Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 25th May

In this Bulletin…

- China pledges to continue exchange rate reforms;
- Bangkok’s protest aftermath; and
- The world’s smallest electronic switch.

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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China has pledged to continue exchange-rate policy reforms during recent high-level trade talks with the US. The US has argued in the past that China’s currency policy favours its exporters.

China’s premier said he would seek gradual progress on reforming the exchange rate of its Yuan currency. However, he gave no schedule or deadline for the reform’s start.

Reports say the premier’s comments were welcomed by the US Treasury Secretary.

Some analysts calculate the Yuan is currently undervalued by as much as 40 per cent.

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A pygmy kangaroo that had been missing from Taiwan’s Yilan Green Expo has been returned, to the relief of Yilan County’s magistrate.

He had offered a reward of $930US  dollars for its return on May 4, the same morning it had gone missing. A maintenance worker finally found it this Monday.

The pygmy kangaroo barely 50 cm tall was one of a pair the county had borrowed from Wanpi World Zoo in Tainan County.

The animal managed to sneak out of its cage when it hadn’t been locked properly.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Many of Thailand’s citizens are having a difficult time dealing with the aftermath of the worst political violence in the country’s modern history.

The protests which lasted over two months left over 80 people, mostly civilians, dead.

While driving through a designated disaster zone, one taxi driver lamented that his own countrymen burned down so many buildings.

A man who was holed-up in his house for days during protests said people are scared protestors will come back.

Others, while still in shock, were able to say they were still in support of the red-shirt movement.

Read more of this story at The Epoch Times.

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The United States military announced they will carry out anti-submarine and other naval exercises with South Korea. The decision came after an investigation concluded that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo at a South Korean warship, sinking the vessel and killing 46 sailors.

The pentagon spokesman declined to say where the exercises would be held or other details, only saying they would take place in the near future.

The United States and numerous other countries have condemned the attack, considered to be one of the worst provocations since the Korean War in the 1950s.

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

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Australia’s government has expelled an Israeli diplomat, reports NTDTV. The move came as investigations proved forged Australian passports were used in the assassination of a top Hamas militant in Dubai in January.

Australia’s foreign minister said this has upset relations between Israel and Australia. He also said any repeat offences will be dealt with in a greater manner.

Yet, Israeli and Palestinian sources say the assassinated Hamas militant played a key role in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to militants in Gaza.

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Australian scientists have unveiled the world’s smallest electronic switch measuring just a few atoms. It will allegedly shrink microchips and revolutionize computing speeds.

The seven-atom transistor, embedded in a single silicone crystal is said to be the first step in creating a quantum computer. It is expected to make calculations millions of times faster than current computers in use.

The technology is expected to be used in code breaking, financial transactions and weather forecasting; essentially any computations which involved testing enormous amounts of possible scenarios.

Scientists say commercial applications for the technology are about five years away.

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