Connect Asia

Wednesday, 08 October 2008

Thai deputy PM resigns amid Bangkok clashesAudio

Updated 10:34:40

Thailand's recently appointed deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has resigned, in the wake of violent clashes between anti-government demonstrators and riot police on Tuesday.

Asian markets not spared by global downturnAudio

Updated 10:34:40

The crisis gripping the global economy has tightened further, with the Dow Jones industrial index in the US closing a few hours ago another 5 per cent down.

Australian central bank cuts interest ratesAudioTranscript

Updated 10:34:40

In Australia, the central bank, the Reserve, surprised economists by cutting its official cash rate by a full one-percent - the biggest single cut since 1992.

Doing business amid economic upheavalAudioTranscript

Updated 10:34:40

Despite warnings from Australia's Reserve Bank about slowing growth among Australia's main trading partners in Asia, the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan is talking up the strength of the Australian economy.

China engages thousands of milk inspectorsAudio

Updated 10:34:40

China has dispatched more than 5,000 inspectors to dairy farms across the country in a bid to contain the contaminated milk scandal.

Presidential elections in Maldives todayAudio

Updated 10:34:40

Asia's longest serving political leader is facing the prospect of losing his job as the President of the Maldives.

Economists warn mining boom may be overAudio

Updated 10:31:49

As the global credit crisis spreads, Australia's mining industry is anticipating a long slowdown.

Record brain drain from AustraliaAudioTranscript

Updated 10:31:49

For decades, Australian schoolchildren have learned the poem, "I love a sunburned country".

'Pockets' of racism remain in AustraliaAudio

Updated 10:31:49

It's often said that Australia is an immigrant nation, with one in five of this country's 21 million people born overseas.

Millions face school violence across AsiaAudioTranscript

Updated 10:31:49

School can be a tough place for children at the best of times, but a new report says 350 million students around the world face violence in their schools each year, with lasting impacts on their well being.

Tuesday, 07 October 2008

Fresh plunge on global marketsAudioTranscript

Updated 10:18:38

The Australian stock market is opening and big falls are expected, echoing the earlier turmoil in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Anger in China over US arms plan for TaiwanAudioTranscript

Updated 10:18:38

China has responded angrily to an American proposal to sell $US6.5 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan.

Zardari makes U-turn on KashmirAudioTranscript

Updated 10:18:38

It's been a tumultuous few days in Pakistan.

Cambodian government ministers lose parliamentary seatsAudioTranscript

Updated 10:18:38

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that lawmakers of the ruling Cambodian People's Party who hold both government posts and seats in the National Assembly must now resign their parliamentary seats to concentrate on their ministerial responsiblities.

UNESCO takes Burmese-Thai border park under wingAudio

Updated 10:18:37

Nearly eighty-percent of the world's mammal species can be found in the Thungyai -Huay Kha Khaeng parks.

India's Tata pulls Nano out of West BengalAudio

Updated 10:18:37

After a month of violent demonstrations against the Indian motoring giant Tata, the firm's pulling its widely-anticipated Nano construction plant out of West Bengal state.

Funding shortfalls 'leaving Australian farmers behind'Audio

Updated 10:18:37

Australian scientists warn that farmers here are falling behind their fellows in other countries because too little money's being spent on agricultural research.

Australian mammals facing growing extinction threatAudio

Updated 10:18:37

The latest global survey of endangered species has found more than a fifth of all Australian mammals are under threat.

East Timor initiative to have more Tetum booksAudio

Updated 10:18:37

Nearly ten years on from winning its independence, most students in East Timor still find themselves reading books in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of the 24 years of occupation.

Monday, 06 October 2008

Second protest leader arrested in ThailandAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:49

In Thailand, police have arrested a second key leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy protests, that have occupied government house in Bangkok since late August.

Millions still displaced after Indian floodsAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:48

Nearly three and a half million people are still stranded in makeshift camps in northern India...

