Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 30th May

In this Bulletin…

- Over 100 countries sign ban on cluster bombs;
- CIA claims al-Qaeda is on the defensive; and
- Chinese authorities prepare to evacuate another 40,000 people.

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More than 100 nations signed a formal agreement on Friday to ban the use of cluster bombs but debate continues on loopholes that could benefit powers such as the United States, which has refused to take part in talks on a ban.

 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged states to quickly sign and ratify the draft treaty, which was declared adopted on Friday after no delegation objected to the text formulated after almost two weeks of talks in the Irish capital.

The United States, China and Russia have rejected the pact, while NATO states have backed it.

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Michael Hayden, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, has said al-Qaeda is essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and is on the defensive elsewhere.

Hayden’s remarks, which correspondents describe as strikingly upbeat, come less than a year after the CIA warned of a resurgent al-Qaeda.

He told the Washington Post that US counter-terrorism successes extended to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

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In the third orbiter mission of 2008, the Discovery orbiter is set for launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station.

The shuttle and its crew of seven will deliver the main section of Japan’s science lab known as Kibo, or “Hope”.

This 11.2m-long, 14.8-tonne cylinder is the third science laboratory intended for the orbiting platform, after the US Destiny and European Columbus segments.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Chinese authorities are expanding plans to evacuate people in south western China as water piles up behind a dam created by an earthquake landslide, state-run media reported on Friday.

An additional 40,000 people in Beichuan county have been ordered to leave at-risk areas downstream from the so-called quake lake, bringing the total of evacuees to nearly 200,000.

The Chinese authorities say they are planning a drill so they are prepared in case they have to evacuate 1.3 million people if the dam breaks completely.

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According to a report in the Associated Press, the United States government has started an investigation into allegations that Chinese Communist Party officials stole data from a government laptop containing sensitive information.

The laptop in question was left unattended briefly when a top U.S. government official visited Beijing and is believed to have belonged to the entourage of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez during his trip to Beijing last December for trade talks.

The AP story also quoted a senior U.S. intelligence official who told the story about an American businessman who saw attempts to break into his PDA during a visit to China—attempts that may have infected the executive’s corporate network back in the U.S.

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Japan has decided to use a chartered plane instead of a military plane to deliver relief supplies to China for victims of the Sichuan quake.

A Japanese government spokesman said that some Chinese officials had been concerned about letting a military plane in - anger lingers in China over Japan’s actions in World War II.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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Reports from Tibet indicate that Chinese Communist authorities have been continuously arresting Tibetans in a large-scale operation in Tibetan autonomous areas.

Many institutions in the Autonomous Region, including temples and nunneries have been under tight control of public security, stifling the routine work of these institutions.

Even during the recent earthquake in Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Ganzi and Aba, monks and nuns continued to stand up to oppressive rules and have continued to be arrested.

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According to the Tibetan government-in-exile, on May 28 an imprisoned Tibetan named Bazaijie from Aba Prefecture was violently beaten to death in the Aba Prefecture Jail last Saturday.

Also, in the last few days, another Tibetan woman was badly bashed by prison guards and died tragically after being released from prison.

Radio Free Asia reported, although relief work in the earthquake-stricken area in Sichuan is still undergoing, the Mainland Communist authorities have never relaxed on suppression of Tibetans.

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This has been Karen Chang for the SOH Radio Network.

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