NEPAL, 17 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Since the start of the Maoist insurgency in February 1996, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people are thought to have been internally displaced in Nepal. Largely from rural communities, the displaced have fled violence and economic hardship. The majority live with relatives in temporary accommodation or on abandoned plots in towns, or in the capital Kathmandu.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, 15 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Speakers at a conference in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday called for realistic policies to regulate Afghan population movements in Pakistan, citing migration as not only a reaction to war and insecurity but also a key livelihood strategy.Full report

KABUL, 8 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Civic groups in Afghanistan expressed varying reactions to a decision by the government on Tuesday to de-register some 1,600 NGOs in the post-conflict country. Full report

QUETTA, 2 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - An apparent air of calm hangs over the sleepy city of Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, lying to the southwest and bordering Iran and Afghanistan. Full report

KABUL, 2 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The Afghan government looks set to have more control over aid worth US $10.5 billion pledged at the London donor conference for the rehabilitation of the war-ravaged country, officials said on Thursday.Full report

KABUL, 26 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - The European Union (EU) has allocated €20 million (US $24 million) in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and areas of neighbouring Pakistan and Iran to boost refugees' conditions.Full report

ISLAMABAD , 19 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - A refined criteria regarding the future status of Afghans living in Pakistan is now under consideration, a new report by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said.Full report

TEHRAN, 13 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - During 2005, Iran was on a rollercoaster ride of earthquakes, disasters, major political reshuffles and high-profile human rights cases. And all of this overshadowed by an escalating nuclear crisis and a new Islamic fundamentalist president.Full report

KATHMANDU, 12 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - 10 February - A much anticipated peace rally scheduled for Thursday in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, ended in silence when the main organisers of the demonstration were arrested soon after their arrival. This was the first time that a mass demonstration had been organised in the capital since King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah declared a state of emergency on 1 February.Full report

IRAN: Year in Review 2005

NEPAL: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events

NEPAL: Escaping rural violence and hardship – the reality of displacement

TURKMENISTAN: Interview with United Nations Resident Representative

PAKISTAN: Focus on the conflict in Balochistan

PAKISTAN: Focus on shelter in mountain earthquake communities

TAJIKISTAN: Interview with head of UNHCR country office, Francisco Galindo-Velez