “learn” to serve the community and to avoid running for office for “personal” glamour. “How are we going to make a better future for our children in America,” reiterates Attorney General Olens in his remark. The NACA Forum was aimed at educating Asian American on the U.S.
political and electorate system. In addition to Attorney general Sam Olens, a panelist of current leaders and experts including Alex Wan, Atlanta City Council member, Mereda Davis Johnson, Commissioner, DeKalb County District 5, Buzz Brockway, Georgia State Representative District 102, Professor Sean Richey, Georgia State University. The panelist shared insights on their political endeavors and shared their views on challenges that they had face in the process. “We are pleased to host this forum as a way to educate our community about the electorate system and the coming election. As the Asian American community is growing rapidly in Georgia, our voice needs to be heard and to be represented in the political process,” said Lani Wong, Chair of NACA to Georgia Asian Times.
Record team signup for 2016 Atlanta Dragon Boat Festival Atlanta, August 25, 2016 — Over 75 teams have officially signed up to compete at the 21st Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, Atlanta scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2016 at Olympic Kayaking Venue in Gainesville, Georgia, according to festival organizer. Teams are competing in different categories ranging from corporate, legal, collegiate, high schools, international, and etc. This year’s festival have also attracted teams from neighboring states including Florida and South Carolina. Atlanta-HK-Dragon-Boat-2016-Poster-SmlOther than dragon boat races, the festival has established itself to be a family friendly and a multicultural festival attracting various ethnic food vendors. Organizers forecasted a record turn out between 7,000 – 10,000 visitors for this year’s festival.
“We are most proud of the fact that the festival is also recognized as the event to promote corporate team building and team work,” said Gene Hanratty, the festival founder and organizer. The festival have attracted many corporate teams from AT&T, SunTrust, The Home Depot, PepsiCo, HiSense, UPS, Newell Rubbermaid, Kimberley Clark, Ernst & Young, etc. The day-long festival starts from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Visitors are encouraged to car-pool and share a ride as parking are limited due to expected recorded crowd turnout. Four domestic airline tickets are being auction off by the festival organizer to raise funds. To participate in the auction – visit: www.32auctions.com/ HKDBF2016
September 1-15, 2016
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
BUSINESS China’s Xi at G20 says world economy at risk, warns against protectionism Hangzhou, Sept 5,2016 — The global economy is being threatened by rising protectionism and risks from highly leveraged financial markets, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the open of a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations. His warning on Sunday followed bilateral talks with Barack Obama that the US president described as “extremely productive”, but which failed to bring both sides closer on thornier topics such as tensions in the South China Sea. With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the US presidential election in November, observers expect G20 leaders to mount a defense of free trade and globalization and warn against isolationism. The global economy has arrived “at a crucial juncture”, Xi said, in the face of sluggish demand, volatile financial markets and feeble trade and investment. “Growth drivers from the previous round of technological progress are gradually fading, while a new round of technological and industrial revolution has yet to gain momentum,” he said. G20 countries are set to agree in a communique at the end of the summit that all policy measures – including monetary, fiscal and structural reforms – should be used to achieve solid and sustainable economic growth, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said. “Commitment will be made to utilizing all three policy tools of monetary and fiscal policies and structural reforms to achieve solid, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,” Hagiuda told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.
Xi also called on G20 countries to match their words with actions. “We should turn the G20 group into an action team, instead of a talk shop,” he said. But some of the G20 leaders have begun drawing battle lines in disputes over issues ranging from trade and investment to tax policy and industrial overcapacity. Battle lines On Sunday, Xi held talks with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and told him he hoped Australia would continue to provide a fair, transparent and predictable policy environment for foreign investors. China was angered when Australia blocked the A$10 billion ($7.7 billion) sale of the country’s biggest energy grid to Chinese bidders last month. China has accused Australia of bowing to protectionist sentiment in blocking the bid for Ausgrid, as well as an earlier one by a China-led consortium to buy cattle company Kidman & Co. Beijing has also criticized Australia, a staunch US ally, for running surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said China must set up a mechanism to address its problem of industrial overcapacity, saying it was “unacceptable” the European steel industry had lost so many jobs in recent years. “Overcapacity is a global problem but there is a particular Chinese element,” he told a news conference. Britain’s future after its departure from the European Union was also subject to discussion.
