Full Coverage: Asia and the Pacific

30.06.2007 Politicians and clerics in Pakistan have not done themselves any favours in their rush to condemn the United Kingdom's recent honouring of Salman Rushdie, says Zubeida Mustafa.

30.06.2007

30.06.2007 India’s water man and Magsaysay Award winner Rajinder Singh is busy rallying people on the banks of river Yamuna that flows through Agra -- the city of the Taj Mahal -- to stand up for their water rights by protecting river Yamuna from pollution and “from being handed over” to multinational corporations.

30.06.2007 Youth Action Nepal is organising a rally and a concert at New Baneshwar in Nepal on July 2, 2007 for making governments accountable to people and achieving the MDGs.

29.06.2007 Salah satu penyebab kemiskinan di Indonesia adalah rendahnya akses masyarakat terhadap lembaga keuangan. Untuk itulah perlu dimasyarakatkan lembaga keuangan mikro yang memberikan akses bagi warga miskin terhadap permodalan.

29.06.2007 Belum genap sebulan setelah insiden kekerasan di Pasuruan, Jawa Timur, kini kembali terjadi sengketa tanah yang menelan korban. Bentrok antara warga sipil dan anggota Brimob di Musi Banyuasin, Sumsel, mengakibatkan cedera di antara kedua belah pihak.

29.06.2007 Kebijakan penetapan taman nasional bertujuan untuk melindungi keanekaragaman hayati dari kepunahan. Ironisnya, TNBB justru gagal mencegah Curik Bali dari ancaman kepunahan. Pasalnya, 149 curik Bali yang pernah dilepas di TNBB kini sudah tidak terlihat lagi.

29.06.2007 Indonesia adalah negara dengan kekayaan sumberdaya laut terbesar di dunia. Salah satu kekayaan tersebut adalah terumbu karang. Apa dan di mana ekosistem terumbu karang dapat tumbuh di Indonesia? Tulisan berikut mencoba berbagi informasi dan pengetahuan tentang terumbu karang di Indonesia.

29.06.2007 Impor benih padi oleh Pemerintah dinilai akan semakin memarjinalkan sektor pertanian. Pasalnya, keuntungan dari kebijakan ini dinilai tidak sedikit pun jatuh ke tangan petani Indonesia.

29.06.2007 The International Red Cross has made a rare public denunciation of Myanmar's continued violations of international humanitarian law against civilians and detainees. The armed forces' use of detainees as porters is singled out.

29.06.2007 A recent study by a consultancy firm in India notes a drop in English language online browsing to 41% among its 30 million net users. More than half the Indians who use the net live outside its metropolitan cities, in Tier II and Tier III cities. The use of Open Source Software has helped internet and telecom penetration into smaller towns.

29.06.2007 Irakilaisilta puuttuvat turvallisuus, työpaikat, juomavesi, ja varsinkin sähkö. Kaikki mittarit osoittavat, että infrastruktuuri on nyt heikommalla tolalla kuin Saddam Husseinin aikana.

29.06.2007 Greenpeace has proved that faulty designs, inadequate insulating material and poor maintenance in prominent buildings in India - the Mumbai Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange, the American Centre in New Delhi and some iconic hotels - are resulting in excessive energy leakages. From: Greenpeace India

29.06.2007 Dozens of villages have been flooded; houses, fields and trees have disappeared under water and people have became landless, since the government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh closed the gates of the Omkareshwar dam in the Narmada valley. Support the demands of the people in the Narmada Valley by sending the letter to the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh for adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the people.

29.06.2007 Sri Lankan journalists are worried about their safety as authorities have been hostile to them and are creating a climate of self-censorship. The International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Sri Lanka has found that even ministers threaten scribes.

29.06.2007 On May 30, 2005, along with three other persons I received a letter of death threat sent to my office by a person using a name of M. Julfikar from the defender of the New Order. In the letter he said that that I am a communist and disturbing stability in relation to the fights for justice for the Trisakti and Semanggi Student Shooting case (TSS) and accordingly within 15 days I will be executed.

29.06.2007 The mid-point to the 2015 deadline, 07.07.07, for meeting the Millennium Development Goals is just around the corner. NGOs worldwide are gearing up to press governments for faster action. In India, the UN Millennium Campaign and other civil society organizations are pushing the ruling UPA government to meet the MDG targets.

29.06.2007 Banyak yang mengira bahwa HIV dan AIDS adalah dua hal yang sama atau sebagai satu kesatuan. Sehingga, ketika membaca data jumlah penderita HIV positif 19 orang, sementara penderita AIDS 18 orang, mereka menjadi heran. Apakah ada yang salah?

29.06.2007 Pengesahan ratifikasi antipenyiksaan belum menjamin praktik penyiksaan dihapuskan dari Bumi Indonesia. Maka, ayo desak Pemerintah dan Parlemen memberi sanksi hukum yang tegas ke aparat negara yang melakukan tindakan penyiksaan dengan menyediakan mekanisme hukum yang adil dan jujur.

28.06.2007 Journalist Robert Fisk put the question: How could Blair - "this vain, deceitful man, this proven liar, a trumped-up lawyer who has the blood of thousands of Arab men, women and children on his hands - get a job as Middle East envoy?" Jan Oberg gives an answer.