A wolf-sized otter with crushing jaws once prowled southwestern China, according to scientists, who say the discovery of the animal’s fossilised remains could illuminate the evolution of its modern relatives.
The fossils of the huge otter, Siamogale melilutra, including a nearly complete cranium, an assortment of teeth, a mandible and other bones, were found in Yunnan province, said a research paper published in the UK-based Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
Archeologists discovered the animal’s remains in a coalpit in 2010, according to China’s Xinhua news service.
The animal lived more than six million years ago and weighed about 50 kilos , far more than modern otters and similar to a modern wolf, the agency said.
It added that the find could help piece together the puzzling evolutionary record of mustelids, the family of carnivorous mammals that includes otters, badgers and weasels.
“The new discovery permits recognition of a rare clade of otters and affords an opportunity to explore relationships among several enigmatic fossil mustelids that have been referred either to as badgers or to otters,” said the paper.
US and Chinese researchers involved in the study told US media the large teeth and powerful jaws indicated the animal probably used them for crushing hard objects such as large shellfish and freshwater molluscs.
Siamogale melilutra fossils were first uncovered in 2010, with more finds in subsequent years completing the picture, the researchers said.
China sentenced two key suspects in an out-of-date immunisations scandal, a local court said Tuesday, in a case which fuelled public concern about vaccine safety and sparked outrage about official delays in revealing details.
The scandal, which came to light in March last year, involved the illegal and improper storage, transport and sale of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of vaccines – many of them expired.
The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Pang Hongwei, one of the key players in the scheme, to 19 years in prison for illegal business practices, according to a statement posted Tuesday on its verified Weibo social media account.
Pang’s daughter, Sun Qi, received six years for the same charge.
Between June 2013 and April 2015, Pang bought and improperly stored rabies, flu, and hepatitis B vaccines and sold them around the country, sales of which amounted to nearly 75 million yuan (S$15.5 million), according to the court.
Sun helped in accounting, receiving and sending vaccines, and making bank transfers from September 2014 to April 2015, the court said.
Although the two suspects were arrested in April 2015, the vaccine scandal was not publicised until nearly a year later, arousing public fury over authorities’ delay.
The sentence followed two cases in December and January where a former Chinese official and his wife were both jailed for taking bribes from vaccine manufacturers to gain approval for their drugs.
Premier Li Keqiang acknowledged in an earlier statement that the vaccine incident had provoked “great concern and exposed the existence of many regulatory loopholes”.
Standard vaccines such as those for polio, hepatitis B and measles are mandatory for all children in China and supplied by the state, while parents can opt to buy additional immunisations privately such as those for meningitis, influenza or rotavirus.
Nintendo Co’s smash hit Pokemon Go was unleashed on South Korea on Tuesday, six months after it was released elsewhere in the world, a delay caused by security fears over Google Maps.
The popularity of augmented-reality Pokemon Go around the world has generated crowds of people in parks and other public places as users search for monsters to train, but with temperatures well below freezing, there was no sudden, noticeable buzz on the streets of Seoul. “We have waited very long and worked very hard to launch Pokemon Go in South Korea,” said Lim Jae Boem, chief executive of Pokemon Korea.
The game was jointly developed by Nintendo and Niantic Inc.
Pokemon Go relies on Google Maps to work. But in most of South Korea those functions have been limited by the government, which is technically still at war with North Korea, for national security reasons.
Neither Niantic nor Pokemon Korea specified how they managed to work around the Google Maps challenge. “We used various publicly accessible data sources,” said Dennis Hwang, art director of Niantic Inc.
There was a slight hitch in the morning when the game was unavailable for download, but that was soon cleared up.
One group of people had their eyes fixed to their smartphones near Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun Square where Pokemons are said to appear often. “It was sad that it came to Korea a bit late but I’m glad that I can play the fun game translated into Korean,” said Kim Ga-on, 10, who was playing separately with his mother and sister. “It’s good exercise and it’s fun to catch Pokemons.” South Korea is the world’s fourth-biggest gaming market after China, the United States and Japan, according to Amsterdam-based research firm Newzoo.
In July, some impatient Pokemon fans rushed to Sokcho, a city close to the border with North Korea – an area where the game can be played as it has not been classified as South Korean territory in Google Maps data.
Nintendo’s stock closed down 1 percent on Tuesday. Hysonic Co Ltd, the company in charge of the game release, rose 30 percent.
What do you get when Hong Kong martial arts expert Jackie Chan collaborates with a host of Indian film actors? An action-adventure movie titled “Kung Fu Yoga” of course.
