AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Monday 31st December

In this Bulletin…

- Pakistan’s opposition party names Bhutto’s son and husband as joint leaders;
- Violence breaks out in Kenya after Kibaki wins a second term; and
- Monday marks the handover of Darfur to a joint UN – African Union peacekeeping force.

Benazir Bhutto’s opposition party has named her son and husband to succeed the slain opposition leader but doubts grew about whether a January 8th election aiming to transform Pakistan from military rule would go ahead.

A former ruling party official said the election in nuclear-armed Pakistan, a key U.S. ally against terrorism, was likely to be delayed for up to two months but Bhutto’s party vowed to take part and another party said it probably would too.

Bhutto’s assassination in a bloody suicide attack on Thursday stoked sporadic violence across the country and deep anger against President Pervez Musharraf casting doubt about Pakistan’s stability and its transition to civilian rule.

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Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki won a second five-year term yesterday in a controversial election victory that has triggered deadly riots across the country by tens of thousands of opposition supporters.

The 76-year-old Kibaki urged Kenyans to put aside election “passions” and promised a corruption-free government to forge unity in the polarised east African nation of 36 million.

Opposition rival Raila Odinga has accused the government of widespread rigging—allegations that had already fuelled two days of ethnic riots.

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Analysts on Darfur say they don’t expect significant changes in the war torn country when the African Union makes what is seen as a largely symbolic handover to a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force on Monday.

Khartoum had previously refused to allow a U.N. takeover of the existing peacekeeping mission and instead reluctantly agreed to a 26,000-strong AU-UN joint force.

But Khartoum has continued to throw bureaucratic obstacles in its way, delaying deployment of what will be the largest U.N. peacekeeping operation in the world, known as UNAMID.

Head of U.N. peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno said the mission was in doubt because of obstacles from Khartoum, and rights groups urged the world body to sanction Sudanese leaders if they did not comply.

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At the end of his first visit to China since taking office in September, Japan’s Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, has called for increased co-operation with China in the future.

Mr Fukuda said the neighbours could do more for the world by co-operating than each would achieve single-handedly.

China refused high-level contact with Japan from 2001 to 2006 during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, after he made annual visits to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

Despite the remarks, earlier talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, and President Hu Jintao did not resolve a dispute over maritime gas fields.

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Nepal’s government has appointed five former Maoist rebels as Cabinet ministers following an agreement to end a months-long political crisis in the Himalayan nation.

The Maoists had walked out of government in September but agreed to return after lawmakers formally approved an agreement to abolish Nepal’s centuries-old monarchy and declare the country a republic.

The five former rebels will join the Government from Monday.

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And now for SOH original news direct from China
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Imprisoned renowned Chinese human rights defender, Mr Guo Feixiong, was visited by his wife Zhang Qing and his sister Yang Mao-ping at Mei Zhou prison in Guangdong Province.

During the visit Guo told his family that he was beaten up in prison and has been on a hunger strike for 16 days and that he had been threatened to be sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Zhang Qing and others are urgently appealing to local and international communities to rescue Guo Feixiong and are hoping to receive legal assistance.

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According to British media reports, construction planned for China’s Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam in the Jin Sha River has been cancelled after a meeting was recently held in Kun Ming City.

The Tiger Leaping George is located in the famous scenic spot of Lijiang, Yunnan province, and the construction of the dam has caused great controversy.

According to a report in the Guardian on December 29, the construction of the dam will not only have severe environmental impacts for the region it will also displace one hundred thousand local residents.

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