Ethnic Cleansing of Muslim Minority in Myanmar?

Reports of sectarian violence in western Myanmar have exposed the plight of 800,000 Muslim Rohingya, a persecuted minority that a regional human rights body described in 2006 as facing a "slow-burning genocide".

Saving the Mangroves Front

On a humid islet covered with mangroves, Lucena Duman and her neighbours have found a route out of poverty. They work as conservationists and tour guides in this isolated corner of the Philippines.

Nepal’s Female Farmers Fear Climate Change

When Arati Chaudhary’s husband left for India to find work as a migrant labourer, the job of managing farm and family fell on her slender shoulders.

King of Fruit Reaps Few Rewards for Pakistani Farmers

In the summer heat, fresh mangos are the fruit of choice for politicians seeking to exchange favours with foreign dignitaries. But when it comes to global trade, the prospects of the so-called king of fruit are limited.

Waking Up to the Price of Corruption

Weeks ahead of a national election in Papua New Guinea, 3000 people gathered in the capital, Port Moresby, for the sixth annual Sir Anthony Siaguru Walk against Corruption organised by Transparency International, PNG, to peacefully protest about an issue that affects every aspect of citizens’ lives.

Westinghouse Agrees to Build Indian Nuclear Power Plant

The U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric has signed a preliminary deal to build a nuclear power plant in India, signalling the first significant forward movement on a contentious civilian nuclear deal agreed between the two countries in 2008.

Cambodian Opposition Plans to Wake Up

Cambodia’s fragmented opposition parties are promising to work together, rather than compete against each other for votes in the next election. All it took was another crushing victory at the polls by the country’s ruling party.

CDs Become Weapon in Political Armoury

Kunasekaran Krishnan (43) is a member of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) who hopes his newly released CD of 10 “revolutionary songs” will help convince voters to back the Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance) in the general election that is widely expected to be held this year.

Communal Violence Threatens Democratic Change in Myanmar

The outbreak over the past week of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State seriously threatens the ongoing reform process in Myanmar, according to experts here.

Pakistanis Blame CIA for Fresh Polio Cases

Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio in areas bordering Afghanistan may have received a setback following the conviction of a doctor who allegedly ran a fake vaccine programme to locate Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

U.S.-Pakistan Talks on NATO Supply Lines Stopped

Six weeks of talks between Pakistan and the United States have been halted, a Defence Department official stated here on Monday.

Trans Community Makes Slow Progress in Vietnam

The restaurant Thuy Linh sits by one of Saigon’s black, soupy canals at the edge of District Three. Though operating in an area already full of restaurants and cafes it doesn’t struggle for business.

Trade, Military Cooperation to Top U.S.-India Talks

The ambassador of India to the United States, Nirupama Rao, on Friday suggested that high-level talks between the two countries, taking place here next week, would focus on "development" and the "people aspect of cooperation".

Changes at Parchin Suggest an Iranian Bargaining Ploy

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Western governments acted this week to escalate their accusations that Iran has "sanitised" a site at its Parchin military complex to hide evidence of nuclear weapons work, showing satellite images of physical changes at the site to IAEA member delegations.

Young Asylum Seekers Arrive to ‘Nightmare’ Detention

When Hussain Akhlaqi (17) arrived on Australian shores 11 months ago from Indonesia, on a boat carrying over 100 other asylum seekers, he was immediately placed in the Christmas Island immigration detention centre. Ali Mohammadi (17) from Afghanistan, and Mujtaba Ahmadi (18) from Iran, also endured a risky journey by sea only to meet the same fate.

Youth Reaffirm Indigenous Identity

Barefoot and clad in traditional clothes, over a hundred indigenous Aetas gathered around a bonfire in a community nestled in the mountains of Capas town, in the Philippines’ Tarlac province. They had come together to celebrate their traditions and to instill in youth a sense of pride in their cultural identity.

U.S. Rejected 2005 Iranian Offer Ensuring No Nuclear Weapons

France and Germany were prepared in spring 2005 to negotiate on an Iranian proposal to convert all of its enriched uranium to fuel rods, making it impossible to use it for nuclear weapons, but Britain vetoed the deal at the insistence of the United States, according to a new account by a former top Iranian nuclear negotiator.

Family Planning and Subsistence Agriculture Key to Food Security

Papua New Guinea’s high fertility rate is exerting pressure on land and food production in a country where 80 percent of the population lives in rural communities. But the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) argues that traditions of subsistence agriculture provide a firm foundation to build food security for a growing population.

Nepal Misses Pro-Women Constitution

Nepal’s squabbling political parties have squandered an opportunity to pass into law one of the most gender-friendly constitutions ever devised.

Hostile Witnesses Weaken Justice System

Four years after three middle-aged men were murdered in cold blood in central Kashmir, their case lies forgotten, collecting dust in the court’s record room, while culprits roam free. Meanwhile, a young woman named Afroza recently lost a two-year battle to get her rapist punished, when her neighbour gave false evidence in court, thus facilitating the acquittal of the accused.

Harsh Internet Laws Silence Thai Netizens

When Thai police raided the headquarters of the popular alternative news portal ‘Prachatai’ and arrested its executive director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, back in 2009, the 46-year-old media worker was completely in the dark about her crime.