Full Coverage: South West Asia

24.11.2005 Afghan authorities were probing whether Taliban insurgents kidnapped and executed Indian road worker MR Kutty because of his nationality, Afghanistan Ambassador to India Masood Khalili told Indian journalists on Wednesday.

24.11.2005 The Netherlands is demanding guarantees from its NATO partners in Afghanistan and from President Hamid Karzai that prisoners will be treated in a humane manner, according to international law. In reaction to criticism in parliament, Foreign Minister Ben Bot said these guarantees were an important condition for the participation of Dutch troops in a dangerous mission in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan.

23.11.2005 Afghanistan was recently approved as the eighth member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a largely toothless body set up in 1985 which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The decision, taken last week at the organization's 13th summit meeting in Dhaka, implies several things. Dr. Abdulla Al-Madani is taking a close look for implications on SAARC

23.11.2005 Looking back at the recently-held SAARC-meet (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Amit Baruah writes for The Hindu whether the seven nations can sink their differences and work together like the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion.

23.11.2005 The Taliban has claimed that it has killed the kidnapped Indian driver, Ramankutty Maniappan, who was working with the Indian road constrction organisation - Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The Afghan government and Indian sources say that the fate of the kidnapped driver is still unknown.

15.11.2005 In a region dominated by ethnic divisions and a history of violence, development projects are building more than livelihoods--the dividends of peace, education, and understanding have spread across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

09.11.2005 Afghanistan has been embroiled in a state of near-constant conflict since 1979, but the first reported suicide bombing took place just last year. Afghanistan journalist Claudio Franco reports on how tactics used against U.S. forces in Iraq appear to be spreading to Afghanistan.

03.11.2005 In Iran, a power struggle between hardliner President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has developed. Some think this ongoing competition for political dominance led to the president's recent inflammatory statements about Israel.