Screen legend Chan was in Mumbai this week to promote his latest flick – a slapstick comedy by Hong Kong director Stanley Tong that also features Bollywood’s Sonu Sood.
“Kung Fu Yoga”, which is released in China this weekend and in India on February 3, centres on two professors who embark on an epic journey to find lost treasure.
Chan plays Chinese archeologist Jack, who pairs up with Indian professor Ashmita, played by Amyra Dastur, for their elaborate adventure in the Chinese and Indian co-produced film.
Their search takes them to Dubai, India, and Tibet where they are ambushed by Sood’s character, the descendant of a rebel army leader, according to movie website imdb.com.
They manage to escape though, presumably using a combination of short, sharp kicks and slaps mixed with some planks and perhaps a downward-facing dog.
Chan, 62, told reporters during his visit to the home of Hindi cinema that he dreams of making a very different type of movie – a Bollywood romance.
“It’s one of my dreams, I want to do it. Ask some Bollywood director to hire me. No more action for me, I want to do dance and do a love story,” the Press Trust of India quoted him as saying Monday.
Scientists will take the tape measure to Mount Everest to determine whether a massive earthquake in Nepal really did knock an inch off the world’s tallest peak.
India’s top surveyor said Tuesday a team of scientists would be sent to neighbouring Nepal to measure Everest in the hope of putting to rest a debate about the true height of the towering mountain.
A deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, killing thousands and altering the landscape across the Himalayan nation.
Satellite data at the time suggested the impact of the quake reduced Everest’s peak – which officially stands at 8,848 metres above sea level – by anywhere between a few millimetres and an inch.
But lingering doubt among the scientific community has prompted a fresh expedition to size up the peak, said India’s surveyor general Swarna Subba Rao.
“We will remeasure it,” Rao was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, adding the team would set off in two months.
“Two years have passed since the major Nepal earthquake and there’s doubt in the scientific community that it did in fact shrink.” The exercise will require a month for observation and roughly another fortnight for the data to be officially declared.
Another official told AFP that a five-member team would depart for the expedition at winter’s end, and would take measurements using instruments on the ground to gauge the peak’s real height.
The earthquake, Nepal’s deadliest disaster in more than 80 years, is also believed to have shifted the earth beneath the capital Kathmandu several metres to the south.
Newly-wedded Korean idols, singer Rain and actress Kim Tae Hee, touched down in Bali on Monday for their honeymoon after getting married on Jan. 19 at the Gahoe-dong Cathedral in Jongjo, Seoul.
As reported by kompas.com, photos and videos on social media revealed Rain in an all-black outfit, shades and a hat on his arrival to the island with Kim, who wore a white sweater, ponytail and sling bag while holding a bouquet of flowers.
A video posted by N Ayu Zulalina (@ayzulalina) on Jan 22, 2017 at 7:44pm PST
Instagram user @ayzulalina documented the couple’s arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport via video. The video shows Rain nodding to his right side whilst waving.
A photo posted by 정연욱 (@korean_starrr) on Jan 23, 2017 at 11:51pm PST
The couple held a private wedding ceremony last week, inviting only 100 friends and family.
Singer PSY, Park Joon Jyung, actor Ahn Syung Ki and Jin Young, the head of JYP Entertainment Park, were some of the renowned people invited to the wedding.
Ikea Singapore has issued a precautionary recall for its Mysingso beach chair, after it received five reports of the chair collapsing during use.
The reports received involved injuries to users’ fingers which required medical attention. The affected customers were from Finland, Germany, USA, Denmark and Australia.
In a statement, Ikea said that it was possible for users to re-assemble the chair incorrectly after removing the fabric seat for washing.
While no known incidents have been reported in Singapore, the Swedish company which sells ready-to-assemble furniture says it will be offering refunds to customers who bought the Mysingso beach chair before Jan 31 this year.
Proof of purchase is not required for a refund.
Ikea added that the Mysingso beach chair had been put through “relevant mechanical, fabric and chemical tests with approved result”.
Concerned customers may call Ikea at 6786 6868 for more information.
Sign up for a HSBC Revolution Platinum Credit Card and receive a Samsonite Black Label Plutus 68cm Luggage worth S$950 plus $20 cash rebate and 2 years annual fee waiver
U.S. President Donald Trump has started early in fulfilling his campaign promises. On Monday he signed three executive orders one of which was withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a cornerstone of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia.
This has come as little surprise to anyone as Trump was very vocal of his desire to pull out of the TPP all throughout his campaign, but the sting will still be felt across much of Asia for those countries who stood to gain from the trade agreement.