Pakistan seeks civilian nuclear dealsAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:48

Pakistani prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has called for a similar nuclear deal to be struck with the United States, in the wake of India's new deals with the US and France last week.

New Australian policy on illegal immigrants put to the testAudio

Updated 09:44:48

Australia's Immigration Minister Chris Evans has dismissed media claims that the government's revamped policy on illegal migrants is being tested by people smugglers.

Australian nuclear test veterans seek compensationAudio

Updated 09:44:48

It's 52 years this week since Britain carried out a series of secret nuclear tests at Maralinga in southern outback Australia, and veterans involved in those tests say they're still fighting for recognition and compensation.

Strengthen Asian banks 'to avoid crisis', warns UNCTAD chiefAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:48

The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has been speaking on the global financial crisis in Bangkok.

Emergency response drill for Asia-PacificAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:48

Across the Asia Pacific, internal conflicts and natural disasters continue to exact a heavy toll.

Climate shift sending weeds southAudio

Updated 09:44:47

Australia's peak scientific body the CSIRO has found that climate change may be causing weeds to migrate south.

New internet users vulnerable to scamsAudioTranscript

Updated 09:44:47

Internet scams are nothing new, but developing countries with new internet users are offering scammers a whole new pool of fresh victims.

Friday, 03 October 2008

US approves Indian nuclear dealAudio

Updated 09:25:04

In the United States, President George Bush may be biting his nails ahead of a crucial House of Representatives vote on a re-jigged financial bail-out plan approved by the Senate yesterday.

Militants and unemployment threaten Pakistan economyAudio

Updated 09:25:04

There are growing signs that the American economy is heading for recession, regardless of the fate the $US700 billion Wall Street bail-out package now before Congress.

Millions of Afghans face freezing, hungry winterAudio

Updated 09:21:25

The two men who would be the next US president, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, have been laying out their respective foreign policy platforms ahead of next month's elections.

Human rights increasingly challenged in CambodiaAudioTranscript

Updated 09:21:25

It has been a tempestuous week for Cambodian human rights activists.

Skydivers prepare to jump off Mount EverestAudioTranscript

Updated 09:21:25

In Nepal, a group of daredevils are hoping to make history by jumping out of planes near the summit of Mount Everest, making it the highest ever commercial skydive.

Bangkok voters prepare to elect new governorAudioTranscript

Updated 09:21:24

This weekend, Thais in Bangkok will elect a new governor for the city.

Mixed feelings on goldmine in rural Australian townAudio

Updated 09:21:24

The resources boom has helped cushion Australia from some of the worst of the fallout from the global financial crisis.

Disabled bus access under scrutiny in SingaporeAudio

Updated 09:21:24

For the disabled, access and mobility are issues in all countries.

Thursday, 02 October 2008

US legislators prepare to vote on massive financial bailoutAudio

Updated 09:23:27

In the United States there's now renewed hope the US Congress will pass a massive financial industry bailout package to ward off another upheaval in global markets.

US envoy in crucial North Korea visitAudioTranscript

Updated 09:23:26

The American envoy, Christopher Hill, is in North Korea to try to salvage an international disarmament deal.

UN to investigate Bhutto assassinationAudio

Updated 09:23:26

The United Nations has confirmed it will formally investigate the assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Poison milk scandal sours China's National DayAudioTranscript

Updated 09:23:26

China celebrated its National Day yesterday with the country's manufacturing industry still under a deep cloud over a poison milk scandal.

Australian barley growers challenged by ChinaAudio

Updated 09:23:26

Australia's lucrative malting barley export market to China is under threat, as the Chinese grow more of their own high quality crop.

New Australian chief scientist appointedAudioTranscript

Updated 09:23:26

Australia's new chief scientist has pointed to the related issues of water, climate change and sustainable energy as the key research challenges facing the country.

Indonesians celebrate end of RamadanAudio

Updated 09:23:26

Muslims across the world have begun celebrating Idul al-Fitri.

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