Full Coverage: South West Asia

31.01.2006 As representatives of more than 70 countries sit down today with Afghan Government leaders to shape the reconstruction framework, the UN Children's Fund urges delegates to maintain a clear focus on the development needs of children and mothers.

31.01.2006 Uzbek authorities blocked access to the trial of a human rights defender who had spoken out about last May's Andijan massacre, an international rights group said today.

30.01.2006 Afghanistan will get firm assurances of international help in London this week and in return it will promise to push on with reforms and tackle corruption and its huge illegal drug trade. A two-day international meeting in London, beginning on Tuesday, is to launch a five-year blue print on development, peace and how best to confront the continuing attacks by government opponents in the impoverished country.

26.01.2006 As the British government announces that 4,150 extra troops will be sent to Afghanistan, it is also reported that Kabul's fight against illegal poppy cultivation will be a key point on the agenda at the London conference to discuss the country's future this month.
* OneWorld UK Guide to Afghanistan

26.01.2006 A coalition of 40 rights groups has asked the US to explain why it reversed policy this week and backed an Iranian initiative to deny UN consultative status to organisations working to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

24.01.2006 A blueprint for international engagement in the development of Afghanistan over the next five years had been finalized, the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA) announced today. The Afghanistan Compact, to be launched at a conference in London from 31 January to 1 February, covers efforts in security, governance, human rights, the rule of law, development and counter-narcotics.

24.01.2006 A new World Bank report released today warns that fragmentation of foreign assistance may adversely affect the accountability and capacity of the Government of Afghanistan.

23.01.2006 The UN Office on Drugs and Crime which held a meeting with the Afghanistan government on the potential risks of drug cultivation has said that poppy cultivation in the country has gone down by about 20 per cent but strong measures need to be taken to ensure that there is no reversal.

20.01.2006 A refined criteria regarding the future status of Afghans living in Pakistan is now under consideration, a new report by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. The report comes after a census conducted in March 2005 revealed entirely different reasons for Afghans wishing to stay in the country than those of a refugee.

17.01.2006 The Iranian authorities should end the use of the death penalty for child offenders, a leading rights group said.

12.01.2006 Once-oppressed Afghanistan women are playing a pivotal role in restoring democracy to their country, Rep. Dave Weldon said on his return from a nine-day trip to the Middle East and southwest Asia

11.01.2006 Many Afghan leaders are worried that the reduction of U.S. troops signals the beginning of the end of Western support for their country, where--unlike Iraq--most still consider American forces a security asset, says regional analyst Ahmed Rashid.

11.01.2006 A week after a massive stroke effectively removed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from Israeli politics, the outlook in Washington is mostly worried and pessimistic.

08.01.2006 UNITED NATIONS, Jan 7 (OneWorld) - When the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay prison are brought before United States military judges next week, among them will be a minor captured as an "enemy combatant" by the U.S. army in Afghanistan some three years ago.

05.01.2006 Originally sentenced to two years in prison for criticizing Islamic laws through the women's rights magazine he edited, an appeals court has reduced Ali Mohaqiq Nasab's sentence to six months and released him on probation, but he has been removed from his position at the magazine.

05.01.2006 Unlike their European counterparts, U.S. gay rights organizations have failed to mobilize public awareness or speak out against Iran's systematic persecution of homosexuals--including entrapment, blackmail, torture, and execution--says writer and commentator Doug Ireland.

05.01.2006 Iran closed a daily newspaper and a magazine, one of the publications said Tuesday, in a stiffening crackdown on the press.

02.01.2006 A spate of suicide bombings has put much of Afghanistan on edge, reports Wahidullah Amani in Kabul.