So who will the winners and losers be in the fallout of Trump’s decision?
LOSERS
According to a 2016 study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Malaysia stood to make significant gains from the TPP. An estimated 7.6 percent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) was anticipated by 2030 as the pact would open up access to protected foreign markets as well as stimulate domestic reform. A major benefit of the pact was the access to the U.S. to sell their palm oil exports.
Vietnam stood to gain the most from the agreement with an anticipated 8.1 percent rise in GDP by 2030, with some estimates going as high as 11 percent. The access to foreign markets would have had a significant impact, especially given Vietnam’s strained relationship with China, its largest trading partner, over the South China Sea dispute.
Apparel, footwear and seafood industries, some of Vietnam’s biggest export industries, would have benefitted from reduced or eliminated import tariffs. And the number of companies moving factories to Vietnam was expected to rise, causing exports to soar by 28 percent according to the Eurasia Group.
As a country that relies heavily on trade and as home to one of the biggest ports in the region, Singapore’s benefits of the TPP would have been tangible. Despite being part of a number of free trade agreements already, the increase in trade in the newly liberalised region would benefit Singapore. The pact would also open up the previously untapped markets of Canada and Mexico.
Japan gains were also projected to be significant, with projected benefits including an acceleration of market advances by services companies into Southeast Asia as well as access to foreign markets. Included in this would be the liberalisation of auto imports in markets other than the United States.
The big winners from Trump’s decision will likely be those countries that didn’t sign up to the agreement.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 17, 2017. Source: REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
South Korea is probably feeling reassured by Monday’s decision as the TPP threatened to erode the country’s advantage in U.S. markets that are currently supported by their own trade agreement, KORUS.
Others, including Thailand and India, will also be relieved as they are in direct competition with TPP members for TPP markets.
China stands to be the major winner from the United States’ backpedalling.
Xi Jinping has already been laying the groundwork to take the United States’ place and expand China’s influence in the region. His talk at the World Economic Forum reinforced China’s commitment to free trade and let the world know that they are very much open for business.
Reuters reported that works are already underway for Asian members to salvage the trade deal, with Australia and New Zealand saying on Tuesday that they hoped to encourage China and other Asian nations to join the pact.
“Losing the United States from the TPP is a big loss, there is no question about that,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. “But we are not about to walk away … certainly there is potential for China to join the TPP.”
Despite Obama’s pitch for the TPP to counter China’s growing influence in the region, it appears that this latest development for the long disputed trade pact may well result in the opposite occurring.
A Thai owner waits for customers ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand January 24, 2017 . REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
BANGKOK – Bright red garments, gold embroidery and colourful accessories would normally have been the mode du jour for Thailand’s ethnic Chinese celebrating Lunar New Year on Saturday.
Striking colours, especially red, are believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune.
But this year, donning colourful clothes could be seen as disrespectful in a country where many are still wearing black, white or grey as a sign of mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Oct. 13 last year.
The traditional mourning period of 100 days ended last Friday, but the transition back to colour has been slow.
The year-long mourning for government officials is not mandatory for all Thais, but most people shopping for new clothes in Bangkok are still in monochrome.
Bangkok resident Suvannee Suttilertkun said she would be wearing a black traditional dress with gold embroidery for Lunar New Year. “It is because we still have to show respect that we are mourning King Rama IX,” she said, referring to King Bhumibol by his formal title.
King Bhumibol was the world’s longest-reigning monarch after seven decades on the throne and was revered as semi-divine by many Thais. He was succeeded by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, in December.
Some Thais, like Tanagrit Leartskritanapa, have chosen to stick with bright red for Lunar New Year. “Most of the people understand this is for Chinese New Year, that we have to wear bright auspicious colours to bring luck into our lives,” the 60-year-old said. ”
At the same time, deep in our hearts, we feel sorrow and we don’t forget our king, because he’s still living in our hearts.” Many shopkeepers in Chinatown said there had been a drop in sales of red clothes, but they have offered more alternatives in gold, silver and black.
Ethnic Chinese number more than 9.3 million in Thailand, making up about 11 per cent of the population, according to 2012 data quoted by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, an international body based in Berlin.
But the numbers exclude those of partial ethnic Chinese ancestry, who also consider themselves to be Thai Chinese and celebrate Lunar New Year.
S.P. Somtow, a Thai-American author and social critic, said most Thai Chinese speak Thai and are well-integrated in society. He did not think wearing red would cause tension during the festive season.
“The mourning for a year is not mandatory, and people know that Chinese New Year is coming. It is a big thing here,” he said.
