Full Coverage: South Asia

29.04.2005 A five-member task force, constituted by the Indian government in March 2005 to save the fast-dwindling tiger in the wake of disappearance of the big cat from a north Indian sanctuary, has laid out its plan of action to save the tiger from extinction. Rahul Kumar writes this report from New Delhi.

29.04.2005 You might not think that your skills are likely to be in great demand when it comes to changing the world. Think again.

29.04.2005 Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) is organising an e- governance summit titled Conflux 2005 from October 3-5, 2005, at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

29.04.2005 VOICE and Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) will hold the Media and Governance seminar on the occassion of World Press Freedom Day 2005.

29.04.2005 The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has brought out its first publication in Hindi - Human Rights and Poverty Eradication: A Talisman for the Commonwealth. Read the full document in Hindi.

29.04.2005 The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is organising a conference - Effective Implementation: Preparing to Implement the new India Right to Information Law - from May 23 - 25 2005 in New Delhi.

29.04.2005 The Chhattisgarh government, in collaboration with a private firm, launched a project in 2001 to increase access on the part of 250,000 girls in all 1605 state high schools to information technology (IT) education. Young volunteers, having been empowered with IT education, then lead a broader state initiative to bring locally relevant information and IT to all citizens. In the process, girls emerge as technology resource persons and community leaders.

28.04.2005 Emergence of the e-governance in India can be traced back to 1970s when National Informatics Centre (NIC), a pioneering institution set up by the Government of India, started networking government departments to exploit their knowledge repository for ensuring good governance.

28.04.2005 KATHMANDU, April 27 (IPS) - In the wee hours of Wednesday several jeep-loads of heavily armed policemen arrived at the residence of former Nepalese prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. He was packed into one of the vehicles and driven away - arrested on charges of corruption.

27.04.2005 Nepal has seen an increase in violence since the seizure of power by King Gyanendra, with 500 homes burnt, hostages taken and nearly 50 dead as the result of clashes with Maoist insurgents. The rebels have also imposed a blockade on Kathmandu and are calling for a nationwide strike against the royal coup.

27.04.2005 Reports that the death rate of women in childbirth is on the rise in Nepal as the result of the conflict have prompted the United Nations to call for both sides to respect basic human rights. It is estimated that maternal deaths due to lack of access to health care outnumber those killed in the fighting.

27.04.2005 The control of rural areas of Nepal is largely in the hands of Maoist insurgents, leading to a grave shortage of effective rural healthcare in those regions. Health officials are afraid to visit such areas through fear of reprisals from both sides while medical supplies are reported to be regularly hijacked by the rebels

26.04.2005 The King’s dismissal of government and seizure of direct power has been welcomed in some quarters as an opportunity to re-establish control over the country and bring an end to the violence between government forces and Maoist insurgents. But in doing so it is possible the King has built a rod for his own back if his ambitious 3 year plan is unsuccessful.

26.04.2005 The Indian government has promised to address issues related to gender-based violence in its upcoming planning document – the eleventh five-year plan – to be implemented in year 2007. The government has already included gender related sensitivities in the draft document. Rahul Kumar attends an event by Oxfam and its partners.

26.04.2005 An investigation by human rights organisation People's Union for Democratic Rights, in the east Indian state of Orissa, finds that a terror campaign has been unleashed by the government in villages where mining is taking place. The investigation found that people's consent has been taken in a fraudulent manner.

25.04.2005 The UN Commission on Human Rights has decided to appoint two special rapporteurs to tackle caste-based discrimination which will be a big step in the fight against discrimination for the dalits - the oppressed sections - in south Asia.

25.04.2005 Media groups call upon Bangladesh government to identify the killers of a Bangladeshi journalist who was murdered last year after being kidnapped from his house. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has asked Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to ensure that the killers are pursued and prosecuted.

25.04.2005 The deteriorating political situation in Nepal offers no favours to endangered species. As military protection of national parks is diverted, the poachers regain the upper hand, with inevitable consequences for the rhino population.

25.04.2005

22.04.2005 World Bank mega-projects continue to fail through inadequate consideration of local people. This $1 billion drainage infrastructure programme for the Indus basin in Pakistan has caused so much human and environmental dislocation that local communities are threatening to dismantle the work.