MercoPress, 21st September

Beijing's plan to provide financial aid to the European Union is not contingent on Europe supporting a proposal that could protect China from trade sanctions, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

East Asia Forum, 15 September 2011

The last economic era, roughly from 1980 to 2008, was the most successful combination of globalisation, growth and prosperity in history. The West benefited, but, more importantly, this was when ‘the Rest’ came on board: ‘underdeveloped countries’ cast off post-colonial isolation and embraced the world economy. But the recent global economic crisis induced sharp divergence of economic performance between the West and emerging markets.

BBC News 14th September 2011

Fast aging populations in Asian countries need to be properly managed, to ensure future growth said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

IDN 28 July 2011: The terror attacks in Norway on July 22 caught many Asians by surprise as Norway has branded itself very successfully over the years as a land of peacemakers. Now it seems that this image of Norway in particular and Europe in general is to undergo a 'market correction'.

Tribune 28 July 2011: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned Congress that she will fight to block a Republican push to restrict aid for Israel’s Arab neighbors and Pakistan and cut off climate change funds.

BBC 28 July 2011: Rising consumer prices have hurt growth in emerging East Asian economies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said.

Oxfam 26 July 2011: One year on from the worst flooding in its history, Pakistan is still not prepared for this year’s monsoon floods and other natural disasters, international aid agency Oxfam warned today.

IPS 25 July 2011: If voters in this remote village, deep inside Sri Lanka’s former war zone, turned out in strength for the historical Jul. 23 local body elections, it had to do with the availability of buses to ferry them to the nearest polling station 20 km away.

BBC 13 July 2011: Three near-simultaneous explosions have shaken India's commercial capital Mumbai (Bombay), police say.Twenty-one people were killed and 113 injured, said Maharashtra state's Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan.

BBC 13 July 2011: A Philippines rebel group has denied kidnapping two Americans and a Filipino from a holiday resort on Tuesday. The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) told local media that its members were helping the authorities search for the abductees.

IPS 12 July 2011: Indonesia has assumed a target to cut greenhouse gas emission rates by half and achieve an economic growth rate of seven percent by changing the way it manages its vast forest land, and giving greater control over land to local communities.

UN News 6 July 2011: The transition towards greater Afghan leadership and ownership is on track, the top United Nations envoy to the country reported today, while adding that the process must not just be about security but also be linked to social, economic and human rights elements.

Yahoo News 6 July 2011: Prospects remain favorable for the Philippine economy in 2011, with investments, private consumption, services and exports expected to post gains, the World Bank said Wednesday.

IPS 6 July 2011: Like many Sri Lankans, Kandiah Selvadurai measures the improvement in his life by the amount of money he spends on essentials. When basic goods were scarce more than two years ago, he paid dearly for them. These days, he buys them for a tiny fraction of what they used to cost.

Europa 5 July 2011: The WTO today ruled against China’s export restrictions of certain raw materials backing a case jointly brought by the EU, US and Mexico. The WTO Panel has found that China’s export restrictions were not justified on environmental grounds and should be removed. Today’s WTO decision was welcomed by Europe’s trade chief.

Europa 4 July 2011: The European Commission will provide emergency food aid to more than half a million people at risk of dying from serious malnutrition in North Korea, amid growing fears of a worsening hunger crisis.

IRIN 1 July 2011: Thai voters go to the polls this weekend in what many see as a decisive step in the country's road to peace and reconciliation.

guardian.co.uk 30 June 2011: This week in Cape Town, the World Bank will decide whether to approve new climate adaptation loans for five countries. In Bangladesh and around the world, campaigners are resisting these loans and urging their governments not to accept new debt for climate change.

IPS 30 June 2011: An overnight assault by Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers on a major hotel in Kabul has ended with the killing of the attackers by security forces and the deaths of up to 10 other people, according to officials.

guardian.co.uk 23 May 2011: The Indian prime minister arrives in Ethiopia to bolster economic and political links in a new 'scramble for Africa'

IPS 6 June 2011: It is a scene replayed weekly in Palestine. In Gaza, groups of chanting demonstrators walk towards the border with Israel, singing, chanting, dancing. Ayat el Masari, 20, walks with the masses. An English major at Gaza's Aqsa University, the young woman is among many women who regularly attend Palestinian protests.

