Full Coverage: Asia and the Pacific

30.09.2009 Oxfam is expecting to send emergency staff to assess the situation following the 8.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Samoa.

29.09.2009 The UN Refugee Agency says it is "deeply concerned" about reports of security incidents inside internally displaced people's camps in northern Sri Lanka.

28.09.2009 Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is likely to get my vote for book of the year. The publishers have also taken trouble with old-fashioned virtues of design.

27.09.2009 Malnutrition is a serious problem in Pakistan with rising food prices a contributory factor. How can it make sense for the government to lease 500,000 hectares of agricultural land to Saudi Arabia? IRIN News

27.09.2009 Try not to flinch in watching this video of landmine clearance in Cambodia. Definitely not taken from the UN handbook. Global Health

24.09.2009 Refugees from Iraq’s minorities face insecurity and risk losing their religious and cultural identity as they try to seek refuge in neighbouring countries and Western Europe, says a new report.

16.09.2009 A summary of recent developments in climate change negotiations, including rumours of a bilateral deal between China and US. From Poverty to Power

16.09.2009 The fluctuating fortunes of rural labourers migrating to China's cities. BBC News

16.09.2009 A summary of issues surrounding India's proposed Food Security Bill which aims to distribute food to the poorest households. Institute of Development Studies

14.09.2009 Indonesian laws are increasingly being deployed to obstruct the work of human rights defenders, deterring people from speaking out against injustices, says a leading Asian rights group.

11.09.2009 Sri Lanka must end the forced confinement of hundreds of thousands of survivors of the civil war and allow them to go home, says an international charity.
+ UN patience wears thin

09.09.2009 A misleading advert claiming palm oil is "sustainable" has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, following a complaint by Friends of the Earth.

08.09.2009 Heavy fighting between Al Houti forces and government troops in and around Sa'ada city in northern Yemen continues with "utter disregard" for the safety and well-being of the civilian population, says the UN refugee agency.

08.09.2009 The Afghan government is urged to free two writers accused of blasphemy, following the pardon of a man convicted of distributing a translated article about the role of women in Islam without the accompanying Arabic script.

03.09.2009 The Asian Legal Resource Centre has hit back at the Thai government's dismissal of its accusation that the police are the top violator of human rights in the country.

01.09.2009 An attractive portal which encourages India and its people to demonstrate leadership and action on climate change.

01.09.2009 As new floods threaten Bangladesh this week, this eyewitness account finds villagers still struggling with the aftermath of a cyclone in May. From Poverty to Power

01.09.2009 A new UN report reveals the truth about conditions for 1.5 million people inside Gaza, as Israel imposes control over supplies. IRIN News