Full Coverage: Asia and the Pacific

30.04.2008 Refugees account for over half of those that will need food aid this year due to increased food prices, writes an international refugee agency, noting that violent reactions to the crisis may also force more people to flee their homes.

30.04.2008 General David Petraeus' new job may put him in position to follow through on his saber-rattling against Iran, says a Washington think tank.

30.04.2008 Telecentres can serve as an important source of information by connecting citizens with the government. A growing trend of commercialisation is however treating such entitlements as services and citizens as customers who pay service charges, writes research associate Vivek Vaidyanathan.

30.04.2008 The Department of Education in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, an Indian Union Territory, is introducing IT hobby centres in 24 schools during the summer vacation. The free of cost centres will encourage use of computers in the learning process.

30.04.2008 A discussion paper by WaterAid, Creating user-friendly water and sanitation services for the disabled, takes a look at the social, technical, financial and policy barriers faced by the disabled in meeting water and sanitation needs in Nepal. The document recommends designing proper technologies to facilitate their access to basic services.

30.04.2008 Millions of volunteers will visit every household in the country in the coming years to gather information on changing demographics, in a census that will reveal how economic growth has affected its people. India’s population is expected to climb to 1.19 billion in 2011 from 1.13 billion in 2008, say officials.

30.04.2008 Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment invites applications for a two-month summer certificate course on the policies, politics and practices of environmental management. Last date to apply is May 10, 2008.

30.04.2008 Villages in Orissa on the eastern coast of India are sinking into the sea. In last four months many families have been forced to flee as rising waters have submerged their homes and farmlands. Despite assurances from government, the displaced families are yet to be resettled.

30.04.2008 Take action on behalf of Burmese democracy activist Min Ko Naing, who is being held in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison and may go blind because he is being denied treatment for an eye infection..

30.04.2008 Ruoan kohonneet hinnat koskettavat erityisesti perheellisiä naisia. Äiti on perheessä usein se, joka syö vasta kun muut ovat saaneet vatsansa täyteen, tai joka ottaa toisen tai kolmannen työn saadakseen ruokaa perheelleen.

30.04.2008 A first batch of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal has landed in America. Described as one of the largest resettlement programmes in the world, the US has agreed to take in 60,000 refugees. Away from sub-human conditions in the camps, they are finding their new life both strange and full of prospects.

30.04.2008 Jumlah bayi positif HIV di Indonesia meningkat. Sejak 1996 hingga 2008, lebih dari 250 bayi positif HIV dan 30% di antaranya meninggal sebelum usia 5 tahun. Penyebabnya, tidak ada ruang rawat inap khusus bagi balita HIV—bahkan hingga sekarang.

30.04.2008 Di Bontang, konseling dan tes HIV/AIDS menjadi masalah yang cukup merisaukan. Pemkot Bontang bekerjasama dengan KPAD Bontang membuka VCT di Ruang Seruni RSUD Bontang. Fasilitas ini memudahkan masyarakat mendapat layanan HIV/AIDS.

30.04.2008 BANGKOK, Apr 29 (IPS) - As if the burdens they shoulder are not enough, Asia's women are being compelled to bear the additional weight of rising food prices, say women's rights activists from across the region.

30.04.2008 Pengajuan ijin sawit oleh 15 perusahaan di Landak mengancam ekosistem di kawasan itu. Padahal jika dilihat dari peta perkebunan di Landak sudah habis, sehingga berdampak pada kondisi ekosistem atau lingkungan yang ada.

29.04.2008 It is impossible to promote a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace without engaging Hamas, says a women-for-peace group referring to former U.S. President Carter's talks with the governing political party in Palestine, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

29.04.2008 Despite the multitude of political and social barriers they face, the daughters of migrant workers in China are determined to change the course of their lives by securing solid educations and careers.

29.04.2008 Chevron’s ongoing role in financing and profiting from the military regime in Myanmar (Burma) is documented in a report released today that alleges continued human rights violations by pipeline security forces, including murder, rape, torture and forced labour.
From EarthRights International

29.04.2008 Women are the worst hit by the ongoing food crisis in Asia. According to Committee for Asian Women (CAW), female workers are compelled to take additional jobs in the informal sector, where there are no steady wages or social benefits.

29.04.2008 A comprehensive database, designed to track school-going children in Orissa in eastern India, has received the prestigious Prime Minister Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2006-07. According to the state's Primary Education Project Authority, project ‘e-shishu’ will enable steps for universal education in the state.