Measuring 14.7 cm (just under six inches) in diameter, the dainty pink bowl is decorated with falangcai (painted enamels combining Chinese and Western techniques) and flowers, including daffodils which are not typically depicted on Chinese porcelain.

Nicolas Chow, deputy chairman for Sotheby’s Asia, holds an extremely rare Qing Dynasty bowl — one of only three known to exist — during a media preview at auction house Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on March 1, 2018, before its upcoming sale on April 3. // AFP PHOTO

Hong Kong’s auction houses have seen frenzied bidding among Asian buyers in recent years, with sales of diamonds, handbags and ancient ceramics shattering world records.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong expects the Qing Dynasty bowl, used by the Kangxi Emperor in the 1720s, to make history again in an upcoming sale on April 3.

“Definitely we will see the most important collectors of Chinese porcelain active,” deputy chairman for Sotheby’s Asia Nicolas Chow said in a preview Thursday.

“We will see quite a battle this season,” Chow added.

The bowl was created in an imperial workshop within Beijing’s Forbidden City by a small team of craftsmen, with the help of Jesuits from Europe who had brought over new techniques and materials, according to Sotheby’s.

Last year, a 1,000-year-old bowl from China’s Song Dynasty sold for US$37.7 million, setting a record for Chinese ceramics.

That sale surpassed the previous record of $36.05 million set in 2014 for a Ming Dynasty wine cup which was snapped up by a Shanghai tycoon famous for making eye-watering bids.

Ahmad Alhaw, 27, had admitted to the murder and assaults in the river port city of Hamburg.

In delivering the sentence, the judge noted the “particular severity” of the crime, lowering Alhaw’s chances of obtaining early release on parole.

Prosecutors had said the attack stemmed from a “radical Islamist” motive, charging that the man had hoped “he would die as a martyr”.

His aim was to kill as many German Christians as possible to avenge the suffering of Muslims worldwide, they said.

There was no indication he belonged to the so-called Islamic State group or any other extremist organisation.

The defendant entered a supermarket on July 28 last year,, snatched a 20-centimetre (eight-inch) knife from the shelves, unwrapped it and fatally stabbed a 50-year-old man.

As panic broke out, he slashed and stabbed at others inside and then outside the shop, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), and also wounding a 50-year-old woman and four men.

“I saw him run toward me, covered in blood. He was radiating bloodlust,” a 20-year-old supermarket worker who locked himself in a backroom recounted in court.

Outside the supermarket, seven mostly migrant bystanders confronted the screaming attacker, hurling rocks and chairs at him and then subduing him until police arrived.

The men — among them a 30-year-old man of Turkish descent who was wounded in the struggle — have since been celebrated and honoured for their courage.

One of them, Afghan asylum seeker Toufiq Arab, told Bild daily: “I’m not a hero, I only did my duty.”

– ‘God’s will’ –

The Islamist attack was Germany’s first since December 2016 when Tunisian Anis Amri ploughed a stolen truck through a Berlin Christmas market in an attack that claimed 12 lives.

The knife rampage led to charges that security services had been too complacent in keeping an eye on Alhaw despite multiple warnings that he was radicalising.

It also fuelled growing xenophobia against Muslim migrants after the mass influx of more than one million asylum seekers since mid-2015.

Witnesses told the court they had seen the failed asylum seeker self-radicalise in the lead-up to the attack.

Like Amri, Alhaw was due to have been deported after his asylum application was rejected, but the process was held up by a wait for identity documents.

Having been rejected for asylum in Norway, Sweden and Spain, he had arrived in Germany in 2015 and was moved to a Hamburg migrant accommodation centre, which after the attack was raided by heavily armed police.

A psychiatrist said Alhaw had told him he was initially drawn to the West because of its open lifestyle.

At first he studied the German language, socialised and at times drank alcohol and smoked marijuana, said witnesses.

