Asia in 3 minutes: bad week for Genghis Khan, Thailand’s reputation, shape-shifting Sumatran tigers
It was one to forget for Vladimir Lenin fans in India and trendy beards in Pakistan, too
Land of a Thousand insults: Thailand angry at Gambia for sex tourism label
Gambia has apologised to Thailand after its foreign minister said the country was a haven for sex tourists, sparking a strongly worded protest from Bangkok. Hamat Bah said on state television in January that Gambia, a sunny beach destination favoured by Western tourists especially from Scandinavia, was losing out to nearby Cabo Verde after gaining a reputation as a sex haven. “The fact is that this country’s image has been battered heavily … We are not a sex destination. If you want a sex destination, you go to Thailand,” he said.
What next? The Thai government lodged a formal protest. Culture Minister Veera Rojpojchanarat said sex tourism had declined after measures taken by the government. “Thailand has improved a lot in this issue. After the ministry of culture worked on promoting morality, this issue has improved a lot,” Veera said. A Gambian foreign ministry statement said it “regrets the unfortunate comments made by the minister of tourism and culture”.
Barbers bristle at ‘fashionable’ beards in Pakistan province
Hairdressers in Pakistan’s conservative northwest have announced a ban in their shops on “fashionable” beards, saying trendy facial hair violates Islamic law. The decision affecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province echoes a similar ban introduced more than a decade ago, after militant groups including the Pakistani Taliban threatened barbers with dire consequences for trimming beards. “Creating different beard designs is against the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed,” Sulemani Hairdressers Association president Sharif Kahlu said.
What next? Kahlu said tens of thousands of barbers, all members of his association, had promised to abide by the decision and notices would be pasted in shops telling customers. Muslim sects adhere to different rules over beard shapes and lengths, but the most generally accepted “Islamic” beard is one that is long enough to be visible from a certain distance, but not longer than a fistful of hair. Kahlu strongly denied any pressure on his association from any militant organisation, calling the move “a decision of our conscience”. Militants attacked many barber shops and saloons in the province a decade ago, calling the shaving of beards un-Islamic.
India’s ruling BJP cracks down on its own mob after Lenin statute toppled
India’s ruling party has warned its supporters they are not above the law after a mob celebrating an election victory against communists destroyed a statue of Vladimir Lenin with a bulldozer. Police in the remote state of Tripura said they were investigating more than a dozen complaints of arson, violence and vandalism in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) win in last weekend’s election. The Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi crushed the communists, who had ruled the small northeastern state for a quarter of a century, provoking a frenzied celebration by BJP supporters which degenerated into rioting.
