IRIN - Asia
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LAOS: Bringing light to remote villages VIENTIANE Thursday, July 03, 2008 (IRIN) - While wealthy industrialised nations are struggling to find ways to encourage their populations to adopt solar energy, a small energy company in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) has teamed up with poor rural communities to bring them green energy.


AFGHANISTAN: Top UN official highlights plight of children KABUL Thursday, July 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Nowhere in the world are children suffering as much as in Afghanistan, a top UN official has said. Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, told reporters in Kabul on 3 July that during her six-day visit to Afghanistan she had found that “it takes an Afghan child a very long time to smile.”


MYANMAR: Children and teachers finding it hard to concentrate KUNCHANKONE Thursday, July 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Two months after Cyclone Nargis struck, leaving more than 138,000 dead or missing, teachers are seeing first-hand the problems children face in returning to their studies. Almost half her students show signs of difficulty concentrating on their lessons.


GLOBAL: NGOs call for more funds, investment in agriculture NEW YORK Wednesday, July 02, 2008 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community is to urge the G8 leaders to fully fund immediate emergency aid and to invest in longer-term agricultural development in poorer nations to tackle the global food crisis.


SRI LANKA: Christian and Muslim agencies extend local partnership COLOMBO Wednesday, July 02, 2008 (IRIN) - Amjad Saleem, country director of the Islamic development and relief agency Muslim Aid, walked into the weekly meeting of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) on 4 August 2006 in Colombo looking for urgent help. He walked out with a partnership that has gone beyond national borders in less than two years.


MYANMAR: Food rations sustain thousands in cyclone-hit south LABUTTA Wednesday, July 02, 2008 (IRIN) - "Our whole village was washed away. We have nothing," Than Tun, a former fisherman, told IRIN. "We lost everything. With this food, we at least have a chance," Than Tun, 38, from Kayimma Chaung, about four hours by boat from the town of Labutta at the delta's southern tip, said.


PAKISTAN: Dengue fever threat in Karachi? KARACHI Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (IRIN) - After a lull of six months, dengue fever has re-emerged, with the death of a 35-year-old man in Karachi. This is believed to be the first dengue fever death in Pakistan in 2008.


BANGLADESH: Mixed feelings over citizenship plan DHAKA Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (IRIN) - After nearly four decades of being stateless, about 250,000 Biharis or “stranded Pakistanis” as they call themselves, have been finally accepted as citizens of Bangladesh, after a High Court ruling.


GLOBAL: US farm bill "too little, too late" for developing world NEW YORK Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (IRIN) - New ground was broken in US attempts to break the link between foreign food aid and supporting its own farmers in a new farm bill, but for many, including the Bush-led administration, it was too little, too late.


SRI LANKA: Low-tech clay filters cut disease KALUTARA Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (IRIN) - For thousands of Sri Lankans without easy access to potable water, a low-tech filter has provided them with a convenient source of safe water, saving on fuel costs and cutting disease.