Asia

Development projects and construction work around military bases make up an overwhelmingly large part of Afghanistan’s economy. With foreign troops withdrawing and declining aid, the country is looking for its future economic path.

Afghanistan has a new mining law that aims to tap the potentially lucrative sector to fund the country's post-war development. Critics say, it falls short of international standards and could encourage further conflict and corruption.

Humaira Saqeeb was born in Kabul in 1982, during her school years she was a refugee. Today she is editor-in-chief of the "Women News Agency" and member of the “Women Political Participation Committee”. We talked to her about the ongoing violence against women in Afghanistan.

Siddiq Siddiqi is a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior and head of its public relations unit. He is young, hardworking, serious, and optimistic about Afghanistan’s future. His focus is very much on bringing young people into politics.

Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus has been arrested in Baku. The regime’s savage crackdown on press and opposition started long before the presidential elections of 2013.

Dr Faramarz Tamana is Head of the Strategic Studies Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also leads the Afghanistan Institute of Higher Education and teaches International Relations.

Afghanistan’s new mining law has serious weaknesses, warns Global Witness, as President Hamid Karzai signed the bill onto the statute books. The gaps in the law increase the risk that the country’s mineral wealth will fuel conflict and corruption instead of development, the campaigning group adds.

For the first time in the last 17 years an Indian Prime Minister has visited Nepal. Modi's challenge is to nudge the country on the path of stability and development without sounding ‘big brotherly’, says Avani Tewari in her blog.

Duniya Mohsini is a university lecturer. She has been teaching for the last 12 years and is much liked by her students. Currently, she is doing a Ph.D. course in literature at a university in Tajikistan. She has been a frequent contributor to Rah-e Madaniyat Daily.  

India's new prime minister Narendra Modi succesfully presented his ideas of national development on his first international summit. Its most important outcome: a common BRICS Development Banc that could challenge the global financial order.

What can we make out of a deadlocked electoral result, with seemingly contradictory stories from the candidates? A graphical analysis shows: Ghani's second round numerical victory was brought about by finding 1.3 million new votes and depositing them in key spots.

It was eagerly anticipated, if the maiden budget of the newly elected Modi government could steer the Indian economy from the morass where it had been deposited by the previous government. Unfortunately, it is nothing more than a solid middle of the road budget, says Awani Tevari.  

India's government has to face new and old problems: Indian nurses and construction workers were taken captive by the ISIS in Iraq. The conflict surrounding the status of Jammu and Kashmir is a legacy which has both an internal and an external dimension.

Exactly one month ago the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. The young blogger Avani Tewani analysed the first decisions of the new government and assessed the political measures.

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre hold an International conference on “Women, Religion and Politics” on 17-18 of March, 2011, at Holiday Inn Hotel, Lahore, where eminent speakers, discussants from International and National participated.

Prime Minister Narenda Modi faces the challenge of balancing threats to India’s national security while maintaining good relations and peace with its neighbours. Modi's visit in Bhutan is seen as both, a demonstration of India's strength and the willingness for collaboration.

Islamabad (18 June, 2014): Sustainable power generation is a top priority of the current government of Pakistan to address the energy crisis in the long run. This was stated by Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning and Development at the International Wind Energy Conference organized by World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) and Heinrich Boll Stiftung Pakistan in Islamabad.

Free media are essential for India, the world's largest democracy. But religious intolerance, political influence and corporate control over the media constitute a common set of factors which harm freedom of expression.

Officially there are no legal obstacles to women participating in politics in Afghanistan. However only one woman registered as a presidential candidate among many men, making discrimination against women in Afghan politics obvious.

Analysts believe that the sex market will be very active during the World Cup. In Brazil, prostitution is not a crime, but it is not regulated as a profession either.