Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday, 30th April 2008

I’m Denis Wu with Asia cast.

In this Bulletin…

- Sharif and Zardari to discuss reinstatement of judges;
- EU and Serbia strengthen ties; and
- China counts down to Olympics.

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Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has left for Dubai for urgent talks with coalition partners on the fate of Pakistan’s sacked judges.

With the month-old government’s deadline to reinstate the judges due on Wednesday, Mr Sharif’s spokesman said he would meet Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari for talks on the matter.

Zardari and Sharif’s parties swept to victory in parliamentary elections in February following the assassination of Mr Zardari’s wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in December.

They went on to forge a post-election alliance with a promise that judges sacked under a six-week state of emergency late last year would be reinstated.

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In a first step towards eventual EU membership, Serbia and the European Union signed a long-delayed pact on closer ties on Tuesday.

The accord had been held up over Serbia’s failure to arrest and hand over key war crime indictees such as wartime Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, charged with genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.

Under a compromise proposed by the Netherlands and Belgium, the 27 EU states agreed not to ratify the pact nor give Serbia its trade or aid benefits until all agree that Belgrade is fully cooperating with the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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With only 100 days remaining until the Olympic Games open, China takes stock of preparations and calls for national celebrations.

Chinese Olympic authorities will commemorate the milestone with a series of public events including a long-distance race in Beijing and the unveiling of an Olympic theme tune.

Wednesday will also see the return of the Olympic flame to China after its controversial global relay.

Meanwhile, a second Olympic torch is being readied by a group of climbers for an attempt on Everest.

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Edgar Masri has been removed as chief executive of data network equipment maker 3Com Inc. and will be immediately replaced by Robert Mao who has confirmed he will be based in China.

The Massachusetts-based firm sees the nation as its biggest market.
The management shuffle comes a month after a proposed $2.2 billion US dollar buyout of 3Com was scuttled because of concern over a Chinese company’s role.

Mao, who has worked in China for Nortel Networks, will oversee 4,000 employees in China, a growing market for 3Com’s switches, routers and other gear to help data networks run efficiently.
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According to state media reports, two people were killed in western China when police moved to arrest an alleged pro-Tibet rioter.

A policeman and the suspect were shot dead in the incident in Dari County, Qinghai province, Xinhua said.

The attempted arrest was linked to a riot in the area last month by “insurgents seeking Tibetan independence”, the news agency said.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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According to a Chinese news agency, on 28th of April the Discipline Inspection Commission of Hainan Province revealed that they had uncovered $25 million Yuan (equivalent to about $3.5 million US dollars) worth of hidden earnings by Xie Mingzhong, Wenchang Municipal committee secretary of the Chinese Communist party.

Most of the amount was allegedly provided through bribery.

According to sources, Xie Mingzhong’s case may be the largest fraud case in the history of country officials involved in corruption in Hainan Province.

The exact amount involved in the case is to be verified.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “Chinese Spectacular” show.
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Today the Divine Performing Arts Spectacular will open in Calgary in Canada and in St Louis in the US.

Chris Owen, a fisheries officer for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, went to the Chinese Spectacular at Surrey’s Bell Performing Arts Centre on Monday on his girlfriend’s recommendation.

“I’m not much of the artsy type of person but so far it’s been great,” he said during the intermission.

Halfway through the show, the couple discussed the song lyrics with each other. Owen said he thought the messages on the screen related to the divine were very powerful.

After travelling to over 60 countries on four continents, the New York-based Divine Performing Arts will wind up the Canadian leg of its 2008 international tour with shows in Calgary from April 30-May 2, and in Edmonton from May 5-7.

For more information about the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.divineperformingarts.org

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This is Denis Wu from the SOH Radio Network.

“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”