• In Indonesia, a 100-foot statue of a Chinese deity was covered with an enormous sheet after Muslims threatened to tear it down as an affront to Islam. [The New York Times]

• At least 50 migrants fleeing Ethiopia and Somalia drowned after a human smuggler threw them into the Arabian Sea en route to Yemen. [The New York Times]

• Iran barred two players for life from its national soccer team after they played against an Israeli team. [The New York Times]

• The U.S. military started the long-awaited transfer of aircraft from the Atsugi air base in Japan, a source of decades of noise pollution complaints and lawsuits. [Asahi Shimbun]

• “I didn’t improve my English, I just changed the way I took the test.” Applicants for Australian residency described how they outsmarted the computerized language test. [The Guardian]

• Fossils discovered in China are the earliest “mammal forerunners that took to air” — essentially flying “squirrels” that glided over predatory dinosaurs and probably still laid eggs. [The New York Times]

Smarter Living

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.