Asia Pacific in 2008

BANGKOK, THAILAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Sangworn, a mahout (elephant driver), stands with his elephant, Bussaba, 13 years old, at his temporary camp September 26, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. While the elephant is a symbol of Thailand, it is a fairly common site to see the unemployed and homeless animals roaming the city streets begging for food. The tame elephants dodge the traffic as their mahouts (elephant drivers) sell sugar cane by the bag to tourists who then feed them. Mahouts say that they have little choice but to bring their elephants to cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Thai officials frown upon the practice and have passed laws banning elephants from roadways but the mahouts still come risking fines in order to survive. Elephants have been big business for the country for centuries but now they are reduced to a major tourist attraction. Elephants are trained to paint, play musical instruments, and even kick soccer balls. In addition there are elephant camps dotted all over Thailand catering to tourists employing up to 650 pachyderms, according to government figures. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that about 65 percent of tourists will visit an elephant during their stay. Until Thailand banned logging in 1989, many Asian elephants were laborers working in the jungles. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

PHUKET, THAILAND - OCTOBER 7: Riot Police is injury outside The Parliament House on October 7, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. The violence began when police moved in firing teargas rounds to clear protesters from the streets outside parliament to allow politicians a means to exit..(Photo by Chumsak Kanoknan/Getty Images)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JUNE 07: Protestors clash with police during an anti-government rally against the recent Korea-U.S. agreement on the resumption of U.S. beef imports on June 7, 2008 in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean government had reached a decision to resume imports of U.S.beef for the first time since cases of mad cow disease were found in American beef in 2003. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

DUJIANGCHUN, CHINA - MAY 15: Chinese quake survivors attempt to salvage their belongings inside their destroyed home on May 15, 2008 in DuJiangyan, China, A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted China''s Sichuan Province May 12, killing at least 12,000 people. The death toll continutes to rise as there is no definite estimate of the number of people trapped under mounds of concrete. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

BEIJING - AUGUST 23: Huo Liang of China competes during the Men''s 10m Platform Final diving event held at the National Aquatics Center on Day 15 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 23, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

YINGHUA, CHINA - MAY 17: An earthquake survivor rests from searching for personal belongings in his destroyed home May 17, 2008 in Yinghua, Sichuan province, China. Tens of thousands of people remained buried in collapsed buildings from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck May 12, and the death toll of almost 29,000 was expected to climb as relief operations spread into the mountains of Sichuan province with well over 130,000 military troops and relief workers mobilized. Caring for tens of thousands of people made homeless across the disaster zone has stretched the government''s resources thin. State media reported that 10 million people have been directly affected by the quake. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

BEIJING - AUGUST 24: Performers are seen during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

MINGALA TAUNGTAN, MYANMAR - MAY 20: A monk stands at the entrance of a damaged monastery at the isolated village of Mingala Taungtan on May 20, 2008 in the Ayeyarwaddy delta, Myanmar. It has been estimated that more than 100,000 people were killed by Cyclone Nargis. International Aid Agencies are continuing efforts to deliver aid into Myanmar in order to assist up to one million people made homeless. (Photo by Getty Images)

HANGWAN, CHINA - May 21: An earthquake victim rests on a chair in the rubble as he watches the clean up efforts going on in Hangwan, Sichuan province, China, May 21, 2008. Ten of thousands of people remained buried in collapsed buildings from Monday''s 7.9 earthquake, and the death toll is well over 40,000 and is expected to climb as relief operations and cleanup continue in Sichuan province with well over 130,000 military troops and police mobilized. Today marked the last day of a three day mourning period as China copes with it''s worst natural disaster in three decades. Caring for tens of thousands of people made homeless across the disaster zone have stretched thin the government''s resources. State media reported that 10 million people have been directly affect by the quake, 5 million are homeless. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)