Obama reassured Prime Minister May that Britain’s closest political, commercial and military ally would stand by her. But he did not shrink away from his stance that Brexit was a mistake and that London would not be able to jump the queue to arrange a bilateral trade deal. Juncker said that if Britain wanted access to the European Union’s common market, it needed to respect the rules of the common market. Turnbull, meanwhile, said Australia wanted an early free trade agreement with Britain so markets could remain open between them when Britain formally left the European trading bloc. Late night talks Obama held talks with Xi on Saturday that ran late into the night. He urged Beijing to uphold its legal obligations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, and stressed US commitments to its regional allies. Xi said China would continue to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea. But China is keen to keep the summit focused on economic issues and to prevent other disputes from overshadowing it.
According to a “fact sheet” on China-US relations issued on Sunday, the two sides agreed on a range of issues, including avoiding competitive currency devaluations and not limiting deal opportunities for foreign information and communication technology providers. Obama, now in the last five months of his presidency, is using the visit to put a final stamp on his signature policy shift toward the Pacific, setting the tone for his White House successor, who will be elected in November and take office on Jan. 20. His visit began chaotically at the Hangzhou airport, where his staff argued with Chinese security over media access. Obama said on Sunday he “wouldn’t over-crank the significance” of the airport events. “None of this detracts from the broader scope of the relationship (with China),” he told a news conference. “The bilateral discussions that we had yesterday were extremely productive and continue to point to big areas of cooperation.” Security was extremely tight in Hangzhou, with parts of the city of 9 million people turned into a virtual ghost town as China seeks to ensure that the G20 summit stays incident-free.
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
BUSINESS
Toy maker LEGO builds more plants to revive growth in US sales New York, September 6, 2016 — LEGO A/S reported a decline in revenue growth and profits for the first half of 2016, but only because the Danish toymaker needed time to add production capacity to meet increased demand for its colorful building bricks in North America, the company said on Tuesday. The group, which has become the world’s most profitable toy maker ahead of Barbie Doll maker Mattel, saw revenue grow 11 percent in the six months to 15.69 billion Danish crowns ($2.35 billion), while operating profit was up 1 percent at 4.66 billion. Net profit fell nearly 2 percent to 3.49 billion Danish crowns ($524 million). LEGO has increased sales by an average of more than 15 percent per year in the last 12 years, with a 25 percent growth rate in 2015. But while sales in Asia and Europe, its most mature market, grew by double digits in the first half of 2016 there was no growth in the Americas. LEGO simply could not keep up with demand in North America, the world’s biggest toy market in 2015, so it reduced its marketing activities, which led to the slowdown in the first half of 2016, said Chief Financial Officer, John Goodwin.
“We are working very closely with our retail partners to ensure that as we go into the important holiday season, the back half of 2016, that we’ve got all of the levers pulled to get back on the growth trajectory,” he said. As part of a global investment plan, the company has invested in a new factory in China, expanded production capacity in Mexico and plans to double the capacity of the group’s plant in Hungary. As a result the company recruited over 3,500 new employees in the first half of 2016, an increase of 24 percent. “We feel we need to invest, to build some breathing space,” Goodwin said. “These investments in people and infrastructure will obviously have an impact on our short-term profit growth. But they are part of our longterm plan to sustain the development and delivery of fun,” Goodwin said.
TPP: Obama seeks to convince Asian partners Washington DC, September 16, 2016 - US President Barack Obama said on Monday that US trading partners in Asia did not need to be persuaded of the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, just that Washington would eventually approve the trade pact. Obama has made the 12-nation TPP the centerpiece of a diplomatic “pivot” to Asia, but the prospects for US congressional approval have looked increasingly dim, with both major presidential candidates – Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump – standing opposed. Administration officials had said that Obama would make the case for the TPP during his visit to Asia, including in a speech he has scheduled in Laos on Tuesday. “I don’t have to sell it to Asian leaders here who were part of the negotia-
tions because they see this as the right thing to do for their own countries,” Obama told reporters at the close of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. “And what I’ll be telling them is that the US has never had a smooth, uncontroversial path to ratifying trade deals, but they eventually get done,” Obama said. “Back home we’ll have to cut through the noise once election season is over. It’s always a little noisy there,” he said. The White House has said it could still win congressional approval of the trade pact before Obama leaves office, and warned that failing to do so would undermine US leadership in the region and allow China to increasingly set the terms of world trade.
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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EVENTS
September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
NACA Forum on US Electorate System - Aug 28, 2016 Chamblee Civic Center
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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FASHION
All change for New York Fashion Week NEW YORK, Sept 6 — With just days to go before New York Fashion Week kicks off on September 8, anticipation for the first glimpse of the Spring/ Summer 2016 shows is mounting. The first major event of September, arguably fashion’s biggest month, will be ringing in the changes in more ways than one, starting with the catwalk venues.
