Asia in 3 minutes: India’s smog cannon to South Korea’s ‘nut rage’ saga and a monkey-deer sex fetish
New Delhi is looking into a US$31,000 anti-smog gun, and scientists into a strange phenomenon in a central Japan forest
India pins hopes for cleaner air on a ‘smog cannon’
India has unveiled a new weapon against air pollution – an “anti-smog gun” that authorities hope will clear the skies above New Delhi but which environmentalists say amounts to a band-aid solution. The cannon’s Indian manufacturers say the fine droplets of water it ejects at high speed can flush out deadly airborne pollutants in one of the world’s smoggiest capitals. The giant mister – shaped like a hair dryer and mounted on the back of a truck – was tested in Anand Vihar, an area of Delhi’s east that often has the dirtiest air. The US embassy website on Wednesday showed concentrations of the smallest and most harmful particles known as PM2.5 at Anand Vihar hit 380 – more than 15 times the World Health Organisation’s safe maximum. Manufacturer Cloud Tech said the cannon can blast up to 100 litres of water per minute into the skies and clear 95 per cent of airborne pollutants.
What next? The cannon – designed to combat dust on mining and construction sites – costs roughly US$31,000 but government officials appear ready to open the chequebook. “If it proves to be successful, then we will roll these out on Delhi’s streets as soon as possible,” said Imran Hussain, Delhi’s environment minister.
Korean Air heiress avoids jail over ‘nut rage’ incident
South Korea’s top court kept a Korean Air heiress out of prison on Thursday in the final verdict on the “nut rage” incident that triggered national uproar in 2014. Cho Hyun-ah, a daughter of Korean Air chief Cho Yang-ho and then the company’s vice-president, became infuriated when a flight attendant served her some nuts in a bag rather than in a bowl. She lambasted the chief steward over the behaviour of his cabin crew and ordered the Seoul-bound flight, which had just left the gate in New York, to turn back so he could be ejected. Cho was initially convicted on most counts and sentenced to a year in jail, but she was freed after the appeal court cleared her of hampering an air route. It maintained the more minor convictions but reduced her penalty to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling on Thursday.
What next? The case – widely known as “nut rage” – renewed criticisms in the South over the powerful, family-run conglomerates that dominate the world’s 11th-largest economy. The founding families of the business firms, called chaebol, have been criticised for running their global businesses like their personal fiefdoms with minimum scrutiny by regulators.
Thai zoo’s tiger prodding triggers uproar over animal cruelty
A Thai zoo has sparked outrage after a video of staff repeatedly prodding a tiger to elicit roars for tourist photos went viral, renewing criticism of the kingdom’s notorious animal tourism industry. The clip, which has garnered more than 1 million views since it was posted on Monday, shows the Pattaya zoo attendant jabbing the chained animal in the face with a stick as tourists take turns posing with or sitting on top of the big cat for pictures.