AsiaCast

Asia Cast For Wednesday 22nd August

Over two weeks in August 1936, Nazi Germany painted a rosy picture to the world of peace and prosperity during the Berlin Summer Olympics.Outside the same Olympic Stadium, human rights activists last Saturday called for a boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, as the Human Rights Torch Relay made its first stop in Europe.

Set to pass through more than 35 countries and 100 cities, the global torch relay started last week in Athens, running under the banner: “No Olympic Games in China without human rights.”

It was organised by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong an international coalition of individuals and organisations concerned about widespread human rights violations in China, according to the organisation’s website.

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New Zealand’s government is investigating claims that clothes imported from China contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde.

The government acted after the Target TV programme claimed that fabrics in children’s clothes contained 900 times the UN’s safe level of the chemical.

Formaldehyde, used to stop mildew, can also cause skin irritations and cancer.

he discovery is the latest in a series of safety scares involving Chinese exports of goods such as toys and food.

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The Leaking of liquid aluminium claimed over 70 lives from Shandong Cast and the Founding Factory.

0n 19th August, liquid aluminium leaked at Aluminium Cast and Founding Factory, affiliated to Shandong Wei-Qiao Pioneer Group.

By 6:30am on 20th August, the incident had claimed 14 lives and wounded 59 staff at work.

As the accident occurred, employees had gathered at the workshop for a meeting.

Due to the temperature of the leaked liquid aluminium reaching 900 degrees, abruptly leaked liquid aluminium met with the cooling water at the workshop, which produced vapour, and formed a strong air current, leading to the injuries and deaths of employees on site of the factory.

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The Philippine country’s senate has been urged to ratify a $4bn trade deal with Japan, which it says may create more than 300,000 jobs.

The agreement, struck last year, would bolster local exports such as shrimp to Japan, the government said, a market being eyed by trading rival Thailand.

Japan has also pledged to employ at least 1,000 Philippine nurses.

But the opposition-dominated senate has objected with claims the deal would see toxic waste sent to the Philippines.

However, this has been denied by the government, which said that diplomatic notes had been exchanged stating that it would not be accepting Japanese waste in exchange for economic concessions.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has arrived in Delhi on his first ever visit to India.

Mr Abe is due to hold talks with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, and will sign a series of major agreements, mainly aimed at doubling trade.

The two leaders are also expected to hold talks on civilian nuclear and defence deals.

Analysts say India and Japan foster a strategic relationship which many believe is aimed at countering China.

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Hurricane Dean flooded streets and toppled trees across Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday but it left famous Caribbean beach resorts mostly intact before taking aim at Gulf of Mexico oil platforms.

There were no early reports of deaths or serious damage in Mexico from the storm, a potentially disastrous Category 5 hurricane which lashed beach resorts on the “Mayan Riviera” where thousands of tourists had crammed into shelters.

Water surged down a main street at thigh level in Chetumal, a city of about 150,000 people near where Dean made landfall. Broken trees and street lights lay strewn around.

Dean had killed 11 people elsewhere on its rampage through the Caribbean.

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An Australian court ruled on Tuesday that the country’s immigration minister wrongly revoked a work visa for an Indian doctor who was briefly accused of links with a failed British car bomb plot in June.

The Australian government has been criticised by civil rights groups and legal organisations for its bungled arrest and subsequent release of Dr Mohamed Haneef in July.

The judge’s decision, referring to Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, was posted on the Federal Court’s Web site.

Andrews said the government would appeal against the ruling.