Full Coverage: South Asia

28.02.2006 New Delhi: The National Alliance for Right to Education and Equity (NAFRE) is a national alliance of people working on the right to education and equity. On the 28th of February, 2006, thousands of people representing different groups of citizens including workers, farmers, adivasis, dalits and women from different parts of the country came together in a powerful show of solidarity, to press their demand for a common schooling system.

28.02.2006 The ICT Agency of Sri Lanka - ICTA - is seeking interns for the period June - September 2006 to participate in a research effort geared at facilitating the capturing of knowledge as part of its management information program and to provide research material to the support the programs and projects of ICTA .

28.02.2006 The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) is part of the National Common Minimum Programme for bringing information and government services to the doorstep of the citizens.

28.02.2006 The south Indian state of Kerala has approved the Organic Agriculture policy of the state in order to promote organic farming. The policy comes in the wake of a growing international demand for organic farm produce.

28.02.2006 Bangalore University Library in the Southern State of Karnataka in India, on Monday gained the distinction of becaming the first university e-library in the State digitising details of its collection of over 3.6 lakh books and providing e-access to general reference material.

28.02.2006 Focussing attention on bridging the urban and rural divide, the Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced plans to speed up the pace of building infrastructure, power and irrigation facilities in rural areas. This initiative has been given a filip by Indian President APJ Kalam under his much-talked about PURA scheme (Providing Urban Amerinities in Rural Areas).

28.02.2006 Amnesty International has welcomed the release of prisoners of conscience Ahmad Ibrahim Didi and Naushad Waheed, but has urged the Maldivian government to take decisive action to reform the criminal justice system to prevent further politically motivated detentions in the country.

28.02.2006 With only a few hundreds left in the wild, the wild buffalos (Bubalus Bubalis) in India could soon turn extinct unless an urgent action for their conservation is initiated. Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with the Chattisgarh forest department started a three year plan for its revival from the present small population in the state.

28.02.2006 A new test for the dreaded kala-azar disease, developed by scientists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi offers a number of advantages over the old one.

28.02.2006 India has increased its annual allocation for defence from Rs 830 billion to Rs 890 billion for the current financial year. Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the increased outlay for defence was for modernisation of the armed forces.

28.02.2006 "Education in Information Communication Technology is very important to make students competent and efficient so that they can cope with the challenging world in the new millennium", says the Bangladesh President.

28.02.2006 A foolproof tsunami early warning system free from false alarms would be operational by September 2007, says P.S. Goel, Secretary, Department of Ocean Development (DOD), Government of India.

28.02.2006 Nearly 130 survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster began a march on foot to New Delhi on 20 February 2006 to gain support for their battle for survival, justice and dignity. More than 22 years later, people affected by the world's worst industrial disaster are still fighting for their rights, compensation and justice.

28.02.2006 Communities affected by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, that killed more than 220,000 people and displaced an estimated two million across South and Southeast Asia, should be given more say in the recovery effort says the United Nations.

28.02.2006 KATHMANDU: The poverty alleviation agenda of the government is being well-supported by the Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTGN) providing employment opportunities to more than 7,000 marginalised people in 46 districts of the country.

28.02.2006 Farmers snatched 50 sacks of urea at Keshabpur upazila in Jessore on Sunday evening after failing to collect any from dealers.

28.02.2006 KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme today called on donors urgently to provide funds to its Afghanistan operation, which is facing critical shortages in supplying food to 3.5 million vulnerable Afghans.

28.02.2006 ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will decide to extend financial assistance for mega water reservoirs once the government of Pakistan achieves a complete consensus and ensures comprehensive compensation to the people affected by the dams, said Peter L Fedon, country director ADB resident mission.

28.02.2006 ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to investigate the sugar shortage in the country and fix responsibility on those who caused this crisis.

27.02.2006 Managing risks with the aid of information technology will help organisations deliver on corporate governance, says Sunil R Chandiramani, Partner-National Director Risk & Business Solutions Ernst & Young India.