Asia in 3 minutes: no appetite for Ninjas in Japan, but for tasty looking dogs in Korea ...
Cows are sacred in Hindu-majority India. Photo: AFP
Indian police have begun an inquiry into officers accused of taking a tea break instead of rushing a critically injured lynching victim to hospital. Akbar Khan, 28, died of his injuries after being attacked by a gang of Hindu "cow vigilantes" in the district of Alwar in Rajasthan state last week. Cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India, where squads of vigilantes often roam motorways inspecting livestock trucks. The murder stoked tension in the area amid media reports police had stopped to have a tea break and wasted crucial time instead of taking Khan to hospital. Police also allegedly cared for the cows first, transporting them to a bovine shelter much farther away.
"Doubts have been cast on the initial response of the local police," state police chief O.P. Galhotra said in a written order. "A team has been constituted to look into the circumstances leading to the alleged delay and connected issues."
Qinghai
A robot developed for public legal services was unveiled in the plateau province of Qinghai in northwest China. Equipped with cloud storage, the robot covers more than 50,000 questions and answers on subjects such as marriage, labour, transport, consumer rights, social security, house demolitions, tourism and private loans. Information on law firms, notary organisations and forensic appraisal, legal aid and mediation are also available from the robot. Legal service centres in prefectures and cities will be equipped with the robots from Tuesday.
Hot dogs. Photo: AFP
In North Korea, summer is not a good time to be a dog. With temperatures sizzling, North Korea's biggest brewery is pumping out twice as much beer as usual, Pyongyang residents are queuing up to get their bingsu - a syrupy treat made with shaved ice - and restaurants are serving up bowl after bowl of the season's biggest culinary attraction: spicy dog meat soup. Euphemistically known as dangogi, or sweet meat, dog has long been believed to be a stamina food in Korea and is traditionally eaten during the hottest time of the year. The dates are fixed according to the lunar calendar and dog meat consumption centres around the sambok, or three hottest days - July 17 and 27, and August 16 this year. Demand has been especially high this year because of a heatwave that has seen temperatures hit 40 degrees in several cities.
Hirokazu Kore-Eda with the Palme d'Or at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival. Photo: EPA
The Japanese director who won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes international film festival in May is fighting off criticism that his film Shoplifters portrays Japan in a humiliating light and encourages people to commit petty crimes. Hirokazu Kore-eda was feted when he became the first Japanese director to lift the award in 21 years, with the Sankei newspaper declaring: "The film impressed the rest of the world with the power and depth of Japanese cinema." That acclaim turned to criticism after the film's release in Japan in June. The story focuses on a poor family in Tokyo and the daily struggles they face. The father does odd jobs to earn a living, but the family resorts to shoplifting when times are tough. Commentators criticised the film for "depicting the shame of Japan" and endorsing shoplifting.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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