AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Friday 30th May

In this Bulletin…

- Israel’s Prime Minister faces calls to step down;
- South Korea lifts US beef ban; and
- UN warns high food prices may be here to stay.

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Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says the ruling Kadima Party must prepare to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in light of a growing corruption investigation.

Earlier this week a US businessman admitted handing $150,000 to Mr Olmert over a number of years. Mr Olmert has denied any wrongdoing.

Ms Livni is the first senior member of Mr Olmert’s own party to question his fitness to stay in office.

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Despite public protests, South Korea has lifted a five-year ban on beef imports from the US.

Seoul says imports will resume in full next week, in accordance with a deal reached last month, but quarantine controls will be increased to ensure animal parts with a higher risk of carrying Mad Cow disease do not get in.

Washington had warned the US would not back a huge free trade deal with South Korea unless beef imports resumed.

Vigils and sometimes violent rallies have taken place on an almost daily basis since the agreement was announced last month.

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Nepali authorities have raised the national flag at the palace of dethroned King Gyanendra hours after stone-throwing demonstrators clashed with police as protestors tried to storm inside.

More than 25 people were injured when police beat the crowd back with bamboo sticks but protesters continued to shout anti-king slogans.

Earlier on Thursday, the royal flag was lowered from Nepal’s palace as the Himalayan nation celebrated its first day as a republic following the abolition of its 239-year-old Hindu monarchy.

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A report by the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the body for rich nations, the OECD, has warned higher food prices may be here to stay as demand from developing countries and production costs rise.

The report said the current price spike was higher than previous records, partly due to bad weather ruining crops but factors, such as rising biofuel demand, will keep future costs high.

The FAO said speculators were also to blame for volatile commodity markets.

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Day 12 of a bizarre campaign of attacks against Falun Gong practitioners in New York’s Flushing was marked by a heavy police presence.

A silent demonstration by Falun Gong practitioners was an effort to inform the community about the growing movement to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its related organizations.

Although the scene was relatively quiet compared to previous days, at least a dozen people seen instigating turmoil since May 17 were conspicuously present near a large group of Falun Gong practitioners holding signs and meditating.

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A group of Tibetan exiles marching towards China said on Thursday that Indian police had impounded their food trucks and arrested their leaders to break up a protest walk that began almost three months ago.

Tibetan exiles, now numbering about 300, began walking on March 10 from the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala, the seat of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, to join in protests against Chinese rule inside Tibet.

One of several high-profile activities intended to draw attention to demands that China grant independence to Tibet, the march was stopped by police at the weekend near a restricted military zone that stretches to the Chinese border.”

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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In what is becoming a common occurrence across China’s Sichuan Province, over four hundred parents held a memorial for their children who died beneath the rubble at what remains of Juyuang Middle School in Dujiangyan

They are requesting that the Government erect a memorial plague at the site.

The parents held banners which read “Our claims are clear: reclaim the bloody debts, severely punish the perpetrators and fight for justice for the victims”

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In more news from Sichuan, seismologist Geng Qingguo said that prior to this month’s earthquake, he had repeatedly written to the Chinese Bureau of Seismology with predictions that there would be major tremors in Sichuan.

His predictions were ignored and he has shed many tears over his research results that failed to save lives.

According to Asia Times newspaper, Geng has a Drought-Earthquake Theory that there are often droughts of between 1~3 years in a region that will experience earthquakes above 6.0 on the Richter Scale.

The article said that as early as November 2006 and again in January this year, Geng had written to the Chief of Chinese Bureau of Seismology as well as Premier Wen Jiabao predicting there would be 7.7 magnitude quakes in Sichuan, but these warnings had fallen on deaf ears.

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