Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-81: 21-Jul-06
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 81
15 - 21 July 2006
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: WFP assists thousands short of food
AFGHANISTAN: Drought leaves thousands destitute
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
IRAN: Activists mark anniversary of gay executions with a call for
human rights
NEPAL: Women want a greater role in peace process
NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees want action to resolve stalemate
PAKISTAN: Focus on farmers in the earthquake zone
PAKISTAN: Concern rising over missing journalists
TURKMENISTAN: Rights group reiterates call for release of activists
UZBEKISTAN: No end to crackdown on Western NGOs
AFGHANISTAN: WFP assists thousands short of food
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has provided more than
2,000 metric tones of food to nearly 150,000 people in southern
Afghanistan through its Food-for-Work (FFW) projects since the beginning
of the year. The UN Food agency said on Tuesday that the projects were
aimed at improving local communities in the southern province of
Kandahar. Food was exchanged for work on irrigation systems, road
rehabilitation, the digging of wells and reservoir construction.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54695&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
AFGHANISTAN: Drought leaves thousands destitute
Hundreds of families in southern Afghanistan have been displaced by a
drought. Abdul Ahad, 40, said it had forced him out of his village in
the Seyourray district of the southern province of Zabul. He lost his
cattle, wheat and grapes when his village well ran dry four months ago.
"Everything I planted there is now dead due to the harsh drought this
year," Ahad, a father-of-six, said on Sunday from Kalat city, capital of
Zabul province, where he and his destitute family had just arrived.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54655&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
This week in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan and the US reached an agreement on
rental payment for the Manas military airbase close to the Kyrgyz
capital, Bishkek, which was established in the former Soviet republic at
the start of the US-led war on terror in late 2001, Xinhua news reported
on Saturday. Washington agreed to compensate the Kyrgyz government with
goods, services and support, without giving details of the exact amount
the US government would pay for continued use, a statement by the US
Embassy in Bishkek, read.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54730&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA
IRAN: Activists mark anniversary of gay executions with a call for human
rights
Human rights groups are calling for greater protection of gay rights in
Iran as the first anniversary of the public execution of two gay
teenagers in the country is marked. Mahmoud Asgari, 16, and Ayaz
Marhoni, 18, were publicly hanged on 19 July last year in Mashad,
provincial capital of Iran's Khorasan province, on charges of
homosexuality.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54705&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=IRAN
NEPAL: Women want a greater role in peace process
Nepalese government officials and Maoists rebels have failed to include
women in peace talks, according to gender activists and politicians. In
April, mass demonstrations against King Gyanendra ended his direct rule
and paved the way for talks between the interim government - formed by
seven national parties in May - and the Maoists, who had been waging an
armed rebellion in Nepal for the past 10 years.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54717&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL
NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees want action to resolve stalemate
Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are organising an indefinite protest in the
capital, Kathmandu, to push for talks with Bhutan's government. They
want the United Nations and the Nepalese government to facilitate the
talks. The refugees have been organising the protest in front of the
UN's main office complex in Kathmandu for more than a month.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54670&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL
PAKISTAN: Focus on farmers in the earthquake zone
Aurangzaib Khan comes from a long line of farmers: the 41-year-old's
father was a farmer, as was his grandfather, and his 15-year-old son
Waleed Zaib dreams of carrying on the tradition. But in the aftermath of
last year's devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan, which left more
than 75,000 people dead and 3.5 million homeless, the prospect of that
happening is diminishing.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54649&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN: Concern rising over missing journalists
Media watchdog bodies have expressed growing concern over the fate of
the number of journalists who have gone missing or have been illegally
detained during the course of their work in Pakistan. The Karachi Union
of Journalists (KUJ) on Tuesday joined international organisations,
including the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, in expressing
concern over the fate of journalists who have disappeared while covering
stories. The latest is Mehruddin Mari, a correspondent for the
Sindhi-language daily, Kawish.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54671&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN: Rights group reiterates call for release of activists
An exiled human rights group has reiterated its call for the immediate
release of three prisoners, including members of its own staff, held for
more than a month in Turkmenistan. Amankurban Amanklychev was detained
on 16 June and Ogulsapar Muradova and Sapardurdy Khajiev on 18 June,
according to Human Rights Watch. They were arrested on charges of trying
to destabilise the energy-rich nation.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54716&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=TURKMENISTAN
UZBEKISTAN: No end to crackdown on Western NGOs
Authorities in Uzbekistan have launched a fresh attempt to shut down
another US-funded NGO, Winrock International (WI). This came after the
closure earlier in July of the US-funded Urban Institute NGO, amid an
ongoing crackdown on Western organisations operating in the Central
Asian country. On Friday, Uzbekistan's justice ministry instructed a
Tashkent court to liquidate WI - an agency supporting Uzbek farmers -
for gross violation of local laws, press-uz.info, a pro-government
Internet website said.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54731&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=UZBEKISTAN
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