Full Coverage: East Asia

24.04.2008 Asian governments' attempts to manage skyrocketing food prices by restricting rice exports is actually aggravating food shortages in the region, says Peter Timmer in this interview.

23.04.2008 Whatever happens to the Chinese arms shipment destined for Zimbabwe, the case highlights the urgent need for the UN to work towards an Arms Trade Treaty at a meeting in New York later this month, says a leading development group.

23.04.2008 Pictures from Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, and rural communities suggest "reality is less idyllic" than the vast steppe and nomadic way of life popularly associated with the least populated country in the world.

21.04.2008 North Korea may face an impending humanitarian food crisis due to the devastating effects of heavy August flooding on the national harvest, says an international food agency.
From: World Food Programme

21.04.2008 As the New Economics Foundation cast doubts on London's promise of a legacy for the poor from the 2012 Olympics, Nepali soldiers were told to shoot if necessary to "protect" the Olympic torch from pro-Tibet demonstrators.

21.04.2008 As Nepal steps up measures to prevent pro-Tibet protests in response to the Olympic torch being carried on Everest, the government has instructed soldiers to shoot if necessary.

18.04.2008 An urgent application has been made to suspend a transport permit allowing arms from China -- currently anchored in a South African harbor -- to be conveyed to the government of Zimbabwe.
From: Business Day

17.04.2008 While Darfur and Tibet activists took center stage as the Olympic torch passed through North America last week, anti-sweatshop advocates were also protesting against labor practices in Chinese factories making official Olympics garb.

15.04.2008 Saudi Arabia had the highest number of executions per capita, followed by Iran and Libya, according to a new Amnesty survey that says 88 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US.

14.04.2008 Kiinan vastaus maailmaa koettelevaan ruokakriisiin on paluu omavaraiseen maataloustuotantoon. Nopea kaupungistuminen kuitenkin kutistaa peltopinta-alaa ja imee työvoimaa pois maataloudesta.

10.04.2008 "Show your support of trade agreements that assure job security and decent livelihoods, and take a stand against the NAFTA model that displaces millions from their homes and jobs and furthers environmental destruction," urges a group advocating fairer globalization.

10.04.2008 Between 2000 and 2006, carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels grew 3.1 percent a year -- more than twice the rate of growth during the 1990s, says a new study from an environmental think tank.

10.04.2008 China is worried that the recent resentment and resistance among the Tibetans could spread to other major minorities whose traditional territories have been colonised and exploited by the majority Han Chinese. The Tibetans clearly want some form of autonomy, which they will not get, says Mathieu Vernerey.

08.04.2008 The incarceration of prominent Chinese rights activist Hu Jia reflects the increasingly repressive nature of the Chinese government ahead of the summer 2008 Olympic Games, says a human rights watchdog.
From: Human Rights Watch

07.04.2008 Security measures for the Olympic torch relay’s passage through Paris are "shameful", according to an international media freedom group.

07.04.2008 Amnesty International vaatii vankeuteen tuomitun kiinalaisen toisinajattelijan Hu Jian vapauttamista. Amnesty vetoaa myös valtionpäämiehiin ja Kansainväliseen olympiakomiteaan, jotta ne vaatisivat Hun vapauttamista.

06.04.2008 Police had to bring in reinforcements to marshal the Olympic torch relay through London after a series of protests along the 31-mile route by critics of China's human rights record.
+ IOC memo minimises events in Tibet

02.04.2008 The International Olympic Committee must insist that Beijing ensure freedom for the press to report in the run-up to and during August’s Olympic Games, an international media freedom group said.

02.04.2008 Kiinan valmistautuminen Pekingin olympialaisiin ei ole ainakaan toistaiseksi kohentanut maan ihmisoikeustilannetta. Joiltain osin tilanne on kisojen takia pikemminkin heikentynyt, kertoo ihmisoikeusjärjestö Amnesty Internationalin julkaisema raportti.

01.04.2008 NEW YORK, Apr 1 (OneWorld) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has drawn fire from one of the world's most prominent rights advocacy groups for not speaking out about the human rights situation in China.