Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 25th July

In this Bulletin…

- Radiation leak causes panic in Henan Province;
- Beijing’s Pacific aid policy short-sighted; and
- Death toll from monsoon flooding in India over 400 .

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Residents from Qixian County, Kaifeng, in Henan Province, are fleeing in panic after an accident at a food processing plant released radioactive emissions from cobalt-60 into the air.

Cobalt-60 is used to irradiate food and kill bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms. It can accumulate in the liver, kidneys and bones, where prolonged exposure to the radiation it releases can cause cancer.

The Liming Irradiation Plant uses ionising radiation to preserve garlic and chilli powders. A production line jammed causing a fire and the release of radioactivity in June.

Local authorities have played down the incident saying there was no radiation leak, making many people suspicious. But after news that the families of Qixian Communist Party officials had been evacuated locals began to flee in their thousands.

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A second group of over 100 overseas students being held in quarantine for swine flu were released in Beijing on Friday.

Seventy-three British students and teachers remain in quarantine and four members of the group have been hospitalized after having tested positive for H1N1.

The first group was released on Tuesday.

Another 70 students and teachers are in quarantine in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, where three have tested positive for H1N1.

World Health Organisation spokesman, Gregory Hartl, says there probably are hundreds of thousands of cases by now globally and that there has been nearly 800 confirmed deaths.

Hartl says young people and adolescents are still most susceptible to getting sick. But, he says the severest cases of swine flu appear to be among older people.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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A report by an independent Australian think-tank has found that China’s financial aid in the Pacific region is unpredictable and secretive and leaves Pacific nations mired in debt, with few long-term gains.

The aid policy is weakened by a focus on blocking the presence of diplomatic rival Taiwan, the Lowy Institute for International Policy said.

Their report does not argue for an end to China’s Pacific presence. However, it finds there is little evidence of a comprehensive grand strategy guiding China’s approach beyond aiding those governments who recognise Beijing, not Taipei.

It is suggested that the recent thaw between China and Taiwan could offer Beijing a chance to refocus its policy towards longer-term development goals that also better serve Chinese national interests

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As the trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi nears its end, her lawyers have presented their closing arguments.

Ms Suu Kyi is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest in May, after a U.S. man swam to her lakeside home.

If convicted she faces up to five years in jail. The trial has been widely condemned as a plot to keep her in custody until after elections in 2010.

Ms Suu Kyi, 64, has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, much of it at her Rangoon home.
Polls are planned by the military government for some time next year. Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the last elections in 1988 but was never allowed to take power.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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The latest report from India’s federal authorities puts the death toll from flooding during this season’s monsoon rains to at least 441.

Flooding has affected more than 1.5 million people in parts of India, said the disaster management division of the federal home ministry.

The country’s main weather office has warned of more heavy rain in western and central parts of India.

Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June till September. Though they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, they also leave a trail of landslides, home collapses and floods that can kill.

In neighbouring Pakistan, torrential monsoon rains left more than three dozen people dead and broke a 32-year record over the weekend.

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There have been claims of fraud from opposition candidates in Indonesia’s election after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won by a more than a two-to-one advantage over his nearest challenger.

Yudhoyono won 60.8 per cent of the vote, compared with 26.8 per cent for former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and 12.4 per cent for Vice President Yusuf Kalla, according to numbers released Friday by Indonesia’s National Election Commission.

The votes were counted under heavy security after the terrorist attacks on two Jakarta hotels July 17. Police blocked off the road to the electoral commission building and jammed phone signals inside the building.

The results will be officially announced Saturday.

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