Yves Saint Laurent adds three new scents to its ‘fragrance wardrobe’ Paris, Sept 6 — Almost a year after unveiling the first fragrances from its “Le Vestiaire des Parfums” — or “fragrance wardrobe” — Yves Saint Laurent is to launch three new scents inspired by iconic materials from the famous couturier’s wardrobe, with “Cuir” (leather), “Vinyle” (vinyl) and “Velours” (velvet) set to land from fall 2016. Launched in October 2015, YSL’s “Vestiaire des Parfums” collection captures the essence of emblematic pieces from the Yves Saint Laurent wardrobe, from the reefer jacket (“Caban”) and the safari jacket (“Saharienne”) to the trench coat (“Trench”) and the caftan (“Caftan”). One year down the line, YSL is drawing on its iconic materials as a new source of inspiration for a fragrance wardrobe addition that takes evening into night-time. Materials of the night Staying faithful to the spirit of the label and the essence of each material, the “Le Vestaire des Parfums — Collection de Nuit” features three new unisex scents with audacious, elegant and sensual aromas, laced with a signature hint of rock ‘n’ roll.
Yves Saint Laurent has focused on three materials eternally associated with the night — leather, vinyl and velvet — now fashion icons in their own right. These three materials have been captured and reinterpreted by renowned perfumers Ilias Ermenidis, Juliette Karagueuzoglou and Carlos Benaïm, respectively. The universe and symbolism of each material have been carefully analysed to draw out every aspect of each substance before picking suitable ingredients for the scents. The animal, chic and rock ‘n’ roll aspects of leather are captured in “Cuir” with guaiac wood and saffron, matched with notes of rum, tobacco, ginger, black tea, osmanthus and oud wood. The sensuality, modernity and brazenness of vinyl are echoed in “Vinyle” with immortelle flower and myrrh, matched with resinous notes, pink pepper, bergamot, anise and vanilla. Finally, the dual personality of velvet — between soft comfort and erotic power — is reflected in “Velours” with vanilla and amber wood notes. The three new fragrances from the “Le Vestiaire des Parfums — Collection de Nuit” are due out from fall 2016.
This fall, New York Fashion Week will move downtown into two unique spaces — Skylight at Moynihan Station and Skylight Clarkson Sq — as part of its strategy to create a “full cultural experience for guests”, as well as allowing them to get to and from other show venues throughout the city more efficiently. “We’re looking forward to reintroducing the industry to a showcase of creative talent, style and innovation that made the New York runways famous,” says Mark Shapiro, Chief Content Officer at the event’s producer and marketer IMG. “Part of this showcase involves staying close to inspirational hubs for fashion, art and music, and we’ve found great new homes for that in Skylight at Moynihan Station and Skylight Clarkson Sq.” Brands in transition In terms of the brands to watch, all eyes will be on Oscar de la Renta, whose creative director Peter Copping stepped down suddenly in July citing personal circumstances. The house revealed last week that it has recruited Monse designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia as its new co-creative directors, but the duo won’t reveal their debut collection for the label until the Fall/Winter 2017 shows, meaning that the Spring/ Summer 2017 collection set to go on
show this season was finished off by the in-house design team that worked under Copping. Another label undergoing a transitional period is Calvin Klein, which has dominated the fashion headlines over the past few months following its separation from Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli, who were the respective heads of the US house’s womenswear and menswear clothing lines, and the recruitment of ex-Dior designer Raf Simons. Simons has been drafted in to unify menswear and womenswear at the all-American label, but again, a delay between Costa and Zucchelli’s departures and Simons’ debut (set for the Fall 2017 collections), means that the in-house team have been left responsible for the upcoming collection, which will be presented by appointment only, rather than on the catwalk. See now, buy now The see-now-buy-now trend is taking off across the industry, with US designers including Michael Kors and Tom Ford championing the case for instantly available fashion. Tommy Hilfiger’s collection is once again expected to be available to purchase in the immediate aftermath of the show, and the fact that his new “Tommy x Gigi” collaboration with supermodel Gigi Hadid is also making its runway debut during his September 9 show will surely only add to the intrigue. And talking of intrigue — Kanye West is set to cause a stir with his Yeezy season 4 show in collaboration with Adidas, reportedly taking place on September 7. New York Fashion Week officially runs from September 8-14.
