COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s customs authorities on Thursday impounded a consignment of aprons from India featuring images of the Buddha, saying the novelty garments were “offensive to Buddhists”.

Spokesman Dharmasena Kahandawa said it was an offence under international customs law to trade in merchandise that could cause offence – even though the aprons were only transiting Sri Lanka en route to Slovenia.

“We consider having an image of the Buddha on a kitchen apron to be offensive to Buddhists,” Kahandawa told AFP. “That is why we detained this consignment.”

Nearly 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 21 million people are Buddhists and authorities are highly sensitive to perceived insults to the faith.

Two years ago, Sri Lanka deported a British nurse because she had a Buddha tattooed on her upper right arm.

And in 2004, Sri Lanka got international lingerie manufacturer, Victoria’s Secret, to withdraw Buddha-print bras and bikinis which it deemed offensive.

Kahandawa said authorities were now unsure what to do with the impounded cargo, which could not be destroyed for religious reasons.

“We are in a bit of a quandary,” he told AFP.

TOKYO – A fire engulfed about 140 houses, shops and other buildings in a Japanese coastal city northwest of Tokyo on Thursday, with early reports of just two people suffering injuries.

The military was called in to help battle the blaze which started mid-morning in a Chinese restaurant in Itoigawa, a three-hour drive from the capital. It showed no sign of slowing as dusk fell, a fire official said.

Evacuation orders had been issued for 363 nearby houses, the official said. No deaths were reported.

“We are doing our best to get this under control, but the wind is still strong,” he said.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami said two people were slightly injured in the blaze.

BEIJING – China has begun daily civilian charter flights to Woody Island in the disputed South China Sea after approved the airport there for civil operations, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion (S$7.2 trillion) of maritime trade passes each year. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

The first flight took off on Wednesday from Haikou, the provincial capital of China’s southern island province of Hainan, and will run every day with tickets costing 1,200 yuan (S$250) one way, Xinhua said.

Woody Island, in the Paracels which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, is the seat of what China calls Sansha city that is its administrative centre for the South China Sea.

The airport, which is a joint military-civilian facility, was approved for civilian operations last Friday, Xinhua said. “This will effectively improve the working and living conditions of civil servants and soldiers based in Sansha city,”the report added.

The flights will leave Haikou airport at 8.45am and return from Woody Island at 1 p.m., Xinhua said.

China has been building other airfields in the South China Sea as part of a controversial land reclamation programme and in July civilian aircraft successfully carried out calibration tests on two new airports in the Spratly Islands, on Mischief Reef and Subi Reef.

China took full control of the Paracels in 1974 after a naval showdown with Vietnam.

Though China calls it a city, Sansha’s permanent population is no more than a few thousand, and many of the disputed islets and reefs in the sea are uninhabited.

In February, Taiwan and US officials said China had deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island.

SEOUL – South Korea’s scandal-hit president was asked to clarify the mystery surrounding her whereabouts at the time of a disastrous 2014 ferry sinking Thursday as the Constitutional Court opened her impeachment hearing.

Parliament voted to impeach Park Geun-Hye earlier this month over a corruption scandal in which she allegedly colluded with a friend to strong-arm donations from large conglomerates to two dubious foundations.

She is also accused of ordering aides to leak state documents to Choi Soon-Sil, who has no official title or security clearance, and allowing her to meddle in state affairs including the appointment of top officials.

The case is now being considered by the Constitutional Court which has 180 days to rule on the validity of the impeachment.

Justice Lee Jin-Sung rejected an apparent attempt by Park’s lawyers to stall the hearing, instead launching into questions over where she was in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster that left more than 300 people dead.

“I’m sure the president herself will know best what she did on the day of the Sewol ferry disaster,” Lee said. “We request that she provide all details.”

Park’s response to the tragedy was one of the issues cited when parliament voted for her impeachment and Park faces growing pressure to explain what she was doing on the day.

Questions have been raised over Park’s activities during a seven-hour period after she was initially informed of the sinking and before her first appearance at an official meeting to discuss the government’s response.

Unconfirmed media reports have suggested a wide range of theories about Park’s whereabouts, including a romantic liaison, participation in a shamanistic ritual, cosmetic surgery or, most recently, a 90-minute haircut.

Choi, who is said to have had a “Rasputin-like” influence over the president, pleaded not guilty to all charges when her trial opened this week.

The court also rejected a request from Park’s defence team to suspend its deliberations until the prosecution of Choi and other defendants runs its course.

Massive demonstrations have been taking place in Seoul and other cities every Saturday for the past two months, with protestors calling for Park’s immediate departure from office.

But Park has remained defiant, declaring she will “calmly” wait until the conservative-leaning Constitutional Court reaches a decision.

At least six members of the nine-judge panel are needed to approve the motion and Park is apparently pinning hopes on the court’s conservative bent.

If the justices confirm impeachment, Park will be permanently removed and elections must be held within 60 days – meaning a ballot could be held as early as late March.