Development versus pollution in Pakistan
Political pressure to prioritize industrial development, and the inability of enforcement agencies to punish polluters, is part of the reason why up to 40 percent of all patients in Pakistani hospitals are suffering from water-borne diseases. IRIN explores what can be done to clean up the water supply. full report

More Reports

Record dengue season predicted in Thailand

 BANGKOK, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - With more than 40 deaths and almost 40,000 cases of dengue fever reported in Thailand so far this year, health experts are warning this could be the largest-ever epidemic. full report

Tamils want more devolved power in Sri Lanka's north

 COLOMBO, 11 June 2013 (IRIN) - Ahead of Sri Lanka's planned provincial election in a former war zone, the country's main ethnic minority Tamil party is pushing to have as much power devolved from Colombo as possible. full report

Timor-Leste farmers need seed support

 DILI, 10 June 2013 (IRIN) - An increase in new, higher-yield seed varieties is helping some rural communities produce more food in Timor-Leste, but greater support is still needed, aid agencies say. full report

Pakistani families forced to flee FATA “paradise”

 JALOZAI, 10 June 2013 (IRIN) - The last thing Sher Mohammed remembers before fleeing fighting in his village in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan was watching an eight-year-old girl being shot and killed by her father. full report

Timor-Leste promotes traditional conflict resolution

 DILI, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - ‘Tara bandu’, a traditional form of conflict resolution, can play a bigger role in mitigating conflict in Timor-Leste at the community level, local leaders and experts say. full report

Atrocious conditions in Bangladesh tanneries

 DHAKA, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - Despite working 12 hours a day and exposing herself to toxic chemicals, 55-year old Taslima Begum, a tannery worker in Hazaribagh, an industrial neighbourhood in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, earns just US$40 per month. full report