KABUL, 24 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Despite significant progress on preparations for autumn polls, some candidates of Afghanistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections are still linked with armed groups and some are holding stocks of weapons, the United Nations and a local human rights body warned. Full report

LAHORE, 24 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Fifty-two-year-old Anwari Mai keeps an old black and white photograph of her son on the kitchen shelf of her house in the tiny village where she lives with her family, close to the industrial town of Gujranwala in the central Pakistani province of Punjab. Full report

ANKARA, 24 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has denied claims by the Uzbek authorities that it is harbouring alleged criminals and terrorists.Full report

ISLAMABAD, 23 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Islamabad intends to adhere to a timetable of closures of various Afghan refugee camps and settlements across the country, a government official said on Tuesday, responding to reports that extensions were being considered to allow camp residents time to leave in safety and with dignity.Full report

KATHMANDU, 23 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Nepal’s seven main political parties say they are preparing for talks with the leaders of the nation’s Maoist rebels, who have been waging a violent campaign against the state for the last nine years. Over 12,000 people have died in the continuing insurgency.Full report

DUSHANBE, 23 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - The Tajik national demining body needs at least half a million US dollars in funding in order to establish a dog demining centre. The centre would form an important part of Tajikistan's efforts to clear millions of mines in the former Soviet republic by 2010. Full report

BARDIYA, 22 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Every evening, Kamala Tharu and her two young daughters Dilkumari and Premkumari sit near their house in the district of Bardiya, 700km west of the capital, Kathmandu, gazing at the dusty tracks that lead to their village in the vain hope of seeing husband and father, Laka Jawan Lahanu, returning.Full report

ANDIJAN, 18 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Three months after a violent government crack down on protests in the southeastern Uzbek city of Andijan, there is a palpable sense of fear on and off the streets, despite less soldiers seen in public and shops and office open as usual. People who witnessed the killing of up to 1,000 mainly unarmed civilians on 13 May in and around the city say they are burning inside but giving up hope of obtaining justice for the dead and injured.Full report

BISHKEK, 18 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - An appeal to overturn a decision by the Kyrgyz migration department to deny refugee status to Uzbeks who fled violence in southeastern Uzbekistan was granted by a city court in the capital, Bishkek, on Thursday.Full report

KATHMANDU, 17 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Some national and international NGOs in Nepal say they are seriously concerned over the introduction of the Social Welfare (First Amendment) Ordinance 2005. The new government ruling was promulgated during the last week of July and gives new powers to the state to enable it to control and regulate programmes run by NGOs and their activities. Full report

KYRGYZSTAN-UZBEKISTAN: Focus on Andijan asylum seekers

AFGHANISTAN: Interview with rural development minister

AFGHANISTAN: Interview with governor of isolated Nuristan province

AFGHANISTAN: Focus on rehabilitation of child soldiers

PAKISTAN: Focus on a quarter century of UN assistance to Afghan refugees