But Alhaw, who had watched IS propaganda videos online, grew deeply religious and increasingly distrustful of state authorities.

By 2016 he thought that he suddenly understood the Koran completely, rejected all previous temptations, and started looking at all other people as either true believers or non-believers, the psychiatrist said.

Alhaw said the knife attack had not been his decision but God’s will.

But he surprised the court in a February 19 hearing when he appeared with his beard shaved off and for the first time showed remorse.

“Unfortunately I can’t turn back time,” he told the victims and the relatives of the man he killed. “All I can do is to ask you for forgiveness.”

Christopher Lewis fired a single shot towards the Queen’s car as she toured the South Island city of Dunedin, the documents from New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (SIS) spy agency revealed.

No one was hurt and police reportedly assured members of the Royal party who asked about a gunshot that they had simply heard a firework exploding.

Lewis, 17 at the time, was picked up soon after on an unrelated armed robbery charge and made a rambling confession about his attempt on the monarch’s life.

While police said he was delusional and “lives in a dream world” they found a .22 rifle and spent cartridge in the building where he said the attempt took place.

He claimed to be a member of a right-wing organization called the National Imperial Guerilla Army, which police concluded had only three members.

Officers at the time decided against charging him with treason over the assassination attempt but pursued firearms and robbery charges.

The SIS documents, released publicly in response to a media request and seen by AFP, show police were concerned the incident would become public and conspired to keep it secret.

The New Zealand Herald said authorities were worried it might jeopardize future royal visits to the former British colony.

“Lewis did indeed originally intend to assassinate the Queen,” the documents say.

“However (he) did not have a suitable vantage point from which to fire, nor a sufficiently high-powered rifle for the range from the target.”

Lewis had a string of serious criminal convictions and was in jail charged with murder when he killed himself in 1997.//AFP

Beluran police chief Supt V. Shivananthan said the incident, which happened at 6am, was the second case this year involving elephants trespassing into inhabited areas in Sabah’s interior Telupid district.

“This morning, an elephant went into the SMK Telupid canteen in search for food, shocking students and teachers,” he said.

On Feb 28, about 10 elephants entered the compound of the Beluran police station after the herd got through the fence, he added.

No one was injured in either incident.

Meanwhile, wildlife rangers have their hands full trying to locate the elephants following reports of them wandering into the police station and school.

Wildlife Rescue Unit veterinarian Dr Diana Ramirez, who is part of the team trying to relocate the elephants back into the forest, said they have been trying to keep the herd away from humans and residential areas for the past month.

“We are still trying to capture more and get the herd away from humans,” she said.

She said they managed to capture four elephants – believed to be the more aggressive ones – about a week ago and these would be translocated soon.

It is estimated that there are about 20 elephants which are terrorising villagers and wildlife rangers as well as destroying plantations and property.

The WJP Rule of Law Index measures countries’ adherence to the rule of law from the perspective of ordinary people and their experiences. It measures rule of law adherence in 113 countries and jurisdictions worldwide based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys.  The report measures the perception of people about the rule of law with reference to eight factors; constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

Singapore is ranked 13 globally and is at the top in Asia for how rule of law is experienced by common people in their day to day lives.  It is closely followed by Japan which is ranked 14 out of 113 countries. South Korea is ranked 20th globally and is the third ranked state in Asia in terms of how people experience protection of their rights in their country.

Mongolia has been building a steady democracy over the last two decades and is ranked 51 out of 113 countries.  It is ahead of many Asian countries. Malaysia and Nepal are ranked 53 and 58 respectively. Nepal is closely followed by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the biggest improver with moving up nine positions since the last index was released.

With the rise of religious right in India the country has seen a steady decline in rule of law. It is ranked 62. Indonesia ranked 63 has also been experiencing a rise in religious tensions alongside cases of corruption against the political leadership.

Under military rule Thailand is ranked 71 out of 113 countries, followed by Vietnam and China ranked 74 and 75 respectively.

