QUETTA, 16 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - For two years, Faqir Hussain, 26, has been searching for a job. He goes about the task methodically from his tiny flat in the southern Pakistani city of Quetta, cutting out notices that appear each week in the Sunday newspapers and maintaining a meticulous list of the organisations he has already written to. Full report

BISHKEK, 16 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - A meeting of environmental experts has wrapped up in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, as part of a regional project on environmental safety and emergency preparedness in Ferghana Valley. Full report

ASHGABAT, 15 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Richard Young is the United Nations' new Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. In an interview with IRIN in the capital, Ashgabat he spoke about the need to formulate an emergency preparedness plan for the earthquake-prone republic and about new programmes to promote human rights in the country. Full report

ISLAMABAD, 12 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - 10 January - An outbreak of leishmaniasis, a skin disease caused by the bite of a sand fly, has been reported in parts of the southern Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. "There are so many cases in the Dadu district of Sindh alone. The number of cases reported to health authorities has gone up from 402 to more than 2,900 in just four days. And we are receiving similar reports from the adjoining districts of Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana and Naushero Feroze," said Dr Hadi Bux Jatoi, director-general (DG) of health services in Sindh. He was talking to IRIN from Sukkur district, some 480 km from the Sindh capital, Karachi, on Friday.Full report

KABUL, 11 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - 4 January - More than 100,000 mt of ammunition will be collected from across the country under a new programme, the United Nations backed Afghanistan New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) confirmed.Full report

BISHKEK, 8 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - In a new report published this week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for the creation of the post of Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Central Asia in an effort to boost regional cooperation and reduce poverty in the region.Full report

ANKARA, 7 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - The European Commission's (EC) recent assistance of 3.5 million euros to Central Asia is intended to bolster disaster prevention and preparedness in the region.Full report

SANKHUWASABHA, 30 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - It’s a daunting task for development worker Narab Bhupal Rai. Not only does he have to walk for days to reach the remote villages where he works, he also has to run the gauntlet of Maoist rebel leaders who regularly interrogate him about his work and political affiliation. Despite the difficulties, Rai continues to carry out his duties.Full report

SUNSARI AND BANKE, 25 Jul 2005 (IRIN) - Flood victims in two of Nepal's flood-prone districts, Sunsari and Banke, located in the far eastern and western regions of the country, accuse both the government and international relief agencies of neglecting their plight.Full report

ISLAMABAD, 24 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - At least 100 mud-walled houses have been damaged by floods while about 500 families have been evacuated by Pakistani army rescue teams after several villages along the River Kabul were flooded on Thursday, according to initial reports by the relief department of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).Full report

PAKISTAN: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events Jan-Aug

AFGHANISTAN: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events

TURKMENISTAN: Interview with United Nations Resident Representative

NEPAL: Focus on rural development in Maoist areas

NEPAL: Interview with ICRC Delegate General

PAKISTAN: Focus on relief aid to northern Balochistan

KAZAKHSTAN: Interview on Almaty earthquake preparedness