BBC 23 May 2011: India's 2011 census shows a serious decline in the number of girls under the age of seven - activists fear eight million female foetuses may have been aborted in the past decade

IRIN 20 May 2011: For centuries, residents around Can Tho, a city of 1.1m people in southern Vietnam, just 0.8m above sea level, have depended on flood cycles to grow crops. However, experts warn there is a possibility that sea levels will rise in the delta region around Can Tho due to climate change, causing devastating floods that will displace millions and destroy those crops

BBC 18 May 2011: The remote mountains of Nepal are suffering from a severe food crisis, but a lack of funding means aid agencies cannot continue to carry out relief operations.

IRIN 17 May 2011: As Cambodia enters its dengue season, with outbreaks in four out of 24 provinces, the National Dengue Control Programme (NDCP) is warning that a repeat of the 2007 epidemic - when about 40,000 people were hospitalized, more than 10,000 in one week - may be imminent.

Asia Times 13 May 2011: Turkey, which is to increase duties on imported textiles and ready-made garments as of July 21, is holding out against efforts by the governments of Indonesia, Bangladesh and other exporters to have the increases reduced or even dropped altogether.

IPS 13 May 2011: The cheapest car in the world proved the costliest for a 34-year-old Left Front CPI-M government in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, as the communists lost the elections here by a wide margin.

IRIN 9 May 2011: International health experts criticize Vietnam’s estimated 70 compulsory drug treatment centres. The centres are part of a government strategy aimed at "correcting the illegal behaviours of drug use and sex work”, according to UNAIDS.

EUROPA 6 May 2011: The European Commission raised its humanitarian support to Sri Lanka by another €10 million today. This will finance further assistance for internally displaced Sri Lankans, helping them to return to their homes, and ensuring that basic services are in place for the returnees.

9 May 2011 Euractiv: The Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated between India and the EU must be accompanied by a clear commitment to respect international social and environmental standards, said Graham Watson MEP, head of the European Parliament's delegation for EU-India relations, which has a say on trade deals

guardian.co.uk 6 May 2011: Southeast Asian nations should reject Myanmar's request to chair their regional grouping in 2014 unless the government releases political prisoners and takes other concrete steps to improve human rights, a U.S.-based rights group said Friday.

EU Business 5 May 2011: The European Union on Thursday launched a commercial charm offensive in Southeast Asia through the its first business summit with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

UzReport.com 5 May 2011: Sixteen members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) have visited Uzbekistan, where they heard feedback from beneficiaries of the Mother and Child Health (MCH) project.

IPS 4 May 2011: The once elusive Osama bin Laden may be dead, but the way he was killed, the secrecy surrounding the covert mission, and the haste with which the body was buried at sea have provided grist for the rumour mill.

BBC 3 May 2011: A rights group has published satellite images of what it says are North Korea's political prison camps, saying they appear to be growing in size.

IRIN 3 May 2011: Three years after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, thousands still need shelter assistance, officials and aid workers say.

BBC 3 May 2011: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has denied that the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his country is a sign of its failure to tackle terrorism.

guardian.co.uk 30 April 2011: Poorly paid workers are said to work excessive hours and suffer humiliations in the drive to produce iPads and iPhones

Rediff Business 29 April 2011: India can become economically developed by 2020 if it maintains a GDP of 10-11 per cent as there are nine more years to achieve 'Vision 2020' goals, former President A P J Abdul Kalam said.

Devex 28 April 2011: The World Bank has reiterated its offer of $250 million in climate aid for the Philippines, urging the Asian country to complete its natural disaster management plan soon.

guardian.co.uk 28 April 2011: More than a decade after sweatshop labour for top brands became a mainstream issue, the problem still seems endemic across the global clothing and footwear sector

Asia Times 28 April 2011: The International Monetary Fund considers Pakistan's economic policymakers "cheaters and liars", according to Ehtisham Ahmad, the country's former representative on the Washington-based IMF board.

IRIN 28 April 2011: The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord has yet to be fully implemented, with human rights violations continuing more than a decade after it was signed in December 1997 says the UN.

IRIN 26 April 2011: The plight of hundreds of small fishermen lost at sea more than a month ago underscores the need for a more effective weather warning system in Myanmar, officials say.

