Asia in 3 minutes: Japan finds dead man walking, Australians dress to repress
Rescuers stay out all night in wetlands to capture stork with a plastic-sealed beak; US Secretary of State posts that Singapore is part of Malaysia; and university students eager to get into ‘politically incorrect’ trouble succeed
Viral photo of bird with beak bound by plastic ring leads to its rescue
A bird that had its beak sealed shut by a plastic ring, captivating social media with its plight, has been rescued in India. A photo of the male black-necked stork spread on bird forums and gained international attention. A birder named Manoj Nair took the photo in a wetland in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi. After the image was posted online, birders and wildlife officials mounted a frantic search for the bird, which was finally found on Wednesday and taken to a sanctuary for treatment.
What next? The stork is dehydrated but nibbled on a small fish and was in surprisingly good condition despite going without food for at least seven days, Nair said. The stork, which is about 5 feet high, was found in a suburb called Basai, which is considered by conservationists as a key wetland habitat for wildlife. Sunil Tanwar, a wildlife inspector, said foresters and birders camped at the wetland throughout last week’s heatwave while the stork evaded capture. “He’s a very clever bird,” Tanwar said. He will be released as soon as officials at the Sultanpur National Park and bird sanctuary deem fit.
Dead man returns nearly a year after wrong body is given to his wife in Japan
A Japanese man thought to have been dead for a year has shocked his wife by returning home. Police had given the man’s wife what was thought to be his body in June 2017, after retrieving it from the Edo river in Tokyo. The man, in his early 40s, from Matsudo, had been reported missing by his family three days before the body was found in the river. After the wife and two other relatives examined the body and said it was their kin, police gave it to them, The Mainichi newspaper reported. The matter seemed settled until May when the man returned alive.
What next? Police would not say where he had been or what he had been doing but apologised for the error. “The incident is extremely regrettable. We’re determined to prevent a recurrence,” said Tomoaki Uehara, a senior officer. Authorities said the body might have been misidentified because both men were about the same height and age. After the mix-up, police found that a missing person’s report submitted the day the body was found and fingerprints taken from the dead man’s hands confirmed his identity. The cremated remains were to be returned to the man’s proper family.
US triggers sniggers by ‘reunifying’ Singapore and Malaysia
As the US prepared for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that some hoped might bring peace to the long-divided Korean peninsula, Washington accidentally hinted at another unlikely reunion – by listing Singapore as part of Malaysia. The US State Department published remarks made by top diplomat Mike Pompeo before the historic meeting in an online post, stating they were delivered at a hotel in “Singapore, Malaysia”. The wealthy financial hub and its larger neighbour have not been part of the same country since the 1960s.
