Nepal: police and Maoists die in daily clashes. (BBC)

China makes restrained response of 'grave concern' as Taiwan takes referendum steps that may lead to independence. (CNN)

Kashmir: the military ceasefire between India and Pakistan continues, though violence also continues. The BBC have an interesting section, with maps, of possible solutions to the deadlock - each accompanied with an explanation as to why it won't work.

The UN reports that world hunger is growing again, after a drop in the 1990s. (CNN)

British Foreign Office advice against travel to major cities in Turkey renewed.

Who will succeed President Mubarak in Egypt?

A UN resolution warning Iran over its nuclear programme is being prepared.

Quotas on textiles, import duties on televisions: China and the USA might not be having a trade war yet, but there are skirmishes.

Good news: India have responded to Pakistan's Kashmir-related ceasefire with one of their own.

China wants clearer support from the USA on the issue of Taiwan.

Pakistan has offered India a Kashmir-related ceasefire.

Hong Kong: pro-democracy campaigners are celebrating victories in Sunday's local elections.

Afghanistan: the ousted Taliban leader exhorts Afghans to unite to fight the US military.

Forum 18 have published a religious freedom survey of Tajikistan.

Kyrgyzstan: a member of parliament makes allegations about the illegal export of dead bodies.

Turkey: The Foreign Office is warning against any travel to any major Turkish cities. UK and Turkey united against terrorism.

Pakistan banned three Islamic militant groups last week and another three yesterday.

Nepal: Amnesty International want investigation into treatment of Maoist suspects in custody.

China and India get pally, with first joint naval exercise; Pakistan a bit edgy.

India's economy is going well too, with pay rises the highest in Asia.

A Time article on China's booming export economy.

Turkey: more explosions in Istanbul this morning, including at the British Consulate. At least fifteen fatalities in total.

Delhi, India, will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

China's space programme continues.

The BBC website has a regularly updated resource on the Kashmir situation.

President Mubarak of Egypt was taken ill while making a speech.

Someone has directed me to Persian Spring, a Christian eMagazine in Farsi. The link is to the only page in English; you or someone you know might be interested in the Farsi pages.

After recent attacks, the UN is temporarily withdrawing aid workers from, and closing refugee centres in, some parts of Afghanistan.

Pakistan has launched a programme to tackle Aids. The BBC also has an article on Aids care by motorbike in India.

So, apparently we've missed the camel beauty contest in Inner Mongolia, China.

In Ghazni, Afghanistan, a UN aid worker was murdered.

In Turkey, two synagogues in Istanbul were bombed, with over twenty fatalities and many casualties.

About 350 million people in China - over a quarter of the population - smoke. They're going to increase the size of the health warnings on the packets.

Pakistan is a little peeved at the UK's apparent attempt to bug the Pakistani High Commission in London.

In Cyprus a theatre company is preparing to perform an ancient play which was rediscovered when fragments of it were found on papyrus used as stuffing in an Egyptian mummy.

A study in India indicates that the HIV virus is being spread mainly by married men.

The BBC news website has a section on the global spread of HIV.

Barnabas Fund reports on the arrest of 22 Christians in Egypt (and the subsequent release on bail of 17 of them).

Saudi Arabia is banning the export of sand.

A Time article on a rich man in India seeking political power.

Police are cracking down on child kidnapping gangs in China.

A transcript from a documentary by Australian channel SBS on conversions and anti-conversion laws in India.

A row over jobs in a tea plantation in India left twenty-one people dead.

How one man in Afghanistan hid the priceless Golden Hoard of Bactria through twenty-five years of upheaval.

Bangladesh is extending access to phone technology.

An interesting analysis from the Nepali Times of the situation in Nepal.

Nepal: the army reports statistics for fatalities in clashes since the ceasefire ended in August - over 700 Maoists, over 170 security personnel. No figure given for non-combatants.

India is planning to spend large sums to provide information technology resources for rural areas.

Saudi Arabia: US, British and other diplomats are withdrawn; a suicide bomber strikes in the capital, Riyadh.

In a move seen as an attack on freedom of the press, politicians in Tamil Nadu, India, have attempted to imprison journalists from the respected newspaper, The Hindu.

Someone has prepared a resource for those wishing to pray for Morocco.

China: daughter of top communist marries son of top capitalist.

In India, foreign investment in the stock exchanges is soaring in anticipation of economic growth.

The USA authorise another 87 billion dollars of funding for Iraq and Afghanistan, and restate their commitment to help establish a free Iraq as part of the extension of global democracy.

India: workers and tourists in New Delhi are being terrorised by monkeys.

The weekly sessions of Saudi Arabia's consultative council are going to be shown on television.

Ever wondered what Iraqi bodybuilders think of Arnold Schwarzenegger's move into politics? Wonder no more.

Two Britons in China reckon Mao's 'Long March' wasn't as long as was made out, having retraced it on foot themselves.

A European survey asked which country posed the greatest threat to world peace. Israel came first (Israel unhappy about this). Second equal were Iran, North Korea and the USA (article doesn't say what these three thought about this).

A Time article on the treatment of people with mental illness in Asia.

A series of travel documentaries on the Central Asian Republics are being shown this week, late at night, on BBC2 and BBC4, entitled 'Holidays in the danger zone'. Some photographs from the trip are here.

President Musharraf is visiting Beijing, seeking to strengthen the ties between Pakistan and China.

A United Nations delegation has arrived in Afghanistan to encourage and show commitment to the leadership there; things seem shaky.

The USA remains committed to its work in Iraq, after its troops' heaviest day's losses since the end of the war.