Download Indonesia wants to turn itself into a global food producer.

To do that the government plans to turn 1.6 million hectares of land, in the eastern most province of Papua, into fields for crops such as rice, corn, soybean, sugar and palm oil.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and jungle-clad Papua is its poorest region.

Supporters of the project say it will reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imports. 

But it has sparked concerns about widespread forest destruction and the marginalisation of local farmers.

Liza Desylanhi went to the proposed site in Merauke to investigate.

In the first of her two part series she hears from the supporters of the project.

Download  Burmese sex workers say they don’t carry condoms because if they do they will be arrested by the police.

Sex work is illegal in Burma and there are no government programs to educate against HIV/AIDS.

As a result Burma has one of the fastest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in Asia after Cambodia and Thailand.

Banyar Kong Janoi went to meet sex workers in the capital Rangoon and has this report.

Download  Military-ruled Burma  will hold its first elections in 20 years on November the 7th.

The road ahead is far from certain, as new political parties struggle to compete with junta-backed favorites.

Candidates have to summit their names to the election committee by August the 30th along with 500 US dollars per name.  

At least 40 parties have registered to compete for 330 seats in the national parliament.

But Opposition parties say campaigning is very difficult as their activists are restricted by the military and they lack funds.

Burma correspondent Banyar Kong Janoi reports.

Download  This year looks set to be a crucial one for Burma.

The military government has announced that the  first elections for 20 years will be held on November the 7th and international attention is likely to be focused on the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But there is another group working to bring about change in Burma whose methods are less conventional.

Generation Wave is a group of hip-hop-loving, young Burmese, dedicated to overthrowing the military government.

They are boycotting the election and demanding a social revolution.

Banyar Kong Janoi went to meet them in Rangoon.

Download  The situation in the Indian controlled Kashmir remains tense with no respite in clashes between local protesters and Indian Security Forces. 

The death toll now stands at 51.

The continuous civilian killings are now evoking protests from Kashmiris living outside the valley.

Bismillah Geelani has the story.

Download  Blogs are an alternative source of independence news in Burma as all other media such as newspapers, radio, and TV are controlled by the military regime.

The bloggers gained international attention during the ‘Saffron Revolution’ against the government lead by the countries monks in 2007.  Bloggers were the main source of news and uploaded video and images of the protest.  

As our reporter Banyar Kong Janoi found out, the blogs are an important source of election news for young people inside Burma.

He spent two days with a renowned blogger inYangon.

Download  It’s been almost two months since the current spate of violence erupted in Indian controlled Kashmir over the killing of a youth by Indian security forces.

But the valley still shows no signs of restoration of returning to normal.

The situation has in fact worsened over the last few weeks with Indian security forces security forces killing more protesters.

More than 40 people mostly young children have died so far and the valley continues to remain trapped in a vicious cycle of violence.

Bismillah Geelani has the story.