Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 25th May

In this bulletin …

- Stand-off at Tibet gold mine;
- 100 skulls found in India pond; and
- North Korea conducts nuclear tests.

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Hundreds of villagers in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of western China are facing off against armed security forces at the site of a planned gold mine on what the Tibetans consider a sacred mountain.

Tibetans have historically worshipped the site, conducting rituals there in the event of drought, residents say.

Now a Chinese mining and lumbering firm, Zhongkai Company, has been authorized to excavate the area, and locals are protesting.

Pema Thinely, the vice chairman of the TAR Communist Party, was sent to Markham to try to convince the local population to accept the mine, one of the protesters said.

But residents continued their demonstration, and Pema Thinley was escorted back to Lhasa, the regional capital, on April 5.

The Tibetans declared that they are ready to die to protect the sacred hill.

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Hundreds of human skulls have been discovered in northern India. The remains were found after the pond, adjacent to a mortuary in the city of Aligarh, dried up due to hot weather.

A city resident Amit Srivastava said children playing near the pond found them.

Authorities say around 100 human skulls, several bones and two skeletons have been recovered so far.

They say special equipment has been brought in to dig up the area in case more remains are found.

According to Indian law, after post mortem examinations are complete, police have 72 hours to remove the remains of unclaimed bodies.

Low level officers, morgue sweepers and some rickshaw pullers are brought in to do the job.

It is believed that somewhere along the line some of these workers may have ditched the remains in the pond and pocketed the cash meant to pay for the cremations or burials.

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A “successful” underground nuclear test has been staged in North Korea, prompting international condemnation.

The nuclear test was more powerful than the previous one in October 2006.

A number of external agencies have confirmed a powerful explosion took place, suspected to be associated with a nuclear test.

US President Barack Obama described the North Korean action as a threat to international peace. Crisis talks were being held in South Korea.

An emergency session of the UN Security Council is being convened by Russia, which currently occupies the council’s rotating presidency.

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Engineering students in Bangalore, India, are the proud creators of the world’s cheapest car, as reported by NTDTV.

Named the Pico, it looks like a quad bike with a steering wheel and is powered by a two stroke engine. It can carry up to two people and travel 60 kilometres per hour.

V. J. Prakash, under whose guidance the students developed the technology, says the Pico’s mileage of the car is almost double that of the Nano. At the same time the cost is one fourth the price of a Nano, priced at 40,000 Rupee (USD $848).

The Pico weighs about 70 kg, is just over 80 centimetres long, and a petite 43 centimetres wide.

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After a guru was killed by a rival group in a temple in Austria riots have broken out in almost all towns and cities in the Indian state of Punjab.

The streets have been filled with thousands of angry protesters who are damaging public property and setting trains on fire.

At least four people were injured when police opened fire at protesters who attacked a police station in Jalandhar.

The army has marched through the streets of Jalandhar city and a curfew is in place in four major towns.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed for calm.

Guru Sant Ramanand was attacked on Sunday in Vienna – during clashes at a religious ceremony – by six men armed with knives and a pistol. He succumbed to his wounds in hospital early Monday.

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And now for our Shen Yun quote of the day
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Child star Karolyn Grimes, who is best known for her role as little Zuzu with Jimmy Stewart in the hit movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, saw Shen Yun at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre.

She applauded the performance saying that every little move their fingers made, it all held a message. She thought it was just remarkable and she was overly impressed.

Shen Yun is now in San Diego. Find out when you can experience the best show of the year at www.divineperformingarts.com.

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