Full Coverage: Asia and the Pacific

31.08.2007 “Whether you’re educated or employed, you’re regarded as untouchable. Whether you’re in London or India, you’re untouchable.” That is the reality of caste discrimination – it exists everywhere, explains Maria Dass, a member of the Dalit community in London.

31.08.2007 Professor at IIT Delhi's computer science and engineering department is designing an information sharing model to integrate the verification process of government departments.

31.08.2007 The Supreme Court of India dismissed review petitions by a number of state governments as having no merit. In doing this, the Court has upheld its directives handed down in the judgment delivered in a case last year (2006) where the Court ordered governments to comply with a set of 7 directives laying down practical mechanisms to kick-start reform.

31.08.2007

31.08.2007 In a major relief to mobile operators, the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has excluded many revenue streams, including income from the sale of mobile handsets on a standalone basis, while calculating annual gross revenue (AGR).

31.08.2007 August 30 marks the International Day of the Disappeared; it an annual commemoration to draw attention for those who have been subjected to forced disappearances. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has shown concern for the rising number of missing people in the country.

31.08.2007 According a new study done by UNAIDS and the Asian Development Bank, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Asia is being fuelled by the sexual behaviour of wealthy men and not by poverty as is widely believed.

31.08.2007 The officials from the Nepal Red Cross Society says that the current political situation, strikes and violence in southern Nepal has greatly affected the work of the rescuers and hampering efforts by aid workers to distribute aid to flood victims.

31.08.2007 The issue of regional transport seems to be topping the agenda of South Asian governments. In a recent meeting of the SAARC transport ministers, Indian external affairs minister has emphasized on promoting greater connectivity in South Asia.

31.08.2007 The Prime Minister of India has lauded the spirit of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and urged entrepreneurs to be globally competitive, while underlining the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their contribution to the growth of new industries.

31.08.2007 Target utama pasar narkotika saat ini adalah para remaja. Padahal, narkotika sudah diketahui memicu komplikasi medik berupa kelainan paru-paru, gangguan fungsi liver, hepatitis, dan penularan HIV/AIDS karena pemakaian jarum suntik secara bergantian.

31.08.2007 Mayoritas Orang dengan HIV/AIDS (ODHA) di Pati-Jepara-Blora pernah mengalami perlakuan pahit dari ‘rezim’ medis. Ditolak dokter atau rumah sakit serta diperlakukan tidak adil oleh petugas kesehatan merupakan perlakuan yang umum mereka terima.

30.08.2007 An SMS campaign by mobile phones started yesterday in Damascus to inform more than 10,000 Iraqi refugee families about the launch of the first food distribution programme for Iraqi refugees in Syria.

30.08.2007 The murder of an Iraqi translator and interpreter employed by a US television network takes the number of journalists and media workers killed in Iraq since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003 to 200.

30.08.2007 India's 200m-strong middle class is the most economically dynamic group on the planet, but is largely uninterested in politics or social reform. Until it begins to engage politically, India will suffer from a lop-sided modernisation, says Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad.
From: Prospect magazine

30.08.2007 WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (OneWorld) - One of the most favorable yet systematically overlooked characteristics of solar, wind, biomass, and other types of organic energy is their universality.

30.08.2007 An Indian origin scientist at Purdue University has demonstrated a new technology to dramatically improve computer chip cooling.
The technology uses tiny "ionic wind engines" to increase the "heat-transfer coefficient," or the cooling rate, in chips by as much as 250 percent.

30.08.2007 Greenpeace activists staged a “shame-HCL” protest at the company’s headquarters in Noida, India, demanding that the company make clear and binding commitments to green its operations.

30.08.2007 The government of an Indian state, Rajasthan has started putting in place a plan to make Jaipur a WiFi city by providing wireless Internet access throughout the city, as was announced by the Chief Minister in the budget speech earlier this year.

30.08.2007 e-Krishi centre in an Indian state of Kerala is making people of Malappuram district more happy in Onam festival by offering them cheap goods than any other place.