Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 1st May

In this Bulletin …

- Investigation of Shen Yun’s cancellation in Hong Kong requested;
- Thai hospital evacuated after protesters storm in; and
- Asteroid discovered with water.

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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Director Law Yuk Kai announced that the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor has requested the Hong Kong government to initiate an investigation into the cancellation of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Hong Kong. They have also asked that a report be submitted to the United Nations.

Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor also expressed its support for the April 20 lawsuit filed by the presenter. The report showed the circumstances that provoked the involuntary cancellation of the company’s entire run of seven shows in Hong Kong, scheduled from January  27 through January 31.

The proposal criticizes the Hong Kong government for refusing to grant visas to six key production staff members in the Shen Yun Performing Arts company.

For more on this story read The Epoch Times.

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China has again had another severe murder with five young children being attacked by a man with a hammer, before killing himself.

This is the third time a murder has happened involving children in just a few days.

The man, a local farmer, captured the two children and then set himself alight at the pre-school in Shandong province’s Weifang city.

The children were saved plus a teacher, who was injured, are all in hospital in a stable condition.

China is upset after the wave of noticeable copy-cat attacks in schools.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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A hospital in Bangkok had to evacuate most of its patients after red-shirted protestors stormed through looking for troops.

The red shirts mistakenly thought troops were hiding there after the recent violence on the streets.

The hospital also had to stop receiving outpatients after the Thursday night incident, where around 100 red shirt guards search the building for troops they feared were getting ready for a crackdown.

Bangkok has been feeling its worst political violence in over two decades. Twenty-seven people have been killed and over 1,000 injured this month.

The reds have occupied the city for over a month now, in a bid to force re-elections.

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A Pakistani human rights activist has been found dead in a ditch in the North Waziristan tribal area.

His body was found only weeks after he was reportedly kidnapped by militants.

Officials say Khalid Khawaja’s body was found near the town of Mir Ali. He was shot in the head and chest.

A note was attached to his body which read – if anyone tries to spy for America this will be his fate.

Mr Khawaja and two more men had been missing since travelling into North Waziristan.

Later, a group who call themselves the Asian Tigers said they had kidnapped all of them.

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Around 40 weavers in India’s Karnataka state have been partially blinded from the raw silk which they import from China.

Over the last three months the workers started complaining of eye irritations after handling the cloth.

A sample of the yarn has been sent out for chemical analysis.

The state of Karnataka is a leading silk producing state and over the years they have started to import more Chinese silk.

It is believed that the silk has had chemicals added to it, so it will weigh more and to make the cloth more attractive. However they are unsure of where and when the chemicals may have been added.

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The 24 Themis Asteroid is the first asteroid to have water on it, according to a new study published in the April 29 issue of the journal Nature.

National Geographic reports that two independent research teams from the University of Central Florida did studies on the asteroid and found ice as well as organic molecules.

Humberto Campins, who headed one of the two teams, told National Geographic that they reported the first detection of water ice and of organic molecules on an asteroid, and they are both on the same asteroid.

The approximately 125-mile-wide 24 Themis is currently located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered by scientists using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii.

For more on this story read The Epoch Times.

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