MUZAFFARABAD, 21 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Over 30 women sitting in a tent in quake-ravaged northern Pakistan are holding up their right arms high in the air, waiting for their turn to talk. Many are clutching scraps of paper with meticulous lists written on them.Full report

ARAVAN, 20 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - A landslide on Sunday ripped through a road linking the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh with the Aravan district, blocking traffic and destroying electricity and telephone services to the area, with no casualties reported.Full report

DUSHANBE, 16 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The United Nations launched its appeal for Tajikistan for 2006 in the capital, Dushanbe, on Thursday, requesting more than US $51 million from international donors. 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

MUZAFFARABAD, 15 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Under a blue sky in the grounds of the Ajaz Gillani Relief Tent Village, in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, a group of women wearing heavy-duty workmen’s gloves are grappling with thick coils of metal wire.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, 13 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Improving weather in northern Pakistan is facilitating the international earthquake humanitarian operation, relief officials said on Monday in the capital, Islamabad. Full report

MANSEHRA, 7 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - In a further effort to assist quake victims living in smaller spontaneous settlements, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has completed an assessment covering quake-hit areas of two districts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).Full report

LAHORE, 7 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Ayaz, 14, is not quite sure where to throw the large black rubbish bag he is lugging down a small street in a suburb of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. Full report

MUZAFFARABAD, 3 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Sajad Ahmad, 12, found himself an only child after his brother was killed in the earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan last October. With no shoes to protect him from the freezing mud all around, he queues patiently, along with thousands of others, at a Saudi Arabian-funded feeding centre in the Bala Noor Shah camp in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.Full report

IRAN: Year in Review 2005

KYRGYZSTAN: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events

TURKMENISTAN: Interview with United Nations Resident Representative

PAKISTAN: Focus on shelter in mountain earthquake communities

PAKISTAN: Focus on UNHCR efforts to keep quake survivors warm

PAKISTAN: Number of tented camps to increase

PAKISTAN: Interview with UN Humanitarian Area Coordinator, Rashid Khalikov