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
LIFESTYLE
Half-Indian ‘elephant whisperer’ crowned Miss Japan
Tokyo, Sept 6, 2016 — A half-Indian beauty queen with an elephant trainer’s licence was crowned Miss Japan yesterday, striking a fresh blow for racial equality. Priyanka Yoshikawa’s tearful victory comes a year after Ariana Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash for becoming the first black woman to represent Japan. Social media lit up after Miyamoto’s trail-blazing triumph as critics complained that Miss Universe Japan should instead have been won by a “pure” Japanese rather than a haafu — the Japanese for “half”, a word used to describe mixed race. “Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn’t represent Japan,” Yoshikawa told AFP in an interview after her exotic Bollywood looks helped sweep her to the title. “That’s what I thought too. I didn’t doubt it or challenge it until this day. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and showing all mixed girls the way.”
Yoshikawa, born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, vowed to continue the fight against racial prejudice in homogenous Japan, where multiracial children make up just two percent of those born annually. “I think it means we have to let it in,” said the 22-year-old when asked what it signified for her and Miyamoto to break down cultural barriers. “We are Japanese. Yes, I’m half Indian and people are asking me about my ‘purity’ — yes, my dad is Indian and I’m proud of it, I’m proud that I have Indian in me. “But that does not mean I’m not Japanese.” Yoshikawa, like Miyamoto, was bullied because of her skin colour after returning to Japan aged 10 following three years in Sacramento and a further year in India. Gandhi visit “I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer,” said Yoshikawa,
an avid kick-boxer whose politician great-grandfather once welcomed independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi for a two-week stay at their home in Kolkata. “We have problems, we’ve been struggling and it hurts. “When I came back to Japan, everyone thought I was a germ. “Like if they touched me they would be touching something bad. But I’m thankful because that made me really strong.” Yoshikawa, who speaks fluent Japanese and English and towered over her rivals at 1.76 metres, will contest for the Miss World crown in Washington this December. “When I’m abroad, people never ask me what mix I am,” said Yoshikawa, who earned her elephant trainer’s licence to add spice to her resume. “As Miss Japan, hopefully I can help change perceptions so that it can be the same here too.
“The number of people with mixed race is only going to increase, so people have to accept it.” Reaction to Yoshikawa’s victory failed initially to trigger any real outrage, although predictably some were unhappy. “What’s the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics,” grumbled one Twitter user, while another fumed: “It’s like we’re saying a pure Japanese face can’t be a winner.” As the Japanese government continues to push its “Cool Japan” brand overseas to entice foreign tourists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yoshikawa promised to win over any doubters. “There was a time as a kid when I was confused about my identity,” she admitted. “But I’ve lived in Japan so long now I feel Japanese.”
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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SPORTS
McIlroy ends title drought at Deutsche championship Norton (Massachusetts), Sept 6, 2016 — Rory McIlroy ended a 16-month title drought on the PGA Tour with a brilliant lastday charge as he won the Deutsche Bank Championship by two shots yesterday in Norton, Massachusetts. A distant six strokes behind overnight leader Paul Casey heading into the final round at the TPC Boston, McIlroy fired a sparkling six-under-par 65 in blustery conditions to post a 15-under total of 269. The Northern Irish world number five ended his round in style, hitting an exquisite bunker shot to within two feet at the par-five 18th for a tap-in four, his seventh birdie of the day, as he clinched his 12th PGA Tour victory. Englishman Casey, hunting his second career win on the US circuit, led by three strokes after 54 holes but had to settle for second place after closing with a 73. McIlroy, who had not tasted victory on the PGA Tour since the Wells Fargo Championship in May last year, pinpointed
his remarkable recovery after a horrible start to Friday’s opening round as key to his success at the TPC Boston. “Those last 15 holes on Friday were definitely a turning point, not just in this tournament, but maybe in my season, to play the last 15 holes in four under,” McIlroy told Golf Channel The 27-year-old ended up shooting a level-par 71 in the opening round after ominously starting out par; bogey; triple-bogey. “Then I tweaked my putting grip on Saturday morning, holed some putts on Saturday and went with it and got some momentum,” said McIlroy. “It is amazing to think how I started this tournament and what was going through my mind after three holes, and then all of a sudden (I’m) standing here with a trophy. It is pretty cool.” McIlroy, whose victory lifted him to third in the world rankings, was delighted to regain form after missing the cut at the PGA Championship then tying
for 31st at The Barclays in his previous two starts. “I came off the back of a rough couple of weeks,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ and that it was going to be a little bit of a grind and a bit of a struggle. “Things can turn around quickly in this game and they did for me this week.” American Jimmy Walker, who landed his first major title at the PGA Championship in July, carded a 70 to finish third at 12
under in the second of the PGA Tour’s four playoff events, with Australian Adam Scott (65) a further stroke back in fourth. The top 70 players on the FedExCup points list advance to this week’s BMW Championship in Carmel, Indiana, where the leading 30 will qualify for the Sep. 22-25 Tour Championship finale in Atlanta. — Reuters
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
SPORTS
Nishikori topples Karlovic to reach US Open quarters New York, Sept 6, 2016 - Kei Nishikori cut down the towering Ivo Karlovic of Croatia with surgical precision in a straightsets win yesterday that lifted the sixth-seeded Japanese to the US Open quarter-finals. Nishikori, the US Open runner-up two years ago, beat Karlovic 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) in the final main draw singles match at Louis Armstrong Stadium, which will be replaced by a new stadium with a retractable roof for the 2018 tournament. It was a David and Goliath clash of physical opposites, but the 6-foot-11 (2.11 m) Karlovic’s tennis game, apart from his prodigious serve, was overshadowed by the skills of Nishikori, more than a foot shorter at 5-10 (1.78 m). The quick-footed Nishikori made 37-year-old Karlovic look like he was standing still, which he often was, as he raced to victory in two hours to earn a berth into the last eight.
