Full Coverage: South West Asia

31.01.2008 A change of direction is needed in Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian disaster, a leading international charity warned world leaders today, as another report said six years of international engagement was under threat and the country was at a crossroads.

31.01.2008 Over 1.5 million young women have been widowed in Afghanistan owing to armed conflicts over the last two decades. Food, shelter and social protection are the most pressing needs for these women and their children with most of them lacking the economic means to earn a decent living.

30.01.2008 The "U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is set to lose its credibility once again as it prepares to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran while failing to pass any strictures on Israel for its continued heavy-handed repression of Palestinians in Gaza," says a research organization focused on the Middle East.

24.01.2008 An Afghan journalist faces the death penalty for blasphemy in a summary trial in which he had no legal representation and no opportunity to defend himself.
From Institute for War and Peace Reporting

22.01.2008 Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) have killed and maimed hundreds of people in Afghanistan in 2007, says the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan. These explosive remnants of war left behind by various military factions during the 90s continue to endanger the lives of civilians.

18.01.2008 "Iran's recent use of extreme punishments such as amputations and public executions has deepened concerns about the situation of human rights amid the strict enforcement of Islamic law," reports an international news agency.

18.01.2008 Rebiya, a woman from the Uighur community in western China, was forced to flee her home due to her father's involvement in controversial political matters and now struggles to attain citizenship in Kyrgyzstan, her land of refuge.

17.01.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 16 (OneWorld) - A federal court in San Francisco has cleared the way for a major national class action lawsuit on behalf of veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

15.01.2008 Approximately 1.3 million "previously food-secure people" in rural Afghanistan have been driven to extreme food insecurity due to the exorbitant prices of staple food. Meanwhile, 900,000 urban Afghans have been experiencing acute food-insecurity over the last couple of months, reports a UN agency.

15.01.2008 Although President Mikheil Saakashvili is already making plans for his second term -- notably campaigns to reduce poverty and to foster greater political inclusion -- opposition leaders are resisting dialogue, calling for a vote recount, and threatening political disobedience.

15.01.2008 Tesco, the world's third largest retailer, has placed a ban on all cotton sourced from Uzbekistan for its clothing range, homeware and corporate purchases.

15.01.2008 NEW YORK, Jan 14 (IPS) - As the world marked the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the first orange-jumpsuit-clad prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, human rights groups are attempting to focus public and congressional scrutiny on what some are calling "the other Gitmo."

14.01.2008 Critical of its existing policies, the Afghan government is now trying to transform its religious schools by widening their syllabus. The move is seen as an attempt to regain its past historic glory as students will be taught history, geography, science, languages - and computer studies, apart the teachings of Islam.

14.01.2008 The International Red Cross and the U.S. have introduced a programme to enable the approximately 600 prisoners at the US jail in Bagram, Afghanistan, to communicate with their families via video-teleconference calls.

11.01.2008 The Afghan government has asked the World Food Programme to increase its food aid in 2008 following soaring food prices and concerns about food shortages, and distribute it in the inaccessible areas. However the government also claims it has multiple strategies in place to avert food shortages in the winter months.

09.01.2008 Enduring winter weather, alleged incidences of voter intimidation, and other irregularities, Georgians -- in high numbers in some areas -- went to the polls over the weekend, report election monitors.

09.01.2008 New figures from World Health Organisation claim there has been a 50% fall in deaths from tuberculosis in Afghanistan. While over 50,000 new cases occur each year, TB diagnosis and treatment, now part of the Basic Package Health Services, reach more people in the country.

03.01.2008 In Kyrgyzstan and many other Central Asian countries, social norms bar women drug users from self-help programs, such as needle exchange, and facilitate their exploitation by other members of society.

02.01.2008 UNICEF Germany’s ‘Photo of the Year’ of a 40 year old groom with a child bride in Afghanistan raises global concerns about child marriages, widely condemned for their sexual abuse and violation of human rights. The bride in the photograph has just turned 11.