Full Coverage: South West Asia

30.06.2006 Violence in Afghanistan is now at its worst level since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, and civilians have increasingly become caught in the the cross-fire between Taliban insurgents and coalition forces, reports a UN news service.

28.06.2006 Afghanistan, the center of gravity in the post-9/11 war on terrorism is unraveling. A massive opium trade, a dysfunctional central government, and rampant corruption at all levels of authority have led to a resurgence of organized Taliban militant forces, says the Asia America Initiative.

27.06.2006 Five years after Western countries promised Afghans to rebuild their country, Afghanistan is on the brink, facing its worst crisis since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, says Ahmed Rashid.

27.06.2006 When Raazia Baloch, a mother of four with a 1,000-watt smile, was elected to Helmand's provincial assembly in October, local authorities congratulated her with an unusual present - a Kalashnikov rifle.

21.06.2006 The Afghan government is accused of "absolutely outrageous" behaviour for trying to impose censorship and self-censorship in media coverage of the security situation and the presence of foreign troops.

20.06.2006 Police violently disrupted a women's rights protest in Tehran last week, arresting and beating several of the protesters. The women were protesting a law that permits polygamy as well as urging for reform of divorce and custody laws.

19.06.2006 Unable to win on the battlefield, the Taliban are trying to undo one of the biggest changes initiated by the Kabul government in the past four years: the resumption of education for girls, which the Taliban outlawed soon after taking power in 1996.

16.06.2006 There's no getting away from football at the moment - unless you are an Iranian woman and therefore not allowed into a stadium to watch a match. Shirin Sadeghi sees an Iranian film that tells the story of six female fans who dress as boys in an attempt to see the national team.

16.06.2006 A delegation of women Nobel Laureates are pushing for increased negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in order to avert a conflict. The delegates also called upon their governments to respect human rights and refrain from using national security as a pretext for violating human rights.

15.06.2006 There's no getting away from football at the moment - unless you are an Iranian woman and therefore not allowed into a stadium to watch a match. Shirin Sadeghi sees an Iranian film that tells the story of six female fans who dress as boys in an attempt to see the national team.

15.06.2006 Iran is pressed to investigate the police beating of hundreds of women’s rights activists during a peaceful demonstration in Tehran on Monday, and to release those detained.

15.06.2006 A delegation of Nobel Peace Prize laureates is pushing for increased negotiations between Iran and the US.

08.06.2006 Next Monday, June 12th, there will be demonstrations in Iran demanding an end to the legal discrimination against women. Help support Iranian women in their struggle to gain equal rights by signing the petition today!

06.06.2006 Gay men in Iraq are increasingly being intimidated and murdered by Shi'ite death squads under a "sexual cleansing" pogrom originated in Iran--and American authorities are allegedly letting it happen.

06.06.2006 The Bush administration's "offer" to join direct talks with Iran is both significant and fake, says analyst Phyllis Bennis, and it reflects the United States' growing isolation from the international community.

01.06.2006 The Pakistani government has proposed a three-year plan to gradually close all Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. Some of these camps are a quarter of a century old and still house many who fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

01.06.2006 Bush administration double standards are not making it any easier to diffuse nuclear tensions with Iran, says David Krieger, arguing for strict international controls on all uranium enrichment--including for the United States and its allies.