Full Coverage: South Asia

31.12.2007 UNITED NATIONS, Dec 31 (OneWorld) - Benazir Bhutto's supporters are wondering if the UN Security Council is helping cover up a conspiracy behind her killing.

31.12.2007 United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, set up last year to help countries ravaged by conflicts, will now be available to Nepal. There is an urgent need to consolidate the country’s peaceful gains after the government and Maoists formally ended the decade-long civil war, which left thousands dead and many more displaced.

31.12.2007 Thousands of Ranchis held a mass rally at Port Blair to demand their tribal identity and rights. Currently 13% of the Andaman and Nicobar population, these tribes were first brought to the islands as labourers to clear jungles for settlements.

31.12.2007 Recruitment of child soldiers in Sri Lanka by rebel forces has long been seen as a serious violation of human rights. A new report by the United Nations says that both factions of LTTE continue to abduct and recruit children to fight their wars.

31.12.2007 The Nepal government will spend US$ 1.1 million to set up a national science laboratory to carry out advanced research on biotechnology, biofuels and renewable energy. The laboratory, due to open in the beginning of 2010, will be managed by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).

31.12.2007 Hundreds of villagers stopped a recent public hearing on a proposed methane mining project in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, backed by a report by the Centre for Science and Environment that says the venture will adversely impact hydrology, agriculture and biodiversity. Australia-based Arrow Energy, the Swedish Energy Infrastructure Group, and GAIL India plan to mine methane in the Raigarh and Korba districts of the state.

31.12.2007 GPRS mobiles will soon deliver e-governance services to villagers in Faizabad in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The project will connect rural areas with the district headquarter, while also monitoring various programmes and government functionaries at work.

31.12.2007 Bhutan's border with India has been sealed since Sunday as the Himalayan kingdom goes for hisstoric elections today (Monday).
From China View
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30.12.2007 The Pakistan People’s Party said it wanted to contest the general elections on 8 January, after the 19-year-old son and the husband of the party's assassinated leader, Benazir Bhutto, were named as co-chairs of the party.
From Daily Times
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28.12.2007 GPRS mobiles will soon deliver e-governance services to villagers in Faizabad in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The project will connect rural areas with the district headquarter, while also monitoring government functionaries at work and tracking the progress of various programmes.

28.12.2007 Offering children a platform, in the form of special children’s village councils, to voice their concerns and problems is bringing about a perceptible change in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. For once, their suggestions are not only being heard but also acted upon.

28.12.2007 The assassination of Benazir Bhutto reflects the nature of the repression and the absence of the rule of law and human rights in Pakistan, says a statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission.

28.12.2007 Patriarchal attitudes towards female literacy are hostile in many traditional societies, including that of Pakistan. Breaking the shackles of tradition, women are now seeking ways to educate themselves and their daughters.

27.12.2007 Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in an apparent suicide attack at a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi today.
From Associated Press of Pakistan
OneWorld Guide to Pakistan

27.12.2007 The Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a suicide attack. The suicide bomber struck shortly after she addressed a political rally in Rawalpindi, killing at least 20 other people.

27.12.2007 A new book, Communicating Disasters: An Asia Pacific Resource Book released during Third Global Knowledge Conference held in Kuala Lumpur in mid December takes a critical look at the communication lessons of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and explores the role of good communications before, during and after disasters.

27.12.2007 The story of Anuradha, a medical student, who fought her disability to pursue her dream caught the jury’s attention at Canada’s first international film festival on disability. Girl Stars, supported by UNICEF, is a series of films that document the stories of young women and girls in India who have changed their lives, and those of others, by going to school.

27.12.2007 Voluntary labour helps transform barren lands of zero production value to amazingly fertile farms in villages across Nanded district in western Indian state of Maharashtra. Villagers are now witnessing a remarkable change in their fortunes.

26.12.2007 The Planning Commission of India has made a provision of Rs 100 crores for setting up 20 Indian Institute of Information Technology in various parts of the country. The government also promises to ensure broadband accessibility to almost every citizen in countryside, covering 97% of its geographical area by 2012.

26.12.2007 There are many countries in the world, which have done far better in terms of human development even without touching growth rates as high as India’s, says P. Sainath, rural affairs editor of The Hindu and recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award.