Asia in 3 minutes: No sex for peacocks in India, and Philippines’ Duterte can’t think of anything else
Uber goes fuel throttle in Hong Kong, Japan okays abdication bill
In India, peacocks don’t have sex and cows exhale oxygen
Peacocks don’t have sex, but rather shed tears to conceive, according to a judge in northern India whose unique theories have set off a social media storm in the country. At a hearing in Rajasthan state’s High Court, judge Mahesh Chandra Sharma urged India’s government to declare cow – considered sacred in Hindu-majority India – as the national animal since it is “as pious as a peacock”. “The peacock is a lifelong celibate. It never has sex with the peahen. The peahen gets pregnant after swallowing the tears of the peacock,” Sharma said on his last day in office before retiring. Sharma’s comments, made in response to an NGO’s petition on the condition of state-run cow shelters, sparked a flurry of jokes and comments on social media.
What next? Cows have increasingly become a focal point of nationalist discourse in India where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government has made cattle protection a key theme since coming to power in 2014. The government last week prohibited the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter across India, sparking protests in states where beef is eaten.
Uber goes full throttle to open up the Hong Kong market
More than 1 million Uber riders in Hong Kong have been invited to show their support for the ride-hailing firm in an online campaign as it fights for legalisation in the city. The Hong Kong office sent out emails to users in the city as part of its campaign called “IChooseUber”, requesting they share their Uber stories on a newly launched website. The move comes as the embattled firm is seeking a meeting with Hong Kong’s incoming leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in the hope of securing a formal regulatory framework for its operations. Its Hong Kong office has been struggling with its car-hailing business after the crackdown last week on 22 drivers, who are accused of driving without hire-car permits or third-party insurance.
What next? In the email to its registered riders, Uber Hong Kong general manager Kenneth She Chun-chi asked them to share their reasons for choosing its ride service. “We want to keep serving Hong Kong and giving you choices in how you move,” he told riders in the letter.
Duterte lashes back at Chelsea Clinton after tweet on rape comment
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at the daughter of former US President Bill Clinton in an expletive-laden speech after she criticised a comment he made about rapes committed by soldiers. “When your father was screwing Lewinsky and the rest of the young girls there in the office of the president, on the table, on the floor, on the sofa, did you raise any” criticism? Duterte said Thursday. Duterte later said he was being sarcastic when he told troops that he would take responsibility for any crimes they commit while implementing martial law, even if they rape three women. Chelsea Clinton reacted to Duterte’s rape comment with a Twitter post saying: “Not funny. Ever.”