Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 26th January

In this Bulletin…

- Sichuan teachers buried alive during protest;
- Sri Lanka’s polls open for new presidential election; and
- Australia encourages disgruntled parents to criticise deficient teachers.

But first we have our Shen Yun quote of the day

[audio]

For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

Our SOH focus on China is next

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During a protest in China’s Sichuan Province, eleven teachers were buried alive when the ground beneath them collapsed. Six were rushed to the hospital.

The Epoch Times reported on 200 teachers who protested a land expropriation at their middle school after a construction team began digging school grounds.

The team had dug beyond their boundaries, illegally appropriating school property. Police were called but did nothing; teachers decided to then take matters into their own hands.

Nevertheless, the team had hollowed out the ground the teachers were standing on, when it collapsed and slid down a slope, completely burying the teachers.

For more on this story, visit The Epoch Times.

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In China’s Jiangsu Province, five people have been jailed for contaminating the water supply for Huai’an city’s 5 million residents, reported NTDTV.

Last February, residents had discovered a strange smell coming from their taps when an investigation was ordered.

It revealed industrial waste was discharged from a petrochemical company and making its way into an irrigation ditch. The ditch was connected to the city’s water supply. The city’s water was then cut off for a week.

Eight employees from the plant were given prison terms from nine to 29 months. Three received suspended sentences with probation.

Watch this story at NTDTV.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Sri Lanka’s polls are now open to voters for its presidential elections. The first since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated, after 25 years of war.

There will be 11,000 voting centres serving more than 14 million eligible voters. Counting is expected to start three hours after polls close at 4:00 pm local time.

Sri Lanka’s election commission said the final results are expected to be announced Wednesday morning.

Security is tight amid fears of violence. More than 68,000 police are being deployed to protect the polling stations.

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Saddam Hussein’s ex-defence minister & cousin, has been executed by hanging, announced Iraqi officials.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali,” was an enforcer in Hussein’s regime. He had been sentenced to death four times for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Earlier this month, he was sentenced to death for ordering the gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988.

In the attack, Iraqi jets sprayed a lethal mix of mustard gas and nerve agents over Halabja for five hours. It is believed that about 5,000 people died in the gas attack.

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

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Three large explosions targeting hotels in Baghdad, Iraq have killed at least 36 people.

Officials say the blasts were caused by suicide bombers and have left more than 70 injured.

They struck near the Sheraton, Babylon and Hamra hotels. The hotels are said to be popular with Western businessmen and media.

An Iraqi spokesman said the bombs represented an extension of activities by insurgents linked to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

He did not however, directly connect the blast with the recent hanging of Saddam Hussein’s ex-defence minister, Ali Hassan al-Majid.

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Australia’s education minister has said a new school rating system will soon help identify specific areas of under-performance in schools.

A My School website, to be launched on Thursday will be a sounding board for parents.

The minister said that teachers identified as underperformers by the new rating system should expect to be roused at by disgruntled parents. The website will empower parents to badger school staff to lift standards and be a forum for robust conversations with teachers and principals.

The Australian Education Union is fiercely opposed to the website.

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