“It’s never easy against someone like Ivo, he has a great serve,” Nishikori said about the Croat, who crushed a US Open record 61 aces in his five-set, first-round win over Lu YenHsun of Taiwan. “I made a lot of returns of first and second serves and was happy with my return game today.” Nishikori will play either second seed Andy Murray of Britain or 22nd seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. “I’ve been playing well, especially today,” the Japanese said. “I think I played one of (my) best matches so far. So will try to recover well and play (more) good tennis next round.” Karlovic hammered in 21 aces but when his first serves were not finding the mark, Nishikori pounced. The Croat led all players with 99 aces. Nishikori broke Kar-
lovic twice and was credited with 44 winners against only seven unforced errors. “I was able to get the break, first and second set, early. So that makes me a little more relaxed,” said Nishikori. “And my serve was much better today. I was able to hit a lot of first serves in,” added the Japanese, who landed 60 per cent of them. He won on his fifth match point, but Nishikori was not fussed - the first four came after he had galloped to a 6-0 lead in
the third-set tiebreaker which he won 7-4. Nishikori, who became the first Asian to reach a grand slam men’s final two years ago in Flushing Meadows, has had a strong season, including a run to the quarters at the Australian Open before falling to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. He won in Memphis and was runner-up at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami, Barcelona and ATP Masters 1000 Toronto, losing to number one Djokovic in Miami and Toronto and to Rafa Nadal in Barcelona. - Reuters
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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HEALTH Study finds vitamin D tablets may help reduce asthma attacks LONDON, Sept 6 — The world’s 300 million asthma sufferers could help reduce their risk of severe asthma attacks by taking vitamin D supplements as well as their standard asthma medicines, according to the findings of a review of international trial evidence.
in those who had low vitamin D levels to start with. “Further analyses to investigate this are ongoing and results should be available in the next few months.” Erika Kennington, head of research for the charity Asthma UK, said the findings showed promise, but more evidence was needed for them to be conclusive.
The analysis — which covered trials in the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Poland and Britain — found that taking vitamin D tablets cut the risk of severe asthma attacks needing hospital treatment to around 3 percent from 6 per cent. Adrian Martineau, a professor of respiratory infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London who led the work, said the results were exciting, though also advised caution. “The findings relating to severe asthma attacks come from just three
“With so many different types of asthma, it could be that Vitamin D may benefit some people with the condition but not others,” she said. trials in which the patients were mostly adults with mild or moderate asthma,” he said. More trials are needed in children and in adults with severe asthma, he said, to find out if vitamin D could
also benefit these patients. Martineau further said it was not yet clear whether the effect of vitamin D tablets was across all patients, or only
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects around 300 million people around the world, often giving symptoms of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
New study links eight more kinds of cancer to being overweight Miami, Aug 25, 2016 — Being overweight can raise the likelihood of being diagnosed with cancers of the stomach and digestive tract, as well as certain brain and reproductive tumours, international researchers said yesterday. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine adds eight more kinds of cancer to the list of those already known to be more likely among overweight people. obeseIn 2002, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Cancer on Research (IARC), based in France, said excess pounds could raise the risk of colon, oesophagus, kidney, breast and uterine cancer. Now, it has added stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, ovary and thyroid
cancers, as well as a type of brain tumour known as meningioma and the blood cancer multiple myeloma, the report said. Researchers reviewed more than 1,000 studies of excess weight and cancer risks, saying that limiting weight gain over decades can help to reduce the risk of those cancers. “The burden of cancer due to being overweight or obese is more extensive than what has been assumed,” said IARC Working Group chair Graham Colditz of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Many of the newly identified cancers linked to excess weight haven’t been on people’s radar screens as having a weight component.”
