AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Saturday 19th January

I’m James Xu with Asia cast.

In this Bulletin…

- Security forces overrun cult in Iraq;
- CIA identify person behind Bhutto murder; and
- PM Gordon Brown focuses on green issues in China.

Iraqi security forces have overrun a mosque where Shiite doomsday cultists had barricaded themselves in, ending two days of clashes in two cities that killed at least 70 people.

The fighting came as millions of Shiites across Iraq marked Saturday’s climax of the 10-day Ashura rituals, one of the most important rituals to Shiite Muslims.

Security forces had found the mosque to be booby-trapped and disposal experts later triggered a blast which destroyed the building.

Police officials said at least 35 cultists were killed in Basra and 18 in Nasiriyah. A total of 12 police, two Iraqi soldiers and three civilians were also killed, according the latest figures.

The CIA has reported that it believes extremists associated with a Pakistani tribal leader are responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

An official said the agency concluded that Baitullah Mehsud — the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who has ties to al Qaeda — was behind the attack.

The Pakistani government was quick to blame Mehsud’s organization for Bhutto’s death in December, producing an intercepted audio communication in which Mehsud confirmed his men were responsible for the attack.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has arrived in Shanghai on the second day of his trip to China where he has been focusing on green issues – visiting a “clean” power station outside Beijing before heading to Shanghai to see a new “eco-city”.

The Taiyang Gong power station, fuelled by natural gas instead of coal, is the first of its kind in China and has been developed with the help of a UK firm.

Mr Brown, on his first visit to the country as prime minister, had earlier said there was a “huge opportunity” for British businesses in China.

Mr Brown and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao have agreed to boost trade by 50% by 2010. Mr Brown has also offered China £50m to help the country tackle climate change.

Opposition leaders have urged the PM to raise the issue of human rights.

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According to reports from Techtree, China’s Internet population looks on track to surpass that of the US this year, making it the world’s largest online community.

The Chinese government announced that the country’s Internet population has risen to nearly 210 million people. China’s online population grew 53 percent from the 137 million that was reported around the same time last year.

However, China’s penetration rate is 16 percent according to the official agency Xinhua. The US was at this point back in the mid 1990s. Currently, 75 percent of American adults are found to be online.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China

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The Central News Agency reported that a survey about China’s Guangdong Province found that in the suburbs of large and medium-sized cities within the province and at Pearl Delta Region, pollution of vegetable fields is becoming a serious problem with the severity of contaminations of heavy metal pollution of farmland in Nanhai District of Foshan City.

Some cultivated land in Xinhui District of Jiangmen City were also contaminated.

Guangdong’s current area of vegetable cultivation is close to 250,000 acres.

Due to poor quality, nearly 100 million people will be seriously affected by the safety of fresh vegetables.

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Unusual weather associated with particularly cold temperatures is affecting Wuhan, in China’s Hubei Province.

The bad weather affects the urban water supply facilities with multiple water meters and water pipes in Wuhan being cracked due to the frozen water.

A main underground water pipe with a diameter of 1.2 meters in Xudong Avenue of Wuchang City burst suddenly at four o’clock on 16th January, resulting in difficulty in getting drinking water to 10,000 people in the vicinity.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “New Year Spectacular” show.
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Today the Divine Performing Arts show performed to sold out crowds in Toronto Canada, and Los Angeles in the US.

Audiences have been giving the shows rave reviews including Canadian MP, Colin Carrie, who told Epoch Times reporters: “It’s wonderful for me to be here―what a spectacular show.

Mr. Carrie went on:”When you experience something like this tonight, it is really an experience of divine spirit. It reminds people that it’s part of us.”

The Spectacular is presented by New York-based Divine Performing Arts, which “demands of itself that its performances present works of consummate beauty and goodness,” the group’s web site says.
For show information please visit www.bestchineseshows.com

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This is James Xu from the SOH Radio Network.