Full Coverage: East Asia

31.01.2006 As China's car fleet gets bigger by the day, the cars themselves are getting smaller, thanks to a series of government-implemented carrots and sticks, including stricter fuel efficiency standards and preferential pricing for parking and oil.

31.01.2006 China's skies have darkened over the past 50 years, possibly due to haze resulting from a nine-fold increase in fossil fuel emissions, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy.

27.01.2006 In defiance of its famous company motto – Don’t Be Evil - Google has joined Microsoft and Yahoo and consented to the use of servers based in China, a move that grants Beijing a free hand to censor Chinese human rights groups and international free expression groups.

27.01.2006 The Chinese capital has removed the ban on electric bicycles to ease city traffic, which has become increasingly congested due to the fast rising number of cars.

24.01.2006 "The emergence of China and India" is among the major themes to be discussed by CEOs, heads of state, NGO leaders, and others at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. A major think tank offers some lessons learned from the emerging giants on the intersection of agriculture and poverty.

24.01.2006 After a month-long chase of Japanese ships in the Southern Ocean, Greenpeace says consumer power will now be used against fishing companies that finance the whaling industry.

24.01.2006 Representatives of Asian and Pacific governments meeting at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Bangkok pledged to harmonize economic growth with environmental sustainability in addressing climate change, air pollution, industrial development and energy issues.

23.01.2006 The most recent statistics available for the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) reveal that the proportion of the local population that cannot read or write increased by more than 10 percent, to 54.9 percent in 2003, from 43.8 percent in 2002.

23.01.2006 Remarkable growth in a small number of emerging Asian economies, led by China, is challenging the leadership of North America, Europe and Japan in research and development (R&D), according to the newly published UNESCO Science Report 2005.

19.01.2006 Beijing is setting up an "energy police" force to crack down on excessive lighting and heating and other power waste in shopping malls and office buildings, the China Daily said.

16.01.2006 As a result of an Environmental Investigation Agency report uncovering widespread illegal exports of CFC (chlorofluorocarbons) from China, Beijing has made a commitment to change its domestic export policy, take action against the smugglers and implement measures to put a stop to the black market operations.

13.01.2006 "Stop the Slaughter – Stop Wearing Tiger Skins" is the message of a coalition of NGOs aimed at raising awareness among tiger and leopard skin wearers in Tibet and western China, many of whom are unaware of the devastating impact of the skin trade on big cat populations.

13.01.2006 The European Union (EU) and China have officially launched in Beijing a four-year, 15.7 mln euro information society project focused on e-government.

12.01.2006 The choices made by China and India will lead the world towards a future beset by growing ecological and political instability — or down a development path based on efficient technologies and better stewardship of resources, says the Worldwatch Institute's latest State of the World report.

12.01.2006 The dramatic rise of China and India presents one of the gravest threats—and greatest opportunities—facing the world today, says the Worldwatch Institute in its State of the World 2006 report. The choices these countries make in the next few years will lead the world either towards a future beset by growing ecological and political instability—or down a development path based on efficient technologies and better stewardship of resources.

12.01.2006 The United Nations has sought funding of more than one billion euros for a global campaign to fight the avian influenza even as the infection killed two people in China. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Turkey's response to the infection is satisfying.

12.01.2006 WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan 11 (OneWorld) - China and India are poised to shape the world's future and decisions made by the ascendant Asian giants in the next few years will determine whether that will be for better or worse, a prominent environmental think-tank said Wednesday.

11.01.2006 The Hong Kong authorities are urged to drop charges - expected to be heard today - against 14 people accused of "unlawful public assembly" at the World Trade Organization meeting in December.

09.01.2006 Our global economy is on an environmental path that the earth cannot sustain. While this has long been clear to ecologists, what is happening in China is now making it clear to economists as well, says Earth Policy Institute founder Lester Brown.

09.01.2006 A Japanese whaler rammed and damaged a Greenpeace vessel in the Southern Ocean and then began to steam away from the "scene of the crime", the environmental group claimed yesterday.