Cancer often arises with no explanation. Its causes can include viruses, pollutants, genetic factors and radiation. Certain lifestyle factors such as smoking and being overweight can also make a person more likely to get cancer. Around nine per cent of cancers among women in North America, Europe and the Middle East are believed to be linked to obesity, the report said. Extra fat can promote inflammation and lead to an overproduction of oestrogen, testosterone and insulin — all of which can drive cancer growth, the study added.
Some 640 million adults and 110 million children around the world are obese. “Lifestyle factors such as eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising, in addition to not smoking, can have a significant impact on reducing cancer risk,” Colditz said. “This is another wake-up call. It’s time to take our health and our diets seriously.”
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
Misc Asia Australia, Taiwan, South Korea issue travel warnings for Singapore Singapore, August 30, 2016 – Australia, Taiwan and South Korea advised pregnant women and those attempting to get pregnant to avoid travel to Singapore after an outbreak of the Zika virus infected more than 50 people in the city-state. The outbreak and the warnings come as a potential blow to tourism in one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, which is already struggling to recover from a slump amid tepid global growth.
Clueless Philippine fisherman unearths ‘world’s largest’ pearl Manila, Aug 24, 2016 — A poor Philippine fisherman found what is thought to be the world’s largest pearl, but hid it under his bed for a decade without knowing its worth, local authorities said. The man found the 75-pound pearl inside a giant clam that was snagged by his anchor as he waited out a storm at sea, according to local tourism department chief Cynthia Amurao, who is also his aunt. philippine_pearlNot knowing it could be worth tens of millions of dollars, he kept the 12-inch by 24-inch pearl in his thatch hut on the western island of Palawan, tucked under a wooden bed as a good-luck charm, Amurao added. In July, the nephew moved to a new address and took the object to his aunt in a tricycle, asking her to hide it for him, said Amurao, the city tourism officer for Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital. “I was awestruck when I saw it just sitting on the dinner table,” said Amurao. He described the fisherman as a member of the tiny Cuyonon ethno-linguistic group who live in a few small islands off Palawan, the biggest island in the southwest of the Philippines sur-
rounded by the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. “I told him it would be pointless to hide it as we do not know its value. Why don’t we put it on public display instead,” she said. With his consent, the pearl was put on display at the city hall of Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital, on Monday and photos were posted on the government’s Facebook page. Local officials are hoping gemmologists will visit the city to assess its quality and value.
Singapore reported its first case of locally-transmitted Zika at the weekend, and the number of reported infections of the mosquito-borne virus has since jumped to 56. At least three dozen of those have since made a full recovery. The Zika virus was detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. It poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. It has been linked in Brazil to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains. The 56 confirmed cases in Singapore include only one woman.
The 14-kilogram “Pearl of Allah”, also known as the “Pearl of Lao Tzu”, is often referred to as the world’s largest. It was also found off Palawan, in the 1930s, and has been appraised by gemmologists at tens of millions of dollars.
Taiwan, Australia and South Korea advised pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to postpone trips to Singapore. Those returning from the country should avoid pregnancy for two months. South Korean travelers will receive text messages with the warning when they arrive in Singapore.
Puerto Princesa city information officer Richard Ligad confirmed Amurao’s account and said the man who found it could be in for a massive change in his life’s fortunes.
Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore’s closest neighbors, have stepped up protective measures following the outbreak, introducing thermal scanners at airports and border checkpoints.
“He has not signed any deed of donation (to the city) so it remains his property,” Ligad said.
