Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 31st August

In this Bulletin…

- Massive earthquake hits southwest China;
- Georgia accuses Russia troops blocking refugee return; and
- China’s communist regime admits misusing up to 6 billion dollars.

-But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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An earthquake that hit southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces has killed 25 people, damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes and affected at least 440,000 residents, state media said on Sunday.

The epicenter of Saturday’s quake, which struck around 4:30 p.m, was about 20 miles southeast of Panzhihua, near Sichuan’s border with Yunnan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 6 miles deep.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, while China’s official state media Xinhua news agency said it measured 6.1.

State media said the quake had injured 192 people, and three more were missing.

It added that 656 schools had also been damaged and that heavy rain and difficult terrain were hampering rescue efforts, with mobile telephone communications patchy.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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China’s communist departments admits to have mismanaged more than $6.7bn in 2007, the state auditor has said in an annual report.

China’s national audit office said offences included using disaster relief funds to build government offices.

Auditor General Liu Jiayi said that 14 central government officials had been detained and nearly 200 other people had been punished.

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Russian troops deep inside Georgian territory are stopping thousands of refugees from returning to their homes, a Georgian official said on Saturday.

Russian troops were still manning checkpoints in Georgia and patrolling a Black Sea port even after Moscow pulled back much of the force it deployed to crush Georgia’s attempt to take back two separatist provinces.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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A massive protest has taken place in Taiwan against President Ma.

It was the first mass rally against Mr Ma since his inauguration, and also comes amid increased worries over his pro-China policies and the economy.

The protesters said he was moving too quickly to improve ties with Beijing.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, although they have been governed separately since 1949.

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More than two million people have been displaced by severe floods in Bihar India.

Relief workers are desperately trying to reach Bihar where the Kosi river broke its dam two weeks ago, killing more than 70 people.

Officials say this has been the worst flood to hit India in over 50 years.

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