The Philippines is among the lesser ranked countries at 88, followed by Myanmar at 100. Bangladesh and Pakistan are very low in the list of 113 countries.

Cambodia is the lowest ranked country at 112 out of 113 countries.  As the ranking is the reflection of peoples’ perception, the Cambodians’ perception of the state of law in their country is the worst amongst all other regional countries.

The collision between a freight train and a passenger train took place in the northern province of Behaira, it said in a statement.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but it comes months after 41 people died in a train collision near the coastal city of Alexandria last August.

That was the deadliest train accident in Egypt since a November 2013 collision between a train and a bus killed 27 people south of Cairo.

In 2002, 373 people died when a fire ripped through a crowded train, also south of the capital.

Mikami, who first announced her plans for a K-pop debut a week earlier, shared the poster for the group’s debut showcase, which will happen on March 14 at 7 p.m., Korean standard time, at the Yes24 Live Hall, Seoul. The trio will debut as the group Honey Popcorn.

Image: Instagram/@yua_mikami

Mikami, Moko and Matsuda were former Japanese idols who transitioned into the adult video industry after graduating from their previous groups.

Image: Instagram/@yua_mikami

Mikami had been a member of SKE48, while Moko was from Bakusute Sotokanda Icchome under the stage name Yuu Ito. Matsuda was from NMB48 as Risako Okada.

Image: Twitter/@HONEYPOPCORN1

Former Japanese idols transitioning into the the adult industry is not something new, but said women going back into being idols is unheard of. This is not to mention Honey Popcorn may be the first group composed entirely of AV actresses.

The survey of more than 100 tiger conservation areas, where an estimated 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers live, found that only 13 per cent of them are able to meet global standards. This is according to a joint statement from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS), an accreditation system designed to measure and improve the management of tiger conservation areas, issued yesterday.

At least one-third of the areas are severely at risk of losing their tigers. Alarmingly, most of these sites are in Southeast Asia, where tigers have suffered the most dramatic decline in the past decade.

Reassuringly, two-thirds of the areas surveyed reported fair to strong management. Yet, basic needs, such as enforcement against poaching, engaging local communities and managing conflict between people and wildlife, remain weak for all areas surveyed.

“Ineffective management of tiger conservation areas leads to tiger extinction. To halt and reverse the decline of wild tigers, effective management is thus the single most important action,” said SP Yadav, assistant secretary-general of the Global Tiger Forum.

He added that to achieve this, long-term investment in tiger conservation areas was absolutely essential, and this was a responsibility that must be led by governments in countries where tigers live.

The survey, driven by 11 leading conservation organisations and tiger-range governments that are part of the CA|TS Partnership, is the first and largest rapid assessment of site-based tiger conservation across Asia.

Despite poaching being one of the greatest threats faced by big cats, 85 per cent of the areas surveyed do not have staff capacity to patrol sites effectively, and 61 per cent of the areas in Southeast Asia have very limited anti-poaching enforcement.

Low investment from governments in Southeast Asia was stated as one reason for the lack of management of these supposedly “protected areas”.

While 86 per cent of areas in South Asia, Russia and China stated that finances are, or are on the way to being, sustainable, only 35 per cent of areas in Southeast Asia are in a similar position.

“Unless governments commit to sustained investments in the protection of these sites, tiger populations may (continue to) face the catastrophic decline that they have suffered over the last few decades. This funding is needed urgently, particularly for many sites in Southeast Asia to support recovery of its tiger population,” said Michael Baltzer, the leader of WWF Tigers Alive.

Released in the lead-up to World Wildlife Day on March 3, which has a theme of protecting big cats, the report acts as a timely reminder of the need to secure the homes of wild tigers and engage local communities, in order to ensure the protection and recovery of this majestic species.

The envelope, which was received at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), led to an evacuation of the building, the US Marine Corps said in a statement.

