Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 01st June

In this Bulletin…

- Israel plans ignores restrictions on settlement expansion;
- World leaders to discuss food crisis; and
- a 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes north of the Philippines.

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In what could be seen as a threatening gesture, Israel has announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in an area of the occupied West Bank that the Israeli Government considers part of Jerusalem, despite US and Palestinian calls to halt settlement expansion.

The 2003 peace “road map”, reaffirmed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a conference hosted by US President George W Bush in November, requires a halt to all settlement activity on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.

There was no immediate Palestinian comment on the announcement, issued two days before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embarks on a three-day visit to Washington.

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The ongoing food price crisis will be tackled by world leaders who will meet in Rome next week to seek ways of reducing the suffering for the world’s poorest people and ensure the Earth can produce more food to sustain an ever growing population.

“It’s time for action,” said Jacques Diouf, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization who called the summit late last year before the full extent of the food price crisis was clear.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick underlined the urgency of the problem, announcing $1.2 billion in loans and grant financing for countries struggling with food and fuel costs.

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The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean off the northern Philippines Sunday morning and was felt as far as southeastern Taiwan.

The epicenter was about80 kilometers west of Basco, the capital of the Batan Islands in the Philippines and about 550 kilometers south of Taipei, Taiwan.

No injuries, deaths or damage were immediately reported.

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Michael Chertoff, the US secretary for homeland security, has told the BBC that successes against al-Qaeda should not lead to a weakening of resolve and that militants in Pakistan were training recruits who could mix inconspicuously in Western society.

Washington has pinpointed the frontier areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan as the most pressing central point in which to win the war on terror.

Mr Chertoff said the US had succeeded in pushing back al-Qaeda in Iraq and argued that Muslims in Iraq were now reacting against indiscriminate militant violence. But he warned that: “If we lose our resolution, we could find ourselves actually losing ground.”

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Defying warning from Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, thousands of people have demonstrated in Bangkok accusing Mr Samak of changing the constitution to protect his predecessor, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Riot police were deployed, but the authorities did not carry out the PM’s threats, saying force would not be used as long as the protest was peaceful.

The demonstration was led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy, the group which led mass protests in 2006 that led to the military coup that ousted Mr Thaksin.

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Chinese soldiers and engineers dug a spillway from an earthquake-created lake that was threatening to burst its banks in the central county of Beichuan.

The diversion project, which included a 475-meter channel up to 10 meters wide, was completed on Saturday, said Liu Ning, chief engineer of the Ministry of Water Resources and the project’s deputy director, Xinhua reported.

According to the plan, the lake — which has been rising about 1.6 meters daily and was seven meters from the top of its naturally-formed dam — would spill into its man-made canal between now and Thursday.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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According to news from Sichuan, the earthquake stricken area in Wenchuan County is facing new challenges amidst the rescue and rebuilding efforts after the May 21 earthquake.

Over 14,000 local students are unable to return to school because of collapsed school buildings and a string of aftershocks.

Free Asia Radio reported that the Wenchuan County Government says that most problems they are now facing they can solve themselves, but they desperately need the assistance from around the country to put 14,000 students back in school, including sending them to other cities.

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The parents of children who have died in collapsed schools in Mianzhu and Dujiangyan in Sichuan province are preparing for a class action suit against the government, alleging shoddy school building construction which led to collapses during the Sichuan quakes and the deaths of their children.

The angry parents have expressed their distrust of the government, stating they are “ready to engage in extended battle with the government.”

According to Asia Weekly, parents have set up altars on the remains of their children’s school with pictures of their children.

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This is … from the SOH Radio Network.

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