UN News Centre 26 April 2011: The United Nations human rights chief today urged further investigations into the conduct of the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka after a UN panel into those events found there were credible reports that both Government forces and Tamil rebels had committed war crimes.

guardian.co.uk 26 April 2011: Sustainable small-scale method of encourages farmers to plant with care in order to harvest abundantly

BBC 26 April 2011: Soaring food and fuel prices are threatening to derail growth in Asian economies, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Devex 20 April 2011: As the annual donors conference for Cambodia draws near, donor countries and organizations should consider withholding their aid to the Asian country in response to the alleged corruption within its government, a journalism professor and author argues.

IRIN 19 April 2011: After several weeks of severe sickness, with unrelenting diarrhoea and high fever, Shamshad Ali, aged five, from a village near the town of Sheikhupura in Punjab Province, finally feels strong enough to venture out of his house again.

EurActiv 19 April 2011: While relations between India and China or India and the US have their moments of tension, nothing divides the country and Europe, except when Europe tries to give too much advice on domestic issues, said Shashi Tharoor, a former UN under-secretary general and a member of the Indian parliament, in an in interview with EurActiv.

Devex 18 April 2011: The United Kingdom looks to spend 250 million pounds ($408 million) each year through 2015 to support development efforts in Bangladesh.

IRIN 14 April 2011: Use of antibiotics has reached an alarming level in Indonesia, fuelled by poor diagnosis, ignorance and poor regulation of drugs, experts said.

UN 14 April 2011: Landlocked developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region today pledged during a United Nations-backed meeting in Mongolia to promote greater cooperation and to reduce trade and transport barriers in an effort to achieve mutual sustainable development.

IRIN 14 April 2011: Tharparkar in Pakistani’s Sindh Province relies heavily on underground water sources because it has no rivers, but fluoride contamination is proving a major source of illness, experts say.

IPS 14 April 2011: At the tender age of 10, Rodel Morozco was working in a goldmine and crawling inside tunnels, until one day he fell 200 feet underground because his father had blasted the tunnel with dynamite

IRIN 12 April 2011: Aid agencies in Thailand are concerned about a government plan to close a string of Burmese refugee camps along its western border.

EUbusiness.com 12 April 2011: European governments extended by one year Tuesday a set of trade and financial sanctions on Myanmar -- but opened the door to the Burmese foreign minister in an inducement to accelerate change.

EurActiv.com 12 April 2011: The European Union needs to show it can provide added value if it wants to be seen by India as a full-fledged partner in foreign affairs, otherwise the rising global giant will continue to deal with member states on an individual basis, said EU Ambassador to India Danièle Smadja told EurActiv in an interview in New Delhi.

IRIN 11 April 2011: The young man sits on the railing of the long tail boat, explaining how he smuggles amphetamines into Thailand from Myanmar.

Devex.com 11 April 2011: The U.S. Agency for International Development is reportedly set to fund the Pakistani version of the classic U.S. children’s show “Sesame Street” to help lift the Islamic country’s sagging educational system.

IRIN 8 April 2011: Newly reported HIV infections among young people have increased 10-fold in the past three years in the Philippines, one of only seven countries worldwide where overall infections continue to climb, according to the government.

Guardian.co.uk 8 April 2011: Organisations are calling on the Cambodian government to withdraw the draft law, which threatens to curtail their activities and 'contravenes international human rights laws'

IRIN 7 April 2011: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is being criticized for weak collaboration and a failure to act at the latest international climate change conference in Bangkok.

Devex.com 6 April 2011: U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled plans to nearly triple British aid for Pakistan’s education sector even as he himself conceded that the Islamic nation’s weak government could hamper efficient use of aid.

IRIN 6 April 2011: Despite various government and non-governmental initiatives to stem child marriage in Bangladesh, parents are continuing to marry off their underage daughters, health experts say.

Guardian.co.uk 6 April 2011: Armed tribesmen abandon 13 captives after six days in jungle hideout amid long-running clan feud

Devex.com 5 April 2011: The U.S. Agency for International Development has deferred funding for a $250 million project with Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, while the World Bank has threatened to cancel its $300 million loan to the commission, a Pakistani newspaper says.

EU 5 April 2011: Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, made the following statement...

