Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 23rd October

In this Bulletin…

- Five killed in Chinese coal mine dispute;
- India and China sign climate change deal; and
- United Nations report says Afghan opium fuels global chaos.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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An intense drought across southern and central China has brought several rivers to an all-time low, and it shows no signs of reversing, reports NTDTV.

The lack of rainfall since August has brought the water of the Ganjiang River in Jiangxi Province to its lowest level ever, and it’s also brought water traffic to a two-month standstill in some parts of the river.

The drought is damaging harvests and threatening water supplies for millions of people. Many regional reservoirs have dried up, leaving irrigated crops bone dry.

Jiangxi’s weather bureau says they’ve had just over four inches of rain since mid August, less than half the usual amount. One director at a water control station says the Ganjiang was almost 13 feet lower than its average.

See more on this at NTDTV.

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In China’s coal-producing Industry, an industry that has long been dogged by unsafe practices and deadly accidents, a dispute over ownership rights has left five people dead in the province of Shanxi.

NTDTV reports that the Baijiamao coal mine in Lin Prefecture was owned collectively by all of the local villagers but local authorities sold the mine to a private company, and since then villagers have been working to settle their dispute through legal means.

But, last week around 100 armed men began attacking villagers camped outside the mine and the armed men torched their tents and ran people down with a truck, leaving five dead.

See more on this at NTDTV.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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India and China, two of the world’s biggest polluters, have signed an agreement to work together on addressing climate change and say they will co-operate on technology development and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

They have also pledged to work together in international climate change negotiations ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change Talks in December.

However, both countries argue that capping their emissions would limit their economic growth and developed countries must play a bigger role in reductions too.

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A day after suicide bombers attacked a university in the capital of Islamabad, all schools, colleges and universities have been closed indefinitely across Pakistan.

The twin blasts at the International Islamic University left eight people dead and at least 18 wounded.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack and there would be more violence unless the army ended its offensive in the tribal areas of South Waziristan.

It is not clear what caused the explosion but the fighting has caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee the area.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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A United Nations report has found that Afghanistan has a monopoly on illegal opium production that has devastating global consequences.

The report says the opium market worth $65 billion US dollars funds global terrorism, caters to 15 million addicts, and kills 100,000 people every year.

Afghanistan produces 92 per cent of the world’s opium, with the equivalent of 3,500 tonnes leaving the country each year and more people die globally from Afghan opium than any other drug, but, just a tiny percentage of what is produced is seized en route.

You can find the United Nations report here.

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Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has appointed close ally Daniyar Usenov to be Prime Minister after Premier Igor Chudinov, previous mayor of the capital Bishkek, resigned in protest to his reforms.

Chudinov had resigned in protest to the reforms after Bakiyev had proposed sweeping changes to streamline government structures and cut the civil service.

However, Bakiyev insists the changes are designed to help the country address economic problems, security threats and improve governance.

The new prime minister is said to be one of the richest people in Kyrgyzstan, and is notorious for taking a tough line on dissent.

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