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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 83
29 July - 4 August 2006


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Earthquake kills one in Kunduz province
AFGHANISTAN: NATO assumes command in volatile south
AFGHANISTAN: NATO stands firm in face of deaths
AFGHANISTAN: USAID provides US $16m for drought-stricken people
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
KYRGYZSTAN: Corruption remains high
NEPAL: UN mission assesses peace process
NEPAL: Interview with Dan Smith, Secretary General of International
   Alert
NEPAL: WFP emergency food aid reaches drought-stricken villages
NEPAL: Poor maternity care poses threat to women
NEPAL: Interim government and Maoists hail UN mission
PAKISTAN: Thousands await gallows in jails
TAJIKISTAN: At least 9,000 left homeless following tremors
TAJIKISTAN: Quake relief effort in south continues
UZBEKISTAN: Hundreds of Andijan refugees resettled


AFGHANISTAN: Earthquake kills one in Kunduz province

At least one person is dead and 12 injured after an earthquake jolted 
Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz early on Saturday, officials 
say. "The tremor happened at 4:40 am, which killed an elderly woman and 
injured 12 other residents of Kowtar Mah village in Imam Sahib 
district," Abdur Rahim Zarin, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of 
Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), told IRIN in the Afghan 
capital, Kabul.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54901&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: NATO assumes command in volatile south

NATO assumed control of military operations in southern Afghanistan from 
US-led coalition forces on Monday, boosting the number of foreign troops 
to fight the Taliban insurgency. In recent months Afghanistan has seen 
its bloodiest phase of violence since the hard-line Taliban government 
was ousted by coalition forces in December 2001, particularly in the 
south and east of the country.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54907&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: NATO stands firm in face of deaths

The death of four NATO soldiers in southern Afghanistan will not deter 
the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from its peacekeeping 
mission, an ISAF spokesman said on Thursday. Major Luke Knittig, a 
spokesman for the NATO-led ISAF, said it was maintaining its work in the 
south.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54978&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: USAID provides US $16m for drought-stricken people

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is supplying 27,010 
mt of food aid worth more than US $16 million to help millions of 
drought-stricken people in Afghanistan. The contribution comes after a 
joint appeal by the United Nations (UN) and the Afghan government on 25 
July for $76 million to feed 2.5 million people.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54982&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

This week in Central Asia, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) 
criticised Kazakhstan over the transfer of a Muslim cleric back to 
Uzbekistan, claiming that it was not living up to its obligations under 
international law to protect those fleeing persecution. Imam Rukhiddin 
Fakhrutdinov and 16 other Uzbeks were taken by Kazakh security agents 
and placed in custody in Uzbekistan last November, according to HRW.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54983&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA


KYRGYZSTAN: Corruption remains high

Corruption has increased in Kyrgyzstan, a World Bank official says. A 
recent World Bank report has found that the frequency of bribes and how 
often firms saw corruption as a problem for business had increased 
between 2002 and 2005.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54916&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


NEPAL: UN mission assesses peace process

A high-level United Nations (UN) mission is assessing what role the 
world body can play in the peace process to end Nepal's decade-long 
armed conflict.More than 13,000 people have died since the Maoists 
launched their armed rebellion against the state in 1996.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54905&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: Interview with Dan Smith, Secretary General of International 
Alert

Nepal's interim government and the Maoists have been in peace talks to 
end the country's decade-long armed conflict since mass protests ended 
King Gyanendra's direct rule in April. However, international groups and 
diplomats want the Maoists - who waged an armed rebellion against the 
state - and the government - a coalition of the country's seven parties 
- to sort out the process for disarmament, demobilisation and 
reintegration (DDR) before the peace process is finalised.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54896&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: WFP emergency food aid reaches drought-stricken villages

Drought-stricken villages in northwestern Nepal have begun receiving 
grain from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The US $5.3 
million operation, considered by WFP to be one of its most difficult and 
expensive, started in July in response to the severe shortage of food 
faced by villagers in Bajura, Jajarkot, Kalikot, Dailekh, Rolpa, Rukum, 
Jumla, Humla, Dolpa and Mugu districts.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54945&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: Poor maternity care poses threat to women

Concerns are growing about the poor level of maternity care for Nepalese 
women. "Despite decades of efforts to improve the reproductive health 
situation, thousands of Nepalese women still die while giving birth," 
said Mahendra Bista, director general of the government's Department of 
Health (DOH) in the capital, Kathmandu, on Thursday.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54968&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: Interim government and Maoists hail UN mission

Nepal's interim government and the Maoists have thanked the United 
Nations for sending a high-level team of experts to help at a crucial 
time in the peace process. The government, formed from seven parties 
following the end of King Gyanendra's direct rule in April, and the 
Maoists are in peace talks to end the country's decade-long armed 
conflict.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54988&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


PAKISTAN: Thousands await gallows in jails

More than 7,400 men and 36 women are waiting in 81 Pakistani jails to be 
hanged, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has confirmed. In 
Punjab, the country's most populous province, more than 5,000 of its 
53,000 prisoners face death. Many are serving their time confined to 
cells measuring just 10 sq metres. Intended for one prisoner, the cells 
often accommodate up to 10.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54944&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


TAJIKISTAN: At least 9,000 left homeless following tremors

At least three people are dead, 19 people seriously injured and 9,000 
homeless after two earthquakes struck southeastern Tajikistan at the 
weekend, emergency officials confirmed on Monday. The earthquakes, 
measuring between 5 and 5.5 on the Richter scale, struck the Central 
Asian state on Saturday at 5:12 am. (12.12 am. UTC) and 3:57 pm. (10.57 
am. UTC), Jamila Tiloeva, a Tajik Emergency Ministry spokeswoman, said.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54904&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry3ountIKISTAN


TAJIKISTAN: Quake relief effort in south continues

More than 10,000 people are receiving emergency aid after two moderate 
earthquakes jolted the south of Tajikistan at the weekend, the country's 
Emergency Ministry said on Wednesday. Jamilia Tilloeva, a spokeswoman 
for the ministry, said the earthquakes had affected nearly 11,000 
people. Three children were killed and 19 people seriously injured.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54943&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN


UZBEKISTAN: Hundreds of Andijan refugees resettled

Hundreds of Uzbek refugees have been resettled in a third country after 
being flown to Romania last year following a government crackdown on 
protesters, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed on Tuesday. Several hundred Uzbeks fled to 
neighbouring Kyrgyzstan one year earlier after security forces quelled 
dissent in the eastern city of Andijan on 13 May 2005, killing up to 
1,000 - mainly unarmed - civilians, according to rights groups. The 
Uzbek government said 187 were killed.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54923&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=UZBEKISTAN


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