Guardian.co.uk 5 April 2011: Prime minister seeks to 'deepen the unbreakable partnership' and plans to announce extra aid for Pakistan

IRIN 4 April 2011: With a new government recently sworn in, a former Myanmar health official is calling on leaders to invest more in healthcare for the country's poorest

Devex.com 1 April 2011: It’s an open secret in Afghan regions controlled by the Taliban: Organizations implementing aid projects allocate a portion of their budgets to payments to the insurgents, a report says.

31 March 2011: High food prices prevented more than 19 million people in the Asia-Pacific region from lifting themselves out of poverty last year, the United Nations said in a new study released today, warning that soaring food and fuel inflation will keep large sections of the region’s population below the poverty threshold.

The Times of India 31 March 2011: India's population has touched 1.20 billion (121 crore), indicating a rise of 17.64 percent, according to provisional results of the 15th Census released Thursday.

UN 30 March 2011: While applauding the development gains made by Viet Nam, an independent United Nations human rights expert has stressed the need for the South-East Asian nation to ensure a human rights-based approach in addressing social and economic challenges.

IRIN 30 March 2011: Thousands of older returnees to Sri Lanka's conflict-affected north feel marginalized and need medical care, experts say.

BBC 30 March 2011: Burma's military government has been officially dissolved, state television said, after the new president of a civilian-led parliament was sworn in.

Asia Times 30 March 2011: India: Warren Buffet is reportedly giving away 99% of his US$47 billion net worth to the poor and the needy...

Devex.com 29 March 2011: The United Kingdom will spend two-thirds of its annual aid of 280 million pounds ($448 million) to India over the next four years on three of the Asian country’s poorest states, namely Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, according to U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell.

IRIN 29 March 2011: The planned drawdown of US-NATO troops in Afghanistan later this year could adversely affect the flow of foreign aid to a country where the achievements since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 are still fragile, aid workers warn.

AsiaTimes 29 March 2011: As India prepares to seal a sweeping trade and investment deal with the European Union (EU) in April, civil society groups are campaigning to limit the deal's repercussions within the local generic drug industry here on which millions of people around the globe depend.

BBC 28 March 2011: A UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia is hearing the appeal of a former Khmer Rouge member who was convicted of crimes against humanity.

IRIN 28 March 2011: More than seven months after the European Union (EU) suspended its preferential trade agreement with Sri Lanka in protest over the country’s human rights record, the subsidy cut has had little impact on the sector targeted, according to government officials.

UN 27 March 2011: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste on Sunday handed over policing duties to the country's national force, which will be fully responsible for maintaining law and order nationwide beginning tomorrow.

BBC 27 March 2011: The nuclear disaster in Japan has prompted several countries to slow down and even suspend some of their nuclear programmes. But South Asia - a region that hosts two rival states with nuclear weapons - has made no such move.

The Wall Street Journal 25 March 2011: North Korea's government food distribution system will run dry in May and put one-quarter of the country's 24 million residents at risk of starvation, the U.N. World Food Program said in an assessment that may influence whether the U.S. and other countries provide assistance to the country.

BBC 25 March 2011: More than 60 people have died in a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Burma which struck near the Lao and Thai borders.

IRIN 24 March 2011: According to the most recent national tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey in Myanmar conducted from 2009-2010 and still undergoing analysis, preliminary data show a large proportion of TB cases are going undetected.

IPS 23 March 2011: Vietnam's race to build nuclear power plants has barely skipped a beat desipte the troubling scenes unfolding in Japan, where a nuclear nightmare has gripped the country for over a week.

BBC 21 March 2011: Cambodia has imposed a partial ban on foreign men marrying local women - would-be bridegrooms will now have to be less than 50 years old.

IPS - 19 March 2011: Western powers must prove that their support for human rights is "on the right side of history" following the forced closure of the only independent international rights group in Uzbekistan, a country ruled by a repressive regime since 1991, rights defenders say.

European Commission Press Release 14 March 2011: The European Union's humanitarian assistance for Myanmar and Thailand will reach €22.25 million this year. The size of the contribution was announced in Bangkok by Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation and Crisis Response. From the European humanitarian aid budget, €8 million will be allocated to refugees from Myanmar living in border camps in Thailand, and €14.25 million will provide help to vulnerable communities in Myanmar, including those affected by cyclone Giri.