ANKARA, 22 December (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Government warns of possible poppy crop spraying AFGHANISTAN: Kandahar residents support UN call for NATO to do more to avoid civilian casualties AFGHANISTAN: Communist era mass grave discovered hightlights need for post-war justice CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap NEPAL: Ending impunity should be taken seriously by the government - UN NEPAL: UN arms monitors and electoral advisors to be deployed NEPAL: Maternal mortality is silent killer PAKISTAN: Quake offers a window of opportunity for women empowerment PAKISTAN: Bid to restore quake-hit regional government under way PAKISTAN: Pollution plunges Lahore into twilight zone PAKISTAN: Afghan registration hits 1 million PAKISTAN: Girls' schools face growing threat in NWFP PAKISTAN: Boost to winter access in Pakistan quake zone PAKISTAN: Rain brings quake survivors south once more

AFGHANISTAN: Government warns of possible poppy crop spraying

In a bid to curb poppy cultivation, the government of Afghanistan has warned farmers that it could spray poppy fields if other ways are not successful. This year, only 10 percent of the total 165,000 ha under cultivation was eradicated, while the total area planted was up 59 percent compared to 2005. The impoverished Central Asian state produces more than 90 percent of the world opium, according to Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56774 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN: Kandahar residents support UN call for NATO to do more to avoid civilian casualties

Kandahar residents have welcomed a United Nations (UN) report into the killing of civilians by British soldiers earlier this month and have called on NATO to treat the report seriously. In the report, released on Monday, the UN called on NATO to take strict measures to avoid further civilian deaths and to create a mechanism for compensation of civilian victims of NATO-led military actions.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56801 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN: Communist era mass grave discovered hightlights need for post-war justice

Some 2,000 bodies are believed to have been dumped in a recently unearthed communist-era mass grave in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday. The mass grave was unearthed one day earlier close to the communist era's most notorious prison Poli Charkhi on the eastern outskirts of the capital.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56822 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

This week in Central Asia, the passing of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov dominated the news following his death by cardiac arrest early on Thursday, ending what many viewed as one of the most authoritarian regimes ever. Niyazov, 66, who had ruled Turkmenistan with an iron fist following the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991 had little tolerance for dissent and had long been criticised by human rights groups around the world.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56829 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA

NEPAL: Ending impunity should be taken seriously by the government - UN

The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal has expressed serious concerns over the lack of effective measures to address impunity in the country. "There is still an opportunity for the government to demonstrate to the Nepalese people and the international community that it is serious about ending impunity by holding human rights violators accountable for their actions," said Lena Sundh, head of OHCHR-Nepal.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56816 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: UN arms monitors and electoral advisors to be deployed

The United Nations (UN) will deploy 35 monitors of arms and armies in the Himalayan nation in 10 days' time to support the process of managing former Maoist rebel soldiers and weapons, Ian Martin, personal representative to the UN Secretary-General in Nepal, said on Sunday. The management of Maoist arms and armies was one of the most contentious agendas in the comprehensive peace agreement between the Maoist rebels and the interim government of seven national parties signed in November.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56776 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: Maternal mortality is silent killer

Nepal is failing to take measures to tackle extremely high levels of maternal mortality, with the issue largely neglected by the authorities, according to a new global World Disaster Report by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). Pregnancy-related complications kill 5,000 to 6,000 Nepalese women and girls every year, especially in the villages, due to a lack of skilled birth attendants (SBAs) and well-equipped health centres with emergency obstetric care.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56802 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

PAKISTAN: Quake offers a window of opportunity for women empowerment

Pakistan's earthquake of October 2005, the worst natural disaster in the country's history, served as a window of opportunity for empowering Pakistani women and enabling them to take an active role in building disaster-resilient communities, noted this year's World Disasters Report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56828 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Bid to restore quake-hit regional government under way

The massive challenge of restoring local government capacity across the quake zone of northern Pakistan is gathering momentum – thanks to a multi-million-dollar international initiative. Hundreds of government buildings were severely damaged or destroyed when last year's disaster tore through the country's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistani-administered Kashmir crippling administration infrastructure in an area already poorly resourced.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56823 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Pollution plunges Lahore into twilight zone

Much like the south or north poles, the western Pakistani city of Lahore remains in what looks like perpetual twilight through much of its winter. But the phenomena, which means street lights remain surreally switched on through much of the morning and drivers along motorways use headlamps or fog lights at all times, is caused in this case not by the position of the sun but by pollution.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56813 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Afghan registration hits 1 million

Over a million Afghans living in Pakistan have been registered in a drive to provide them with official identification for a three-year period, UN officials said on Tuesday. After an initial slow start in mid-October, the registration campaign has accelerated in recent weeks, with over 1,030,000 Afghans having registered with Pakistani authorities.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56791 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Girls' schools face growing threat in NWFP

It is not uncommon to hear the sound of gunfire in the small town of Darra Adam Khel, 42 miles south of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Pakistan's rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP). In fact, a deafening volley sounds out every few minutes in the town's dusty main bazaars, as traders or buyers test out the weapons on sale at the many shops lined along the market.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56800 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Boost to winter access in Pakistan quake zone

Additional cash has been made available by the Pakistani government to maintain road access across the hazardous quake zone this winter, following a concerted lobby by the international aid community. Anwar Ul Haq, the United Nation's Area Coordinator for North West Frontier Province (NWFP), welcomed the move and said it was critical that access to quake-hit communities be maintained.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56778 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Rain brings quake survivors south once more

For the past week, Mansoor Alam, 32, a cook working at a private home in the Punjab capital Lahore, has been visiting other relatives scattered across the city. He is seeking space to house the families of his two brothers, who travelled down from their village near Muzaffarabad, the quake-ravaged capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, a short while ago.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56777 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

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