Full Coverage: South Asia

05/12/2008 Lax enforcement and profitability have emboldened rhino poachers in India and Nepal. The situation has left WWF-India extremely worried about the protection of this endangered species of large mammals. It has suggested a slew measures to take on the criminal gangs engaged in the trade.

05/12/2008 A small village in rural Kerala has successfully dealt with the onslaught of globalisation. Farmer groups and a distribution and retail network by the local community have helped producers get maximum returns for their farm produce and traditional products. The farmers are now happy with the elimination of middlemen.

05/12/2008 Experts warn that non-availability of fresh drinking water, tardy relief work and health care measures are pushing the cyclone-hit Myanmar towards a major public health catastrophe. Inflexibility of military in not allowing most foreign aid workers is only adding to the woes of affected people.

05/12/2008 Displaced by devastating floods more than two decades ago, residents of Bihar in eastern India have been forced to live on a century-old British constructed levee. Living in abject poverty and in fear of criminals, these landless farm workers have not seen any government official in the last 25 years.

05/09/2008 In Nepal, many women and children live with HIV/AIDS passed on to them by their husbands and fathers. UNICEF is helping them by taking care of their treatment and arranging for education of their children.

05/09/2008 Even though unofficial sources are claiming a hundred thousand deaths and many more rendered homeless in Myanmar from last week’s cyclone, the military junta is reluctant to allow foreign aid workers. People say the authorities do not want foreigners around when the country goes for referendum on May 10.

05/09/2008 Once called India’s bread basket, Punjab’s success story has been marred by pesticide poisoning, soil contamination, farmer indebtedness and drug addiction. A recent report says the production-centric approach of industrial agriculture needs to make way for environmentally sound practices that promote equitable access to food.

05/09/2008 Diverting agricultural land to produce biofuels, increased dependence on imports, hoarding by traders, ban on export of food grains by neighbours are reasons cited for rising food prices in Nepal. Experts feel the government needs to take long-term measures if it wants to save people dying of hunger.

05/08/2008 Freelance journalist and social activist Swagat Thorat in western India publishes a fortnightly called Sparshgyaan in local language for the visually impaired. In view of the limited availability of literature in Braille, this can be described as commendable effort.

05/08/2008 The latest health report of international organisation Save the Children says 83% of all child deaths worldwide happen in 55 developing countries, including India. By pursuing right policies and targeting the poorest families, the governments can easily prevent these child mortalities.

05/08/2008 Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – the South Asian Scenario released by UNESCO, New Delhi illustrates South Asian initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps in the region. The book is a useful source for building up necessary information infrastructure for development.

05/08/2008 The natural caves of Meghalaya's Jaintia hills are a rich repository of climate change taking place over a million years. Indiscriminate coal mining and unsuitable extraction techniques are now imperiling the biodiversity of this archaeological heritage.

05/08/2008 Afghanistan government with UN help will soon carry out a study to assess the nutritional needs of people affected by rising food prices for future interventions. The country has large numbers of stunted, underweight and wasted children, and women in reproductive age suffering from malnourishment.

05/08/2008 Hundreds of members of the remote Dongria Kondh tribe held a protest in India yesterday against plans by a British company, Vedanta, to mine their sacred mountain.

05/08/2008

05/07/2008

05/07/2008 Durgabai Deshmukh Award winner Daud Sharifa Khanam from southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu provided Muslim women a platform to challenge the oppressive patriarchal system. For this, she has had to face the ire of Muslim clerics. She was hated, abused and threatened but she never gave up the fight.

05/07/2008 Considered a taboo and anti-Islamic during Taliban regime, condom usage in Afghanistan is slowly increasing. The government however feels a need to boost its demand to achieve public health targets on STD prevention and reduction in maternal mortality.

05/07/2008 Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights record and failed promises for improvement undermine its claim for a place on the UN Human Rights Council, a coalition of national and international NGOs said in a letter released today.

05/07/2008 Members of Indian anti-poverty network WNTA met the HRD minister in the capital to present a memorandum urging the government to table the Right to Education bill in the current parliament session. WNTA campaigns to hold the government accountable to its commitments to end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.