Current Events #13

1. Current Events #13

2. 40 Days and 40 Nights…Not Malaysia and Indonesia have banned the biblical epic "Noah," joining other Muslim nations that forbid the Hollywood movie for its visual depiction of the prophet. Film censors in both countries said Monday that the portrayal of the ark-building prophet by Russell Crowe was against Islamic laws. Depictions of any prophet are shunned in Islam to avoid worship of a person rather than God. "The film 'Noah' is not allowed to be screened in this country to protect the sensitivity and harmony in Malaysia's multiracial and multireligious community,” Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said in a statement. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/noah-banned-malaysia_n_5104025.html

3. No Ping Happening The batteries of what is suspected to be the black box of the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet appears to have died after a month the aircraft disappeared mysteriously. Reports said that search vessels in the southern Indian Ocean had received no pings. This has led to a postponement of deploying a submarine to look for the valuable black box, but Australia said that despite this development as well as the high cost of the search, it would continue scouring the ocean for debris or any clues that could lead to finding the ill-fated Flight 370 that had 239 people on board. http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/547171/20140408/malaysian-airlines-flight-370-bill-search-missing.htm

4. A Lot of Brave People That an estimated 60 percent of 12 million eligible voters in Afghanistan faced down Taliban threats and cast ballots in Saturday’s presidential election is good news, suggesting civic resilience, a certain faith in democratic processes and a maturing political system in a war-torn country. It is a further sign that the time has come to end America’s combat role there after 13 years of conflict. For months, the Taliban threatened to disrupt the election, and, in recent weeks, it looked as if they would succeed. Ahead of the voting, there were a number of despicable high-profile attacks, including on a voter registration center, the election commission headquarters and Kabul’s only luxury hotel. But limited violence on Election Day and high voter turnout (if unofficial returns prove accurate), suggest the Taliban’s anti-Western, fundamentalist appeal is seriously waning. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/opinion/afghanistans-vote.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

5. Women Can Vote It was only a few short years ago -- in 2001, prior to the U.S. invasion -- that Afghanistan's women were all but entirely marginalized. With strict Taliban laws in place, half the country's populace was barred from practically every aspect of public life, from education to voting and most occupations. Afghan women, under the Taliban, weren't even allowed to leave their homes without a male escort, and the mandatory burqua became a visual symbol of the regime's all-encompassing oppression. The country still has a long way to go, but giant strides have been made since the Taliban was scattered and broken under the might of the U.S. and allied military. Women's rights were guaranteed under the new, post-Taliban constitution, but there remains a gulf in terms of what is written and what is practiced. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/07/world/asia/afghanistan-election-women-influence/

6. And Take That… A barrage of artillery fire between North and South Korea across disputed maritime borders on Monday marked an annual show of force by North Korea intent on sending a message to the U.S. as it conducts military exercises nearby. North Korea's missile launches into the Yellow (West) Sea followed by a threat of live-fire drills along the border "was really aimed at our policymakers, Republic of Korea policymakers and Japan," said Bruce Bechtol, a Korea specialist and professor of political science at Angelo State University in Texas. "North Korea is saying, 'You can do all the exercises you want and we have the ability to hit you at a moment's notice,'" Bechtol said. http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140401/NEWS08/304010036/North-Korea-sending-message-U-S-missile-barrage

7. Won’t You Be My Neighbor Picture a colossal empire of little houses stacked on top of each other. Visualize them connected by staircases snaking under dangling wires, through corridors so dark even police were rumored to be afraid of them. Now picture 33,000 people living there, within the space of one city block. That was Kowloon Walled City, once considered the densest settlement on earth. "A huge monstrosity of buildings" Before it was demolished twenty years ago, photographer Greg Girard spent years with collaborator Ian Lambot documenting this unique Hong Kong phenomenon, and remembers being amazed when he first saw it. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/31/travel/kowloon-walled-city/

8. A Lot of Scratch for a Cup It measures only 8 centimeters, or about 3 inches, in diameter and couldn't even hold a cup of morning coffee. And yet it is worth $36 million. Or at least someone was willing to pay that much. A 15th century porcelain cup from China sold at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on Monday for $36 million. The item -- which is being called a "chicken cup" for its depiction of a rooster and other fowl on its side -- was purchased by mainland China billionaire and collector Liu Yiqian, according to reports. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-chinese-chicken-cup-auction-20140408,0,4013458.story#axzz2ybks9Wna

