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From The Asian Reporter, V20, #8 (March 2, 2010), page 2.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Thousands of Vietnamese fishermen gave a royal send-off to a 15-ton dead whale last month, gathering at a southern Vietnamese village to pay homage at a funeral for the creature they call "Your Excellency." Nearly 10,000 people converged in Bac Lieu province to bid farewell to the 52-foot whale when he was dragged ashore, said coast guard official Do Tien Ha. They burned incense in his honor and planned to build a temple at the site of his burial. Nearly 3,000 people attended the whale’s last rites at the mouth of the Cai Cung River. In Vietnam’s fishing culture, whales are considered sacred. They are referred to by the title ngai, the same honorific used for kings, emperors, and other esteemed leaders. "Whenever whales arrive, dead or alive, local fishermen believe they bring luck and safety," Ha said by phone from Bac Lieu. The dead whale was spotted 26 miles off the coast. Several dozen fishermen on 10 boats spent a day hauling it ashore, he said.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A man who is only 22 inches tall has left his home country of Nepal in a quest to be recognized as the world’s shortest man. Khagendra Thapa Magar has departed for Europe to campaign for the Guinness World Record title. He applied to the London-based group for a place in the record book in October, soon after turning 18, but said he has not received any response. Magar’s family initially filed a claim when he was 14, but it was rejected because he was not an adult and there was a chance he might grow. They said doctors in Nepal have not been able to explain why Magar is so small. "We are going to Italy to try to record his name in the Guinness Book of World Records," his father, Rup Bahadur Thapa Magar, told reporters in Kathmandu. They plan to appear on an Italian television show to talk about his bid for the title. Once in Italy, Magar, his father, and a supporter will decide on their next destination. His supporters saw him off from the Nepalese capital, offering flower bouquets and garlands. The current record is held by He Pingping of China, who is 29 inches tall.

MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — A conservation group and the Philippine government are offering a reward for information about those responsible for the killing of an 18-foot whale shark. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the whale shark — the world’s biggest fish species— was found last month in a cove south of Manila with its fins sliced off and rope and knife marks on its tail. The Bureau of Fisheries and WWF have offered a 100,000 peso ($2,170) reward for information leading to the culprits’ arrest. Whale sharks have been considered protected since 1998, with a maximum penalty of four years in jail for poachers. Whale sharks have been hunted for decades, with 2.2 pounds of dried fins fetching up to $800.

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the Japan Football Association (JFA) has called his team sloppy and demanded a change in attitude before the World Cup. Japan finished third in the four-nation East Asian Championship last month, and JFA president Motoaki Inukai was not pleased with the team’s performance on or off the field. "At the award ceremony for the East Asian Championship, the players looked sloppy and undisciplined. They were sloppy on the field too," Inukai said in the Nikkansports newspaper. "I want to send a team to the World Cup that we can be proud of," Inukai said. "The players need to improve their attitude."

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A speeding truck in Bangladesh hit a car in the convoy of a visiting Thai princess, killing a Thai embassy official, according to police. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was unhurt in the accident in Tangail district, said local police official Habibullah Sarker. The princess was not in the car that was hit, he said. The area is 45 miles north of the capital, Dhaka. Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the country’s national news agency, reported that a counsellor of the Thai Embassy in Dhaka was critically injured in the accident and later declared dead at the capital’s Combined Military Hospital. The United News of Bangladesh agency reported the convoy had been returning to Dhaka from northern Bangladesh, where the Thai princess had visited some health projects. The princess was in Bangladesh as a member of the research team of Bloomberg School of Public Health of John Hopkins University in Maryland. The princess’s private affairs division in Thailand confirmed the crash.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian park ranger escaped an attack by a Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard species, when his colleagues heard his cries for help and drove the reptile away. Marcelinus Subanghadir was outside his hut on Komodo Island when a nearly seven-foot-long dragon grabbed hold of his right foot, Komodo National Park chief Tamen Sitorus said. The dragon had Subanghadir’s foot clamped in its shark-like, serrated teeth until fellow rangers heard his screams and drove it off with wooden clubs, Sitorus said. Subanghadir, 34, suffered deep lacerations and was recovering at a hospital on nearby Bali. Komodo dragons can be found in the wild only on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar, and Rinca. The lizards — thought to number fewer than 4,000 — can grow longer than 10 feet and weigh 150 pounds. An eight-year-old boy was killed by one of the lizards in 2007 on Komodo Island.