Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 11th November

In this bulletin…
- Malaysian police break up protests demanding electoral reform;
- The Canadian Broadcasting Company agrees to air controversial documentary; and
- Palestinian President Abbas vows to finish his predecessor’s work.

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Malaysian police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters who were marching in Kuala Lumpur to demand electoral reform.

The event was organised by a group called Bersih, which is made up of opposition parties and dozens of non-governmental organisations.

The crowd of between ten and thirty thousand people were prevented from entering central Merdeka Square because police said they did not have a permit.

Tension had been rising over the past few days with the prospect of violent confrontation at the march.

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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known as the CBC, has announced that it will air an edited film on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, after widespread criticism that the public broadcaster was bowing to pressure from the Chinese regime by pulling the film this week.

The film will air on CBC Newsworld’s documentary program, The Lens, on November 20th.

Peter Rowe, the film’s independent director and producer, says the last-minute changes being made will not dilute the film’s message.

“Beyond the Red Wall: The Persecution of Falun Gong” was pulled suddenly on Tuesday, just hours before it was to air. The film had already aired in French Canada and in other countries and had been approved by CBC’s editors and lawyers months earlier.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas inaugurated a mausoleum built over Yasser Arafat’s grave on Saturday and vowed to press on with his iconic predecessor’s drive for a Palestinian state.

Abbas, who is preparing for a US-hosted peace conference with Israel, said he hoped Arafat’s wish to be buried in Jerusalem would be realized along with the Palestinians’ dream of making the Arab East of the city their capital.

Abbas has sought rapprochement with Israel since breaking with the Islamist group Hamas over its seizure of Gaza in June. But preparations for the conference in Annapolis, Maryland have been overshadowed by disputes over what issues to tackle.

The two sides agreed on the need to revive a 2003 “road map” to peace, but the Palestinians said Israel barked at a U.S. proposal for overseeing implementation of the first stage, which demands the Palestinians curb militants and Israel stop building West Bank settlements and remove unauthorized settler outposts.

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A Russian fuel tanker has spilled some 2,000 tonnes of oil into the Black Sea after breaking in half during a storm.

Tanker Volga-Neft, carrying some 4,000 tonnes of black oil on board, broke in half during a storm south of Port Kavkaz.

It was not immediately clear if any of the tanker’s 13 crew members were dead or injured, however officials said that rescuers maintained radio contact with the crew.

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The water levels of the most regionally important waterway of Chinas Guangdong province have fallen to a one hundred year low as experts are warning residence of a possible drought in the region.

The water levels have been less than four metres deep for the last month and the likelihood of winter rainfalls are becoming less and less as every day passes with expectations that rainfall in Guangdong province is going to be 20% less compared to that of the same period last year.

It is predicted that for this winter and the next spring, chances of having abundant water resources will be slim.

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Three thousand farmers in Chaozhou City of Guangdong Province have protested against authorities for the illegal seizure of their lands.

The protestors asked the local government to deliver the indemnity they are entitled to before commencing on the construction of a line of new telegraph cables through the area.

For a long time, the farmers at Longwan village have been appealing against forced land acquisition and corruption of the village officials without success and in return have faced bloody crackdowns by authorities attempting to silence their protests.

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Three people have been killed and more than 30 injured in a stampede at a French chain supermarket sale in Chinas city of Chongqing.

The shop was offering large discounts on cooking oil. A crowd that had been waiting hours for the store to open then burst through the doors.

State media Xinhua said bargain-hunters were crushed underfoot in a sale to mark the 10th anniversary of the store’s opening in the south-western city.

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