AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Monday 15th September

In this Bulletin…

- Senior Hong Kong media Chief Zhong Guohua died mysteriously in Beijing;
-Thailand’s acting prime minister lifts state of emergency; and
- Government forces accused of burning down three villages in Dafur.

-But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Mainland China resources reported, a group of discharged soldiers launched a written proposal on the internet, hoping that over 3 million demobilized from all parts of the country will have the right to hold protest activities urging authorities to solve their resettlement payment issues as soon as possible.

According to the report of Free Asia Radio on September 13, the protest activity will be a hunger strike relay with a person a day to take turns on striking. The hunger strike will start on September 18, which is the last day of the Paralympics

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Beijing resources reported the executive chief editor of Metro Daily, Hong kong, Zhong Guohua died suddenly on September 9th while in his hotel room in during the Paralympics in Beijing.

China News Service reported the forensic doctor identified his cause of death due to a “heart attack”, but overseas media questions the Chinese authorities over the cause of death and is urging for a further investigation.

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And now for the rest of Asia Cast
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Beijing authorities recently decided not to make measures that limited car use during the Olympics permanent, state media said.

Instead, they will merely be “encouraged” to avoid using their cars one day every week, according to the paper.

However, government vehicles will in future be forced off the roads once a week, following a rotating system based on the last number on their licence plates, the paper said.

The new regulations follow remarks from the communist government that it would not rule out continuing the temporary car use limits put in place at the last moment before the Olympics and Paralympics to clean the air for the athletes.

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Rescuers made their way through piles of debris and water-filled streets in the Texas seaside towns Sunday after Hurricane Ike flooded hundreds of miles of U.S. coastline, cut power to millions and pummeled the oil hub of Houston.

A weakened Ike pushed northward after slamming into the Texas coast as a giant Category 2 hurricane Saturday, leaving extensive devastation in its wake.

Officials have barely begun to assess the damage, with early estimates put in the billions of dollars.

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Thailand’s acting prime minister has lifted a state of emergency in the capital, Bangkok, 12 days after it was put into place following violent clashes between pro- and anti-government forces.

Somchai Wongsawat told a news conference Sunday that while political tensions remain, there is no reason to continue the state of emergency. Emergency rule began on September second after clashes left one dead and dozens injured.

Anti-government demonstrators with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have taken over the main government complex in Bangkok and refuse to leave until ousted Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and all of his allies are out of power.

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Government forces have been accused by rebel fighters to have burned down three villages and destroying a health clinic in north Darfur during massive clashes involving more than 100 vehicles.

Rebels said fierce fighting erupted on Friday, south-west of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, the latest in a series of battles in Sudan’s war-torn western region.

The new violence comes amid mounting pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir as he seeks to head off potential charges from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur.

According to the United Nations, up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since rebels rose up against Khartoum in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 people have been killed.

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