“Shortly after receiving the letter, 11 people started to feel ill,” three of whom were “transported in stable condition for further medical evaluations,” it said.

“Joint Base Police Department officials are working with local HAZMAT teams, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) and the FBI. The building was screened and cleared,” it said.

CNN reported that a corporal, gunnery sergeant and a colonel complained of a “burning sensation” on their hands and face.

Marine spokesman Major Brian Block said it was too soon to say whether the incident was being considered a terror attack.

“It’s way too early to start speculating on any of that, we have to wait and let the investigators do their jobs,” Block told AFP.

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall overlooks Arlington Cemetery just across the Potomac River from Washington.//AFP

The mascot, which has yet to be named, was selected by elementary school kids across the country from a shortlist of three competitors instantly recognisable as “made in Japan”.

The kids picked option “A”, which, according to the Tokyo 2020 organisers, has a “strong sense of justice and is very athletic”.

Helpfully, it has a magical power that enables it “to move anywhere instantaneously”.

Its Paralympic counterpart sports pink checks derived from Japan’s famous cherry blossom and is “usually calm, however, it gets very powerful when needed”.

Its magic power: “It can talk with stones and the wind. It can also move things by just looking at them”.

The pair received over 100,000 votes, more than the other two design sets combined.

Mascots are massive in Japan, the land of Hello Kitty and Pokemon, and there are literally thousands representing everything from small communities to prisons.

Known locally as “yuru-kyara” or “laid-back characters”, mascots can also be major money-spinners.

The pot-bellied, red-cheeked bear known as Kumamon — created in 2010 to promote Japan’s southern Kumamoto region — raked in $8.8 million last year for local businesses selling branded products.

– Big business –

Social media reaction was mixed with one user describing the winners as “very Japanese and very cute”. But others said they wanted something “more round” and more “huggable.”

“School children, really? Should be B or C”, tweeted one user under the handle @shougodesu_.

Several users pointed out that the futuristic-looking mascot chosen appealed more to children whereas adults preferred the softer and more traditional options.

The Tokyo 2020 mascot will hope to replicate the success of Soohorang, the cuddly stuffed tiger from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang handed out to athletes on the podium.

More than 100,000 stuffed dolls (Soohorang and Paralympic mascot Banbdabi) were sold over the past year, Pyeongchang organisers said.

Soohorang sparked an inadvertent social media frenzy after a volunteer dressed up as the tiger got stuck in a doorway, needing a helper to push him through.

The 2016 Rio Olympics had a yellow feline animal representing Brazil’s rich fauna and wildlife named Vinicius after music great Vinicius de Moraes.

The Paralympic mascot, a predominantly blue and green figure whose head was covered with leaves to represent Brazil’s rich vegetation, was named Tom after musician Tom Jobim.

Brazil netted $300 million in profits from licensing intellectual property from the 2016 Games, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

– Hit and miss –

But Wenlock and Mandeville, the widely mocked mascots of the 2012 London Games, proved far from Olympic gold.

The one-eyed characters were dubbed “bizarre” and “creepy” by some, reportedly sending shares in their manufacturer down by more than a third.

The Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Japan next year, has already unveiled a pair of pot-bellied lions as its mascots.

With luxurious manes, short horns and faces that appear to be shaped like rugby balls, mascots “Ren” and “G” are inspired by “shishi,” the mythical lion-like figure that features in Japan’s new year celebrations and kabuki theatre.

Organisers turned to children to select the mascot, hoping to avoid a repeat of the bungled roll-out of the official Olympic logo, which ended up having to be scrapped following accusations of plagiarism.

It was deemed to be too similar to the logo of a Belgian theatre and a separate Spanish design.

Designer Ryo Taniguchi seemed overwhelmed at the decision.

“Thank you. My mind is going absolutely blank. I don’t know what to say, ” he said when the decision was announced at the ceremony.

“I want to tell this to my lovely wife.”//AFP