Singapore’s Tourism Board said it was monitoring developments, adding the city state remained a “safe travel destination”, and it was premature to consider any impact. More than 55 million people pass through Singapore’s Changi airport
every year. In the first half of this year, tourism arrivals reached almost 8.2 million, compared with around 7.3 million in the same period of last year. Online retailer Lazada Singapore said on Tuesday it has seen sales of mosquito repellent and other deterrent products rise fivefold over the past three days compared to a week ago. Authorities continued to inspect thousands of homes in seven parts of Singapore, including five foreign worker dormitories, on Tuesday. Officials sprayed insecticide and removed potential mosquito breeding habitats such as stagnant water and moist dirt from drains. The majority of those infected with Zika in Singapore were foreign workers, but the government has not disclosed their nationalities. The High Commission of Bangladesh, which represents the largest community of foreign workers, said none of the workers were Bangladeshis. The Chinese and Myanmar embassies in Singapore said they had not been notified by Singapore whether their citizens were among those infected. The Thai embassy did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Foreign workers in Singapore, employed mostly in the construction and marine industries, can earn as little as S$2 an hour, often work 12-14 hours a day and take few days off. They are unlikely to travel often. The GuocoLand construction site, where the infected workers were found, remained closed on Tuesday morning, according to a Reuters photographer at the scene. It was ordered on Sunday to halt work and rectify the conditions that allowed mosquitoes to breed. Regional health experts said the Zika virus is likely to be significantly under-reported across tropical Southeast Asia as local health authorities fail to conduct adequate screening.
Georgia Asian Times September 1-15, 2016
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Misc Asia
Pope proclaims ‘dispenser of mercy’ Mother Teresa a saint Vatican City, September 4, 2016 – Mother Teresa of Calcutta, known as the “saint of the gutters” during her life, was declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis on Sunday, fast-tracked to canonization just 19 years after her death. Tens of thousands of pilgrims packed St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for a service to honor the tiny nun, who worked among the world’s neediest in the slums of the Indian city now called Kolkata and become one of the most recognizable faces of the 20th century. A tapestry depicting Mother Teresa of Calcutta is seen in the facade of Saint Peter’s Basilica during a mass, celebrated by Pope Francis, for her canonisation in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini A tapestry depicting Mother Teresa of Calcutta is seen in the facade of Saint Peter’s Basilica during a mass, celebrated by Pope Francis, for her canonisation in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini A Nobel peace laureate, her legacy complements Pope Francis’s vision of a humble church that strives to serve the poor, and the festivities in her honor are a highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy, which runs until Nov. 8. Standing under a canvas hung from St. Peter’s Basilica showing the late nun in her blue-hemmed white robes, Francis said she was a “dispenser of divine mercy” and held world powers
to account “for the crimes of poverty they created”. “For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavour to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.” Around 120,000 people attended the ceremony, according to Vatican estimates, celebrating the life of a woman who Francis said it might be difficult to call “Saint” as people felt so close to her they spontaneously used “Mother”. “Everything she did gave an example to the entire world,” said 17-year-old student Massimiliano D’Aniello, from Grosseto, Italy, adding he had made a musical about her with his friends. “She showed we can’t all do everything, but little gestures made with so much love are what’s important.” Critics say she did little to alleviate the pain of the terminally ill and nothing to tackle the root causes of poverty. Atheist writer Christopher Hitchens made a documentary about her called “Hell’s Angel”. She was also accused of trying to convert the destitute in predominantly-Hindu India to Christianity, a charge her mission repeatedly denied. But Pope John Paul II, who met her often, had no doubt about her eligibility for sainthood, and put her on the
route to canonization two years after her death instead of the usual five. ‘SHE WILL PRAY FOR US’ As pilgrims from across the world gathered at the Vatican along with delegations from more than a dozen governments, the canonization was also celebrated in Skopje, the capital of modern Macedonia where Mother Teresa was born of Albanian parents in 1910 and became a nun aged 16. No major ceremony was scheduled in Kolkata, where the first MoC mission was set up in 1952, but prayers, talks and cultural events were planned, in an atmosphere of quiet pride. “We are blessed with this canonization because we know mother is in heaven and she will pray for us and she will bless us,” said Sister Laisa, assistant superior general of the MoC. Pramod Sharma, a Kolkata resident who grew up near a convent school and childcare center where Mother Teresa worked, said he and his country were proud she had chosen India as her home. “(She) belonged to our India and stayed with the Indians and will forever stay in our hearts,” Sharma said.
