Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 25th May

In this Bulletin…

- Thousands march in South Africa;
- UN establishes relief hub in Bangkok for Burma; and
- Indonesia to face fuel price hikes.

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Thousands of people marched through Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city on Saturday, calling for an end to the violence that has killed at least 50 African migrants and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Demonstrators carrying placards saying “Xenophobia hurts like apartheid” brought traffic to a standstill in the city centre.

Violence broke out in Johannesburg’s Alexandra Township on May 11, and has spread to Cape Town and the eastern port city of Durban.

The South African government has been criticised for its slow reaction to the violence, the worst since apartheid ended 14 years ago, and for not addressing the poverty that is widely blamed for the bloodshed.

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Yesterday U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has opened a staging area at an airport in Thailand’s capital to deliver relief aid to cyclone survivors in neighbouring Burma.

On Friday, Mr. Ban said Burma’s top leader agreed to allow all foreign aid workers into the country to help with relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Burma is continuing with a second round of a constitutional referendum in areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis on May 3.

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Officials in Indonesia have decided to cut fuel subsidies that have helped consumers in the Asian nation offset fuel costs. The result will be an average increase in gasoline, kerosene and diesel prices of nearly 30 percent per liter.

Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said at a news conference that if it did not take this action, Indonesia would be spending almost $14 billion this year for fuel subsidies. That would represent about 13 percent of its budget.

The fuel price rise is expected to hit Indonesia’s poor the most, as they struggle to afford rice and other staples. To help reduce that impact, the government said it will distribute 10,000 rupiah ($10) per month to 19 million low-income families.

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An 80 year old survivor has been pulled from the rubble of the Sichuan earthquake after being trapped for more than 11 days.

Xiao Zhihu, who was partially paralysed before the quake, was found in the city of Mianzhu.

He was trapped under a pillar of his house and had been fed by his wife. He is in a stable condition, reports said.

More than 60,000 people are now known to have died in the quake, and few more survivors are expected to be found.

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China has criticised UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown for taking part in talks with Tibet’s exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

The two men had a 30-minute discussion at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official residence, Lambeth Palace in London, on Friday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the meeting “interfered” in China’s internal affairs.

The leaders discussed human rights and ways to help China in the aftermath of the 12 May earthquake.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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Reports from China say that, despite massive earthquake relief undertakings, the Chinese Communist Regime has continued to detain activists and authors of articles of dissent.

A scholar from Nanjing Normal University, Guo Quan has been in detention for 10 days now and China’s Pan-Blue Alliance (CPBA) member in Sichuan, Huang Xiaoming, continues to be held in detention.

Another CPBA member Zhng Qiduo has lost communication rights with friends and family.

Protestors and human rights activists say that in the face of calamities, those in power should accept free speech and different opinions.

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Minister of China’s State Environmental Protection Administration, Wu Xiaoqing, said that 50 regions in the area of Sichuan affected by last weeks earthquake have been found to pose nuclear danger.

Of these areas 35 have been temporarily treated.

Wu says that as of yesterday, 6 specialised teams have discovered nuclear sources in the disaster area that are potentially dangerous, and have contained 35 of these.

They have also located the remaining 15 areas.

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Earthquake survivors from severely affected regions in Dujiangyan and Mianyang have said that the corroding corpses of earthquake victims are polluting the air.

Furthermore, the survivors still have no place to live and no electricity. Dujiangyan is suffering from water shortages and victims desperately need tents to shelter from wind and rain.

The threat of disease, coupled with the lack of relief supplies has led officials to order an evacuation of Dujiangyan residents.

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This is … from the SOH Radio Network.

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