"PRC has ordered coal mines, chemical plants and oil and gas wells to halt production to avoid further casualties after the country's strongest earthquake in 58 years killed more than 12,000 people. Companies in affected areas must evacuate workers and can't resume output until conditions allow for safe operations. Sichuan province, where the 7.9 magnitude temblor struck, holds about 40 percent of China's natural gas reserves and accounted for 22 percent of its output in 2006.

The earthquake damaged power plants and transmission lines and may cut the nation's energy demand. Chinese oil imports, the world's third-biggest, fell for the first time in 18 months in April as record crude prices discouraged refiners from purchasing oil to turn into fuel to sell below cost."

"Can $4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves pave a swift path out of poverty? Asia has built up its reserves mainly through intervention by its central banks, which buy dollars by issuing debt or local currency. If China's reserves were 'free' fiscal assets, then the country could pour billions into strengthening the pensions system, the health system, the education system or any other socially productive investment.

But unfortunately for China, its reserves are not free fiscal resources, they're central bank reserves. China has diverted over $100 billion of reserves to recapitalize state-owned banks and brokerages, while India's finance ministry and central bank are exploring a complicated mechanism to use a sliver of its $313 billion of reserves to fund infrastructure investment without the risk of monetary expansion."

"Recently, the Nepalese economy is facing several problems -- an accelerating inflation rate, fast dwindling exports and increasing levels of poverty. The inflation rate has surged beyond 7 percent. For an economy to be stable, the rate of inflation racing past 4-5 percent is always a big worry. As such, the inflation eats up economic growth, depletes the wealth and drags the people down into poverty.

Poverty cannot be effectively eradicated unless the government makes serious efforts to curb inflation. To do this, the new government must make available to the common people an abundant supply of essential commodities at affordable prices. Apart from maximizing production in the field and factories, the newly-elected government should also take drastic steps to improve the public distribution system."

"The Fiji Sugar Corporation's deal to supply $1 billion worth of sugar to the European Union (EU) could not have come at a better time. Under the agreement, Fiji will provide 300,000 tons of sugar a year to refiners Tate & Lyle. The interim sugar minister has called on all stakeholders to ensure that quotas are fulfilled and the quality of the exported product is maintained at a high level. Years of neglect by the state and constant abuse by politicians and unionists has driven the sugar industry into despair.

When the industry was at its height, little was done to ensure that mills and processes were reformed and updated. Infrastructure fell into disrepair, unions bickered with management and landowners believed they received too little for their land. Now efforts are being made to spend millions of dollars to restructure the industry. At the same time, however, landowners want their land back and farmers are leaving for urban areas. What needs to be done urgently is to establish the viability of sugar in this country."

"Most of the 37 power plant projects in Viet Nam inspected by a government task force since mid March have been behind schedule. The plants were supposed to have begun construction this year and brought into operation by 2010. The slowdown places the country at risk of longer power shortages during a time of socio-economic development.

The main reason for the delay was the shortage of adequate guidance leading to slow investment, designs and payment. Lack of human resources, equipment and technology is also to blame, as is a lack of land clearances. The master plan for National Electricity Development forecast that Viet Nam�fs power demand would increase by 17-20 percent by 2015."

"An estimated 1.5 million people in Myanmar are on the brink of a 'massive public health catastrophe,' as desperate survivors of cyclone Nargis pour out of the Irrawaddy Delta into regional towns in search of water, food and other forms of help. The dire warning -- and a plea for greater international access to the area -- came after the United Nations and non-governmental organizations issued a flash appeal for $187 million.

The ponds are full of dead bodies, the wells have saline water, and even things like a bucket are in scarce supply. As well as waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, there are warnings of an increased threat of malaria and dengue fever, as receding floods will increase the number of breeding sites for mosquitoes."

"Clean air campaigners in Indonesia have called on the government to raise the quality of fuel before raising its price, as part of an effort to alleviate the country's long-standing air pollution problems. The quality of existing fuels has yet to meet the standard set by the government and is endangering people's health. If poor-quality fuels remain in the market, people will have to spend more money on their increasing health problems caused by pollution.

The government announced early last year Indonesia is applying the Euro II standard on cleaner fuels. But there has been no improvement because the sulfur content of diesel fuel is around 2,700 particles per millimeter (ppm), far higher than the maximum of 500 ppm set in the Euro II standard. The government should modify the country's energy policy by withdrawing the 2001 law on oil and gas and pushing for the development of renewable energy."

"Thousands of women across Pakistan find their inability to read a significant handicap in their daily lives. The lettering on medicine bottles, for example, makes no sense to many and they must depend on help from neighbors to read the instructions on dosage. Literacy still stands at only 50 percent in Pakistan, which is among the lowest in South Asia, with only Bangladesh and Nepal lagging slightly behind.

The illiteracy issue becomes quite problematic. When neither the husband nor wife can read, they find it difficult to use birth control tablets effectively, or keep track of vaccination schedules for their children. A key factor in the failure to push up literacy rates is the fact that Pakistan allocates just around 2 percent of its gross domestic product to education."

"All developing countries need foreign investment to develop. But only the bigger, and more rapidly growing developing economies can attract foreign investment because those who own the money can see in those economies opportunities of quick returns, whether or not they truly exist. That is why the bigger developing economies also tend to be exposed to a higher risk of financial turmoil if they somehow hold too much foreign investment.

It is not difficult for investors to know that the renminbi will become fully convertible soon, and that at least for now, the economists in the West believe its valuation is lower than what it deserves. So once the renminbi does become fully convertible, for a short period of time, they can sell their China assets for a higher price."

"Teachers and students in Hanoi in Viet Nam are increasingly being forced to share learning space due to a shortage in capital city land available for new schools. Although efforts have been taken to restrict schools to either primary or secondary education, nine schools still remain lumped together within the city. At times, there is simply no space for everyone to work and study.

Land shortage is an issue that cannot be solved overnight. It isn�ft easy to find a place to build a new school. The city has 1,029 schools and 234 community educational centers, yet the facilities are inadequate. The population of the Hoang Mai District has increased to 270,000 from its initial 180,000. Kindergartens are a particular issue where it is not uncommon to see a class with as many as 60 children learning together."

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