Full Coverage: South Asia

08/31/2006 One the UN Day of the Disappeared Wednesday, Amnesty releasing findings documenting rising enforced disappearances in Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the context of the "war on terror."

08/31/2006 From caste discrimination to forced disappearances and torture, participants at a conference on human rights in Asia detail the abuses faced in 12 Asian nations.

08/31/2006 A new report on labour and social trends in South Asia warns of a growing socio-economic disconnect in the sub region, as economic growth and improved productivity fail to translate adequately into job creation and better wages. The report, Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2006: Progress towards Decent Work has been produced by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

08/31/2006 Oxfam has expanded its operations in the north and east to meet the needs of displaced families as the humanitarian situation in the north and east continues to draw attention of the aid agencies. Though a few displaced families have returned to their homes, thousands of displaced families are still in camps in Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Jaffna districts.

08/31/2006 For years, Nawab Mohammed Akbar Khan Bugti battled the Pakistan Army. The 80-year-old renegade hidden in the mountains of Balochistan became a legend in his fight for greater autonomy against what he saw as colonial brutality.
And his death this weekend, during a fierce three-day battle that left more than 30 dead, could prove a serious blow to Pakistan's stability.

08/31/2006 Recycling paper is one of the many steps towards forest conservation and environmental degradation – we all talk about it, but how many of us really get down to doing anything about it? School students in Indian capital New Delhi, with help from an NGO, show the way.

08/31/2006

Dalit Aid

International NGOs (INGOs) vary greatly in size, approach and focus. For the majority, India continues to be a priority area for their activities, where they use a variety of working strategies. There are many different approaches the INGOs follow with regard to Dalit programmes in India. We need to learn from each other where there is an impact and where there are problems. We need to analyse the nature and context of caste discrimination, soical exclusion of dalits, caste conflicts and solutions to such conflicts, assess the political dimensions of Dalit empowerment, assess the different models and ways of working on Dalit issues.

08/31/2006 Sri Lankan organisation Sarvodaya is holding a meditation for peace initiative on October 2, 2006 - Mahatma Gandhi's birthday - at the sacred city of Anuradhapura. Sarvodaya expects to host one million people from all over the world - the largest gathering in Sri Lanka’s history - clad in white clothes to meditate for peace.

08/30/2006 Telemedicine has opened up the possibility of reaching out to rural and backward areas in the country in a most cost-effective manner, said Panabaka Lakshmi, Union Minister of State,Kerala for Health and Family Welfare.

08/30/2006 The World Bank has resumed its lending to health sector in India. Three projects totaling $662 million, which were held up for more than a year, have now been approved by the Board of executive directors of the World Bank, a finance ministry statement said here.

08/30/2006 The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA),SriLanka has called on the Government and all relevant authorities to intervene to improve the quality of the State Health Service. They also demanded drastic changes to the higher education policy framework in keeping with changing needs of society.

08/30/2006 The ultimate goal in gender equality is to ensure that women and men have equitable access to, and benefit from society's resources, opportunities and rewards. And, as part of this, women need to have equal participation in defining what is valued and how this can be achieved, women's groups told the Planning Commission.

08/30/2006 Under considerable pressure for its perceived lack of clarity on the issue of pesticide residue in carbonated drinks, and lack of urgency in formulating norms to regulate their safety, India’s health ministry has promised that norms for these products will be in place by January 2007.

08/30/2006 It is nearly two decades since the Indian government banned child labour in Firozabad's bangle and glassware industry and created a law to rehabilitate thousands of children who had now been plucked out of factories. The reality is that the schools are shabby with no furniture and no teaching materials and many children continue to work in the factories.

08/30/2006 Besides Vidarbha, the current year has seen a marked increase in the number of farmer suicides in northern Maharashtra too, with the number of deaths in 2006 inching close to the cumulative figure for the past four years

08/30/2006 The Indian government’s AIDS awareness drive has clearly not made its mark on the lawmakers themselves, reveals a new survey of parliamentarians. Although 95% of them knew about the existence of HIV/AIDS, most were unaware about how HIV is transmitted

08/30/2006 Floods in India have devastated many parts of the country bringing misery to millions of people. Four hundred people are confirmed dead, but relief organisations fear that the final figure will run into thousands. With many communities still cut off, ActionAid is providing relief supplies and medicines to victims as well as helping to evacuate those still in danger.

08/30/2006 The Saharias - an ancient tribe of the north Indian desert state of Rajasthan - who have been discriminated against and denied government food security programmes have fought with the help of NGOs to seek justice. After a fact-finding mission by the government ration cards have been given to people and ration shops have been opened for them.

08/30/2006 Suicides by farmers in the west Indian state of Maharashtra have been on the rise despite a relief package announced by the Indian Prime Minister. In northern Maharashtra the number of farmer suicides in 2006 has inched close to the cumulative figure for the past four years.

08/30/2006

Balochistan Province

It was reported that fighter jets and helicopters attacked the south western province of Balochistan, killing some 37 government opponents, including a former governor and chief minister of the province, Sardar Akbar Khan Bugti.