The Church defines as saints those believed to have led such holy lives they are now in Heaven and can intercede with God to perform miracles – two of which are needed to confer sainthood. She is credited with healing an Indian woman from stomach cancer in 1998 and a Brazilian man from a brain infection in 2008. The Brazilian, Marcilio Andrino, and his wife attended the ceremony and were blessed by the pope. Sister Leandra Stupnicka, a nun from Wroclaw in Poland, said she got up at 4:00 a.m. to be at the Vatican early on Sunday and pay her respects to the new saint. “This mother was simple, very poor and devout and for us she is a testament to serving others,” Sister Leandra said. “We pray to be like her.” After the canonization service, the pope treated 1,500 homeless people from across Italy to Neapolitan pizza served by members of Mother Teresa’s order. -Reuters
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September 1-15, 2016 Georgia Asian Times
TRAVEL
Poor Hungary town eyes riches of Suleiman the Magnificent SZIGETVAR (Hungary), Sept 5 — The recent discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the greatest Ottoman ruler, has raised hopes of a tourism boom in one of Hungary’s most impoverished areas. From hammam baths and crumbling minarets to battle site memorials and ruins of mosques, traces of the country’s 150-year-long stretch (1541-1699) in the Ottoman Empire are not hard to find in Hungary. But many Hungarians see them as relics of a dark period during which the country’s flourishing renaissance era was extinguished. As a result, few of the Ottoman monuments have so far been promoted by the Hungarian authorities. Suleiman’s case could change that, however. Experts confirmed in July that excavations begun two years ago in the struggling town of Szigetvar, close to the Croatian border, had revealed the tomb of the 16th-century ruler. Suleiman died aged 71 on September 7, 1566, during an epic battle with the mainly Croatian defenders of Szigetvar castle that depleted his forces hoping to quickly advance on Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg Empire. On Wednesday, senior government officials from Hungary, Croatia and Turkey will join thousands of visitors to Szigetvar to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the siege. “This town is dying, young people are leaving or have already left for
Germany or London, but Suleiman can bring in jobs, income, and tourists,” said Norbert Pap, head of the team of researchers whose excavations uncovered the tomb. “Szigetvar may be on the periphery now, but 450 years ago it was on the main street of European history,” said Pap, a geographer and historian at nearby Pecs university. Wiped from the map Born in 1494, Suleiman, whose reign from 1520 to 1566 was the longest of any sultan, greatly expanded the Ottoman Empire, annexing large swathes of the Balkans, the Middle East and northern Africa. Taken ill before his final battle, Suleiman was found dead in his imperial camp, located an hour’s walk east of the castle according to contemporary accounts. His body, later removed to Istanbul, was drained of its internal organs and heart, which were buried and later built over by a tomb. While his body was laid to rest in Istanbul, his heart and other internal organs were buried at the site of his death and later covered by a tomb. Around the tomb the town of Turbek grew, the only settlement that the Ottomans built from scratch during their reign in Hungary. At the end of the 17th century, however, both the town and the tomb were wiped off the map by the Habsburgs. Until 2012 that is, when Pap secured
funding from the Turkish government to use technology to try find them. A few days before Christmas 2014 a geophysics survey of a site nestled beneath vineyards and orchards four kilometres to the east of Szigetvar castle returned results that set Pap’s pulse racing. “It showed the presence of buildings, just under the grass, matching positions on the medieval maps of Turbek, and all of them pointing very precisely toward Mecca,” he said. Excavations gradually uncovered the remains of Turbek: the walls of a mosque, a tomb, dervish monastery cloisters, as well as a wealth of silver coins and fragments of clothing, pottery, glass and metal. The evidence became overwhelming, and by July this year experts in Turkey were also convinced. “Finally, we could say for certain that we had found Suleiman’s tomb,” said Pap. National icon Sleepy Szigetvar with a population of 10,000 has few hotels, but Pap is convinced of the town’s long-term potential for tourism given appropriate investment. The only other Ottoman sultan to die outside the Empire’s centres of Istan-
bul and Bursa — Sultan Murad, killed in the 1389 battle of Kosovo Polje — draws several thousands of tourists annually to his tomb in modern-day Kosovo. “Suleiman is a national cultural icon in Turkey, and as Szigetvar is easier to get to from both western Europe and Turkey than Kosovo, there is a very good chance that Turkish tourists will come visit the tomb,” said Pap. The town’s mayor Peter Vass said that he hopes the number of visitors to Szigetvar will double from the current 25,000 per year. The municipality has already earmarked a site for the construction of higher-end hotels close to the castle. As Pap’s team continues to dig for the rest of Turbek including a military barracks and the town’s walls as well as Suleiman’s heart — buried in a golden urn according to legend — five Turkish descendants of Ottoman princesses will give DNA samples next week in Szigetvar for comparison with samples from the tomb area. “Hungary and Turkey have much in common, a shared cultural heritage,” said Turkey’s ambassador in Budapest Sakir Fakili. “Many Turks are wealthy, and can afford to travel, so why not to Szigetvar?”