Full Coverage: South Asia

29.06.2005 Sonia Gandhi has launched the latest stage of the Indian government's large-scale open source initiative.

29.06.2005 One of the world’s largest economies, India has made enormous strides in its economic and social development in the past two decades.

29.06.2005 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has developed DEV INFO INDIA, a database for the collection, compilation and transmission of data on selected social indicators.

29.06.2005 The World Bank has approved of a US $3 million grant to Nepal for its Economic Reform Technical Assistance Project which intends to strengthen home-grown reforms in the areas of public sector capacity, service delivery, social inclusion, governance, and reducing unproductive public sector intervention in the economy.

29.06.2005 Journalists in Pakistan have reportedly filed dozens of access to information requests in the past six months as a result of workshops on press freedom organised by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF). Since December 2004, PPF has held workshops in seven communities throughout the country to train journalists on press freedom monitoring and free expression advocacy.

29.06.2005 In 2002, Pakistani woman Mukhtaran Bibi--also known as Mukhtaran Mai--was gang raped on her village elders' orders. The men convicted in her case have since been released. As the country's Supreme Court finally takes up her case, Amnesty asks you to take action and encourage Pakistan to protect women's rights.

28.06.2005 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the sagging farm sector growth, which has deprived the rural poor of substantial benefits, has to be doubled. He also stressed that the country will have to improve its performance in the water and the power sectors.

28.06.2005 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 100 per cent foreign ownership in satellite radio services without any entry and licence fee.

28.06.2005 Doctors have discovered a new disease, called the 'tsunami lung', in patients who got caught in the salty, mud-laden waves during the December 26 tsunami last year.

28.06.2005 The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has launched the INSTEP fund(Integrating New and Sustainable Technologies for Elimination of Poverty) which will try to meet all the needs of the poor and the marginalised and will focus on improving the life of the individual.

28.06.2005 E-governance centres in all subdivisions of the Kangra district will soon be made functional

28.06.2005 The Vidharbha region of the west Indian state of Maharashtra, which is a water-starved area, has a growing number of water parks and amusement centres. Compare this with the life of villagers who get water once is 15 days.

28.06.2005 Jarawan tribes people from the Andaman Islands are in danger of being wiped out by Indian invaders while the government fails to act on laws to protect them.

28.06.2005 The Millennium Campaign and Civicus have launched a comprehensive and easy-to-use Campaign toolkit for everyone who wants to put an end to extreme poverty by holding their elected leaders to account for the promises they made in the Millennium Declaration. Find out which skills you need and what tools are available, read helpful tips and learn which campaign resources you can draw on.

28.06.2005 A senior official in the Indian agricultural ministry has called for closer ties between South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) members in the field of agriculture and rural development so that it could benefit the poor people of the region. Dr Mangal Rai urged the seven countries to chalk out a Perspective Plan for the entire region.

27.06.2005 Dowry is the most commonly discussed social issue amongst women in the Nabanna network , a UNESCO supported initiative that has been working with local women in India to identify information needs and appropriate materials

27.06.2005 With some 400 floppies and 300 compact discs prepared by students as part of their project, the Institute of Community Medicine in Madras Medical College has enough data to run its web site, www.icm.tn.gov.in.

27.06.2005 A new report by Oxfam - Targeting Poor People - says that the poor suffered the most as a result of the tsunami and need to be supported further during the reconstruction phase, a new report released today (Saturday) by international agency Oxfam.

27.06.2005 The telephony industry has two major players—GSM and CDMA —who are always ready to take to the field like Mohan Baghan and East Bengal are to the soccer on any issue.

27.06.2005 With violence in Afghanistan on the rise, the senior United Nations envoy to the country is calling for cooperation between the authorities, international forces and Pakistan's Government to stem the bloodshed and provide hope for lasting stability.