Radio Sound of Hope: Asia Cast for Wednesday 19th August – SOH
Sound of Hope Radio allowed me to upload some of their Radio broadcasts. Their english program is actually quite broad and they have many news broadcasts. I can only upload a little, so check out their website: http://sohnetwork.com
In this Bulletin:
-Hundreds of Chinese children suffer lead poisoning near smelting plant;
-South Korea stops rocket launch; and
-Six latest bombings in Iraq kill 75.
But first, heres our SOH focus on China
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Over one thousand angry people stormed a neighboring smelting plant in Shaanxi Province Monday after 615 children tested positive for abnormal blood lead levels, said The Epoch Times.
One villager whose children tested twice the normal blood lead levels, told The Epoch Times on August 17 more than one thousand women went to the smelting plant in a rage, pushed down a long wall enclosure and smashed the windshields of about 20 cargo vehicles.
A press conference held Saturday in Fengxiang County announced that lead poisoning found in the children was linked to pollution caused by the Dongling Smelting Co.
Only children under the age of 14 were allowed to test. 163 had medium-level lead poisoning and 3 had high-level lead poisoning requiring hospitalization.
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Teenager Pu Liang, 14, is in serious condition after being repeatedly beaten by fellow students and the principal at a boot camp for internet addicts in China.
The boys mother told local media that she sent her son to the camp because he was spending too much time playing games online. She says after the beatings he now has chest and kidney problems.
Earlier this month a 15 year-old boy was beaten to death at another of the military-style camps for internet addicts.
Wu Yongjing, the man who set up the military-style camp, admitted youngsters were sometimes beaten and said physical punishment was an effective way to educate children, as long as it could be controlled.
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According to a study published Saturday in the Journal of Geophysical Research, over the last five decades light rainfall patterns in eastern China have been decreasing, and air pollution is to blame, said NTDTV.
The decrease in light rainfall is proving to be just as damaging as the heavy rainfall sweeping across eastern China recently, with heavy rains washing away crops and lack of light rain causing devastating droughts.
A team of Chinese, American and European researchers looked at 50 years worth of data trying to see a causal relationship between air pollution and rainfall. Results showed that overall rainfall remained the same, but there has been more heavy rain and less nourishing light rain with increased pollution as the cause.
Parts of Chinas wheat-growing northern regions are currently hit by the worst drought since the 1950s.
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Youre listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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And now for the rest of todays Asia Cast
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Asias largest oil company has signed a US $41 billion deal to purchase gas from a field off Australias northwest coast.
The twenty year pact with PetroChina comes despite recent tensions between Australia and China and is the largest trade deal in Australian history.
Hailing the deal, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the agreement provides the basis for the creation of up to 6,000 jobs and the addition of billions of dollars into Australias economy.
The Chinese company has agreed to buy 2.25 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas from the yet-to-be developed Gorgon gas field, from the share owned by U.S. oil and gas company ExxonMobil.
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South Korea has postponed the launch of its first space rocket-a two-stage vehicle- because of technical problems.
The rocket had been set to launch on Wednesday from the Naro space complex, however, the countdown was halted just eight minutes before lift-off.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), which has been developed with the help of Russia, is seeking to place in orbit a 200 lb satellite.
South Korea has already launched 10 indigenously produced satellites on other countries rockets. In April last year, Seoul sent its first astronaut into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
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Bombings shocked Baghdad killing 75 people and wounding 310 others, making Wednesday one of the deadliest days since the U.S. handed over security of the country to Iraqis.
In total there were six explosions within an hour.
Iraqi Security Forces arrested two people in western Baghdad believed to be connected to the bombings, an official with the Iraqi army told CNN.
The two suspects were driving in a car rigged with explosives before they were arrested, the official said. The two suspects were believed to be al Qaeda in Iraq.
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Asia Cast keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.
Duration : 0:5:33