NEW DELHI – A farmer in southern India committed suicide fearing she would be left penniless after the government’s shock decision to withdraw high denomination notes from circulation, police said Thursday.

Kandukuri Vinoda, 55, had a large amount of cash at her home in 1,000 and 500 rupee (S$20, S$10) notes and panicked that her savings had become worthless when she heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise announcement on Tuesday.

“The family told us she panicked after hearing about the note ban and hanged herself at her home,” local police officer Raj, who only uses one name, told AFP.

Vinoda from Mahabubabad district, east of Hyderabad city, had sold some land last month and was paid around 5.5 million rupees for it in cash.

She used some of the money to pay for her husband’s medical bills and planned to use the rest to buy a new plot of land, local media reported.

Many Indians living in rural areas keep large amounts of cash at home because of a lack of banks in remote areas and to avoid paying taxes.

The withdrawal of the notes is part of Modi’s campaign against corruption and “black money”, and the government has tried to reassure worried citizens that only tax dodgers will suffer under the move.

Read also: India banks reopen to long queues after rupee withdrawal

Police in northern Uttar Pradesh state said they were investigating reports that people were burning off sacks of notes to avoid declaring them and being landed with heavy penalities.

“We have sent the samples for forensic tests and asked bank authorities to authenticate these are currency notes,” police chief of Bareilly district Joginder Singh told AFP.

Earlier this year, the government ran a four-month tax amnesty, which saw Indians declare nearly US$10 billion (S$14 billion) in hidden wealth.

But the scheme ended last month and anyone now depositing large amounts of cash could face a bill of up to 200 per cent in back taxes.

TOKYO – A plucky ostrich was living life in the fast lane in Japan earlier this week after making a bold dash for freedom along a stretch of motorway, local media reported.

The 1.80-metre (6-feet) ‘Roadrunner’ brought traffic to a halt at Takasaki, north of Tokyo, after breaking out of its cage atop a speeding truck, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.

It took nine police and highway patrol officers over an hour to capture the intrepid creature, which was being transported to a zoo in northerly Ibaraki prefecture, following a frantic one-kilometre (half-mile) chase.

Police said no injuries were reported during the incident on Monday in which the bird – one of 15 being moved by a specialist breeder – executed its daring breakout.

Highway patrol officer Takahashi Fujimoto told NHK: “Two police officers had captured the ostrich by the time I arrived. They tied rope to its neck and body and moved it to a safe location.

“The ostrich was really calm,” added Fujimoto. “I couldn’t believe that an ostrich was on the highway so I was shocked when I actually saw it.” Several passing drivers uploaded photos and video clips to social media showing the ostrich brazenly strolling along the hard shoulder.

It is not the first time unruly ostriches have run riot on a Japanese motorway, although in 2007 it ended less happily when one of two birds which escaped its cage was killed after being hit by a car.

Read also: Ostrich runs ‘afowl’ on Malaysian highway, but stays within speed limit

Ostrich sprints down Malaysian Highway

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Internet screengrabs, The Star/ANN

NEW DELHI – Long queues formed outside banks in India on Thursday (Nov 10) as they reopened for the first time since the government’s shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation.

Some banks in the capital New Delhi had received the new 2,000 rupee (S$42) bill and a number of ATMs were working again, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender in a blitz against tax evasion and corruption.

Modi’s Tuesday evening bombshell prompted a late night rush on cash machines as customers withdrew smaller notes from ATMs before they closed at midnight in preparation for the turnaround.

“I have only come here to check if I can change my old notes for a new currency even if I don’t have an account with the bank,” R.P Singh, a newspaper vendor, told AFP outside a bank in New Delhi.

“The real worry is how we will get essential daily supplies in the next few days as most people are short of those smaller denomination or new currency notes,” he added.

The government said customers would be able to exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them in their accounts from Thursday.

However, it was unclear how many banks across the country – particularly in rural areas – had received the new 2,000 note.

Newly designed 500 and 1,000 rupee bills will be rolled out at a later date.

“The country has around 125,000 bank branches and an extensive network of post offices in rural areas, which should be enough. Let the exchange process begin and we will see if more is required,” India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday.

Long queues formed outside banks across the country, with some people complaining that banks and post offices, where old notes can also be exchanged, had not opened on time.

“We don’t know what they are doing, why haven’t they opened the bank yet? We have already been waiting for over two hours just to exchange our currency notes,” a customer outside a bank in Modinagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh told ABP news channel.

The government has said that only tax dodgers will lose out from the move, the latest in a series of anti-corruption measures introduced by Modi.

Analysts largely welcomed the decision, saying that while consumer spending will likely dip in the short term as the new notes make their way into circulation, in the long run the move will boost GDP.

Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted two Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong II space lab during a video call on Wednesday (Nov 9) afternoon.

Mr Xi asked about the physical condition, living conditions and work progress of astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong during the half-month they have been in space so far. The mission will last a month.

“We are in good health. And our work is going smoothly,” Mr Jing said. “We can even watch live broadcasting of Xinwen Lianbo (CCTV’s flagship news programme) on the spaceship with a smooth and clear picture.”

He said the two are enjoying better working and living conditions aboard the space module, which is linked to the Shenzhou XI spacecraft, than their predecessors, adding: “We feel so proud of our country.”

Mr Xi encouraged the astronauts to redouble their efforts and co-operate with each other closely to complete the mission successfully.

The Shenzhou XI space mission is China’s sixth manned space mission. In the course of these missions, technology for ground-to-space calls has developed rapidly.

CCTV commentator Yang Yu said: “For the audience, the most impressive part about the space-ground calls is the emotional communication that was supported by technological breakthroughs.”

TOKYO – Construction workers have begun filling a large sinkhole that opened up on a major road in southern Japan with around 7,000 cubic metres of soil, local media reported.

The sinkhole, which measured 30 metres (98 feet) long and 15 metres (49 feet) deep, appeared in Fukuoka on Tuesday morning, swallowing nearby sidewalks and almost consuming several commercial buildings.

The city government started filling the hole on Wednesday with the special soil that contains cement so that it solidifies easily and were optimistic of having the road open by Monday, TV Kyushu said.

Authorities blamed construction on a nearby subway line for the hole. Nobody was injured, but power outages hit 800 households and Fukuoka airport.

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Photo Gallery

Giant sinkhole swallows up busy road intersection in Japan’s Fukuoka city

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Japan News/ANN

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