AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Monday 26th May

In this Bulletin…

- NASA probe lands on Mars;
- Bomb blast rips through train in Sri Lanka; and
- Survivors of Sichuan earthquake face danger from flooding.

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NASA’s Phoenix lander has landed in the far north of Mars, after its 680 million-Km journey from Earth.

The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface. It will begin examining the site for evidence of the building blocks of life in the next few days.

Each stage of the descent and landing process was monitored through radio messages relayed via the Odyssey satellite orbiting Mars.

“In my dreams, it couldn’t have gone as perfectly as it did tonight,” said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Environment ministers from the G8 nations have urged their leaders to set a target to halve global emissions by 2050 during July’s summit.

The G8 ministers, who were also joined by major emerging economies such as China, said a strong political will had been expressed to place developed countries at the forefront of the campaign. But they stopped short of suggesting specific interim targets ahead of 2050, a key demand of developing countries in tough U.N.-led talks to forge a new treaty on global warming by the end of next year.

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The bombing of a packed commuter train during the rush hour has killed at least eight people and injured 62 in Sri Lanka.

The parcel bomb had been placed in the luggage rack on the train, which was bound for the southern town of Panadura, 27Km from Colombo, police said. The device exploded as the train was pulling out of a suburban station in Columbo.

Military chiefs blamed Tamil Tiger separatists for the attack, the latest in a string targeting public transport. The Tigers who are fighting for an independent state for the Tamil minority routinely deny involvement in bombings in the country.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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In Nepal demonstrations have been banned in and around the royal palace and King Gyanendra’s private home in Kathmandu.

The prohibition comes into force two days before Nepal’s newly-elected assembly is expected to meet to formally abolish the 239-year-old monarchy and declare the country a republic.

Very little of the constitutional detail has been worked out; and continuing violence from the biggest elected party, the Maoist former rebels, has created widespread dismay.

Nor has a new government been formed, which many say will have to happen before any motion on a republic can be drawn up.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China

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Sichuan earthquake victims continue to face flood threats after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake on May 12th. Thirty-four barrier lakes formed in Sichuan Province when landslides triggered by the quake blocked rivers.

The Tangjiashan barrier lake which formed above Beichuan presents a severe danger as its water levels keep rising, according to sources in Sichuan. More heavy rain has been forecast across the disaster zone increasing the flood threat from these barrier lakes.

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A company from Shenzhen recently donated boxes of clothing marked as inferior and returned goods to the Sichuan relief operation. The condition of the goods, worth almost US$300 thousand, was discovered by the China Red Cross according to sources inside the country.

Radio Free Asia reported on May 24th that the company is suspected of wanting to use the value certificate of the donated materials issued by the China Red Cross for tax relief purposes. The company has now said the substandard goods were sent by mistake.

Concerns over the operational transparency of the China Red Cross have been raised by sections of the Asian media. Whether the large volume of contributions and donated materials can be properly used to benefit the victims of the Sichuan earthquake or not is another question that has been posed.

Premier Wen Jiabao said that the demand for tents and vaccinations and cutting off sources of pollution are currently the most difficult problems.

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Recently the Chinese communist regime have arrested large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China under the guise of protecting the Olympics, according to sources in China. In the period from January 1st to March 11th 1,878 Falun Gong practitioners are reported to have been arrested.

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong has said the large scale arrests are part of an ongoing systematic round of nationwide persecution and believe the figures could be much higher.

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