AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 10th June

In this Bulletin

- Truckers protesting causes havoc on highways;
- 55 dolphins’ mysteriously found dead in north-west of Madagascar; and
- Explosion of lake diversion rocks underway in Tangjiashan’s Yensai Lake.

A man who said he was tired of life went on a stabbing rampage on Sunday in a popular Tokyo shopping district, killing seven people, Japanese media said.

The man drove a truck into a crowd of pedestrians and then attacked passers-by with a knife in Akihabara district, known for its discount electronics and maid cafes, at lunchtime.

The rampage came on the seventh anniversary of a horrific massacre at a Japanese primary, when a knife-wielding former mental patient killed eight schoolchildren and tarnished Japan’s image as a virtually crime-free society.

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to tap into Americans’ anxiety over high gasoline prices Monday by pledging to seek a windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies if elected.

Launching a two-week focus on the ailing U.S. economy, Obama drew a sharp contrast with Republican John McCain, his rival in the November election, accusing him of a “full-throated endorsement” of President Bush’s fiscal policies, including tax breaks for oil companies.

With Americans struggling to pay for record high $4-a-gallon gasoline, the jobless rate up and consumer confidence battered, Obama is attempting to focus the general election campaign on the U.S. economy.

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Truckers in Spain, France and Portugal continue their protests against rising fuel prices, causing havoc on highways.

Lines of traffic backed up around major cities and on the French-Spanish border as French fishermen in Mediterranean ports ended their three-week strike over the cost of fuel.

Spain’s second largest hauliers’ union Fenadismer, which claims to represent 70,000 out of Spain’s 380,000 truck drivers, launched an open-ended strike.

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Some 55 dolphins became stranded and died on a beach in the north-west of Madagascar, conservationists said.

The melon-headed whales, a species of dolphin, were first spotted at sea last month, but then became stranded on a beach last week.

They were buried in a mass grave.

American specialists had arrived on Monday (local time) to examine possible reasons for the beaching and to lead some remaining dolphins out to sea.

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A massive rainstorm in Hong Kong caused a landslide to crush into a hut killing a man and a woman. At least16 people were injured in other storm-related incidents.

A 20-tonne wall was brought down by a landslide on top of the hut where the man and woman were staying, local media said.
Hong Kong’s observatory recorded 5.73 inches of rain in one hour on Saturday morning.

Emergency workers used cranes to lift the wall and dug a tunnel to reach the two but they were dead by the time rescuers got through.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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According to Sichuan sources, On June 8, diversion rocks in Tanjiashan’s Yensai Lake were being blasted to drain the flood water, and residents were locked out of the site.

Water level and flow continued to increase after the spill, with the flood water sestimated to have reached the Tongkuo Hydro-electricity station on the evening of May 8.

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According to Nanjing sources, a bloody clash broke out between the Nanjing Institute of Artillery Corps Institute and its students.
The clash lefts students injured, and there are claims by bloggers that some students have been killed.

Videos and images of the clash recorded on mobile phones have been circulated on the internet and parents have also exposed online the Institute’s phony promise of a nationally recognised diploma they enrolled their children in.

NTDTV have reported that many female students have been left with bloody head wounds after being beaten by school officials, and classrooms, dorms and school facilities were also damaged during the clash.

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According to Hong Kong sources, a random inspection of live chickens sold in Hong Kong markets recently revealed the H5N1 avian flu virus which has sent communities into shock.

Hong Kong officials have now stopped imports of Chinese chickens and the chairman of the Live Foul Wholesale Commerce Association, Xu Mingtuan said on May 8 that the impact of the avian flu has left live chicken unsellable.

The chairman of Hong Kong & Kowloon Poultry Dealers Guild has also said that Hong Kong officials’ restriction of chicken import quotas have pushed up prices and opened up the possibility of smuggling and black market trade.

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