9. Taliban Negotiations? A bomb ripped through a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Wednesday morning, killing at least 21 people and leaving dozens more wounded, officials said. The massive blast was the latest attack to shake Pakistan even as government negotiations with the Taliban pick up pace in an attempt by the authorities to resolve years of deadly fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people in the northwest. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/09/bomb-pakistan-capital/7496921/

10. It Answers the Age-Old Question It began when the family fled the fighting in the country's southern Helmand Province. Taj Mohammad moved his wife and nine children to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul thinking this would be a better life. But unable to make a living, the family suffered, especially when the brutal winter arrived. His wife had to be hospitalized when she fell ill and then his three-year-old son froze to death. Taj Mohammad borrowed $2,500 to pay for his wife's medical bills and other family expenses. But when he couldn't repay the debt he decided the only solution was to marry off Naghma, then only six, to the money lender's 19-year-old son. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/world/asia/afghanistan-child-bride/index.html?c=asia

11. One of China's controversial "baby hatches" has been forced to shut down, at least temporarily. The facility in the southern city of Guangzhou opened in January but has been overwhelmed with abandoned infants, forcing a suspension of services. The first of the facilities opened in 2011 and increased to around 25 hatches countrywide. More of the special rooms, which are equipped with a cradle, incubator and delayed alarm to allow mothers to drop off unwanted babies anonymously, are planned. While abandoning infants in China is illegal, the practice is relatively widespread, especially in poorer areas. The Guangzhou "baby safety island," as they are known in Chinese, has received 262 babies since it began operation in late January, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua. What…No Slide? http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/china-baby-hatch-closes/

12. The Pencil is Mightier No one ever expected the humble pencil to kickstart a revolution. But, by peeling apart pencil graphite into atom-thick layers using regular adhesive tape, two Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, earned a Nobel Prize in 2010. With it, they sparked the beginnings of a material that could change the world. It is no exaggeration to say that graphene, the substance that the two scientists -- along with others -- discovered in 2004, is a miracle material. Now a Korean research lab may have made the leap from theoretical to practical with the development of a new way to synthesize it, potentially on a commercial scale. The substance, "the perfect atomic lattice," boasts a number of hugely attractive properties, meaning it has the potential to be used in myriad industries, and for a huge range of purposes. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/world/asia/graphene-samsung-breakthrough/

13. Could They Have Used Cars? South Korea has displayed for the first time all three DIY drones that have landed on its soil in recent weeks, adding that tests suggest they are highly likely to have been built and sent by North Korea. Wreckage from each of the crude and decidedly low-tech drones was displayed during a press conference by South Korea's Agency for Defense Development in the city of Daejeon this morning. Last week South Korean experts said that although the drones were fitted with simple Nikon and Canon cameras that are available to purchase on the internet for just a few hundred dollars, they underscore a new threat from North Korea that must be taken seriously. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602484/Pictured-time-South-Korea-displays-three-DIY-drones-basic-cameras-strapped-came-straight-Kim-Jong-un.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

14. Expensive Trash Hong Kong police are investigating the disappearance of a painting worth $3.7m (£2.2m) from a hotel, amid reports it may have been accidentally thrown away. The painting is believed to be a Chinese ink work by artist Cui Ruzhuo entitled Snowy Mountain. It was reported missing by auctioneers Poly Auction on Tuesday, having been successfully sold on Monday. Several local media reports suggest cleaners at the Grand Hyatt could have thrown the painting out as rubbish. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26950692

15. Abandon Ship? Almost 300 people remain unaccounted for after a ferry carrying 459 people capsized and sank off South Korea. The ferry, carrying mainly school students, was travelling from the port of Incheon, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of Jeju. Emergency teams are using floodlights and flares to search the stricken vessel through the night. Those rescued have been taken to a nearby island. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27045512

16. The Ukrainian military landed airborne troops at an airport about 25 miles south of here on Tuesday, raising tensions with Russia in the opening phase of what the government in Kiev called a wider military operation to confront pro-Russian militants in the eastern part of the country. Later in the day, a column of armored personnel carriers flying Ukrainian flags approached Slovyansk from the north, parking for a time beside a highway and setting up a checkpoint. Of all the cities in the east, Slovyansk seemed to have fallen most completely under the control of pro-Russian separatists, who have erected massive defensive barricades outside the buildings they occupy. The Ukrainian authorities said the movements were the first in a campaign to drive separatists from government buildings in as many as 10 cities in eastern Ukraine. The initial steps suggested that the government in Kiev, which had been hesitant to do anything to play into Moscow’s narrative that Russian-language speakers are in need of protection, was now willing to use the military to try to restore order in some places. Play Nice http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/world/europe/ukraine-russia.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0