Asian News This Week

Casting a larger net this week in looking at what’s been happing around the rest of Asia.

Monday October 1

Japan switches on earthquake warning system
The system, which has been tested for more than a year, went into operation at 9a.m. local time and is operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It links together about 1,000 seismographs throughout Japan with a fast network and computing to calculate the location and strength of an earthquake within a few seconds of it occurring. The seismographs measure the weak but fast moving primary waves from an earthquake. These are followed by secondary waves, which move at about half the speed but which are much more destructive. The system attempts to beat the arrival of the secondary waves and provide a warning that strong shaking is about to occur.

How much warning people have will depend on how far they are from the earthquake.

Wednesday October 3

Minshuto lawmaker’s support group reported ¥178 million in expenses for an unused main office

A support group of Kozo Watanabe, the top adviser to the main opposition party, listed a relative’s apartment as the group’s main office for 12 years and reported 178 million yen ($1.5 million) in operating expenses. The apartment, however, was never used by the group, sources said.

The group, Shinjidai no Kai (new era group), reported to the internal affairs ministry that the apartment in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward where Watanabe’s nephew, Yuhei Sato, lived, was its main office between 1993 and 2004, according to sources.

Afghan deployment proving unpopular
Half of Australians oppose the troop deployment to Afghanistan, according to a new poll to be released in Sydney today, leaving both sides of politics off-side with public opinion.

While Labor’s promise to pull combat troops out of Iraq is more in tune with public attitudes – 64 per cent of people now oppose Australia’s military contribution to the occupation

From guns to greetings: Defrosting China’s borders
On the winding Heilongjiang River, China’s northeast border with Russia, Chinese soldiers ride in blue patrol boats, passing Russian houses on the other bank so swiftly that they soon look like matchboxes.

Patrolling the river is now routine, but it was unimaginable when relations between the two nations were strained.

“The border was once marked with barbed wire and dotted with blockhouses. Cannons were positioned against each other.

Thursday October 4

DPP asks president to serve as party chairman
By Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTER
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday settled on President Chen Shui-bian (???) as the next party chairman.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Yeh Chu-lan (???), who presided over the meeting, told reporters that the committee agreed unanimously to urge the president to double as party chairman.

Yeh said the party would hold an extraordinary Central Executive Committee meeting tomorrow to make the nomination official.

Cayetano: Guinness award for Jamby’s rumor-based rap

Sen. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal should get no less than a “Guinness Book of World Records” for threatening to file an ethics complaint based on mere text messages and rumors, the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee said Thursday.

“Again that was a text message and Sen. Jamby should be given an award by the Guinness Book of World Records for the only senator to want to file an ethics case based on a text message and ‘chismis’ (gossip),” Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said.

Clubs ‘treat’ police to ensure smooth business

Hadi Mahmud, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Restrictions on operating hours imposed on Jakarta’s entertainment centers during Ramadhan and concerns of raids by Islamic groups have prompted owners to strengthen relations with the authorities to ensure smooth business.

“We just want to have a safe business environment during Ramadhan. It’s essential that we maintain good relations with the authorities,” Eva, a spokeswoman for Club 10 Executive Karaoke Club, told The Jakarta Post last week.

Friday October 5

Little expected from UPA-Left panel’s 3rd meet
NEW DELHI: The UPA-Left panel will hold its third round of discussion on the Indo-US nuclear deal on Friday with faultlines drawn sharper than before, and amid clear indication that CPM representatives would ask the government for a categorical response if it intends to hold safeguards negotiations with IAEA.

This article is from a Sri Lankan newspaper which has ties to the LTTE.

Recognize Tamil sovereignty‘ – LTTE urges world
Tamil Guardian 26 September 2007  Print ArticleE-mail ArticleFeedback On Article
Pointing to the ‘genocidal war’ the Sinhala-dominated state is waging against the Tamils of Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers this week urged the international community to “recognise the sovereignty of the Tamil people, and support the peace process in accordance with this principle.”

The world should “provide appropriate opportunities to the Tamil people to express their aspirations, as have been given to the people of East Timor and Kosovo,” the LTTE also said.