ISLAMABAD, 16 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The World Bank on Thursday approved an emergency credit of about US $400 million to support the earthquake recovery and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan over the next three years.Full report

KABUL, 14 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The Word Bank approved a grant of US $80 million to support post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Full report

ANDIJAN, 9 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - As this year’s cotton-picking season wraps up in Uzbekistan, the authorities in the Ferghana Valley region have come under criticism for continuing the practice of using government employees and child labour to harvest the country’s main cash crop. 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

KABUL, 7 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - At least 200 members of the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA), including investigators, intelligence analysts and prosecutors, have completed a week’s training on basic drug investigation, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.Full report

KABUL, 6 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - An estimated 1 million child labourers under 14 are deprived of education, health care and other necessary facilities for human development across Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.Full report

KABUL, 1 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - Thousands of women and girls who toil in appalling conditions to make Afghan carpets for export are treated as unpaid slaves and suffer from routine exhaustion, long hours, low pay and health problems, according to a survey conducted by a local rights body released on Thursday. Full report

DUNG, 29 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - When the 8 October earthquake rumbled through the tiny hamlet of Dung in the Gojra Union Council, west of the city of Muzaffarabad, the animals fled to the fields where they destroyed all the crops.Full report

ANKARA, 25 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday it has allocated US $952 million to supporting regional cooperation in Central Asia over the next three years. The Manila-based ADB said the package was part of an updated strategy for its Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme. Full report

OSH, 23 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - With more than half of southern Kyrgyzstan’s population still mired in poverty, the government of the Central Asian country needs to support and facilitate the development of small business in the region in order to tackle poverty and unemployment, activists say.Full report

KYRGYZSTAN: Focus on support for small business

TAJIKISTAN: Interview with Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan

AFGHANISTAN: Interview with rural development minister

AFGHANISTAN: Interview with governor of isolated Nuristan province

AFGHANISTAN: Focus on rehabilitation of child soldiers