"The worst floods in Pakistan's history have swept through the nation's most important breadbasket provinces, destroying cotton and corn crops, vegetables and orchards, and leaving many people in need of emergency food. Now experts warn that the food crisis could expand into a long-term problem if farmers can't get the seeds, draft animals and irrigation repairs they need for the fall planting of wheat, the nation's most important crop.

The looming wheat crisis in Pakistan comes as a drought and wildfires in Russia have cut the harvest there and have helped to drive up worldwide wheat prices. The floods in Pakistan also have destroyed the logistics and transportation systems that make it possible to get food to markets. In addition, much of the stored wheat saved for seed or food stocks has rotted because it couldn't be kept dry."

"Under the draft plan to develop Viet Nam's IT industry until 2015 and beyond to 2020, the average growth rate for the sector would reach 17.5 percent per year by 2015, with the hardware sector increasing 18 percent a year, software by 15 percent and digital content by 20 percent. Exports would account for more than 60 percent of the total industry revenue.

The plan was to develop three production centers -- in software, services and digital content -- in HCM City, Ha Noi and Da Nang. Three strong regions of hardware and electronics would be established in the north, center and south. The ministry aimed to develop two hardware and electronics businesses with an average revenue of over $2 billion and two software businesses with an average revenue over $200 million a year."

"Last week, the government announced that the Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a decade. Many pundits were not surprised, as the growth largely came from election-related spending, the previous administration's frontloading, OFW remittance-led consumption, and the recovery of the export sector.

The contribution of the previous administration's frontloading activity to the first-half economic expansion blunts the new government's accusations of unwise spending. But more than consumer spending is needed to keep up the high-growth trajectory of the first-half, and more importantly, to sustain this year-after-year."

"Governments and donors have responded to increasingly frequent and more deadly disasters by boosting funding for responses, but investment in preparedness, especially in the health sector, is inadequate, say specialists. The Philippines and Indonesia are two of nine countries working with the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center that have emergency preparedness plans in place for their health sectors. The others are Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Cambodia and Pakistan.

Countries in Asia are most at risk from natural disasters. Since January this year -- excluding the Pakistan floods -- one million people have been affected. Even for governments that want to prepare their health sectors for the worst, budget traditions steer their focus from preparation to response."

"Cambodia's economy has emerged as a emini-tiger' in terms of textile processing, despite a lack of attention from international investors, according to a report drawn up by Swiss banking giant UBS. Cambodia was one of the largest beneficiaries of the decade's 'globalization boom,' said the report.

The Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia Secretary General Ken Loo said Cambodia was generally an attractive location for foreign investors. With wages for garment workers rising in PRC and Viet Nam, Cambodia stood to attract additional interest. Cambodia's garment exports increased 13.4 percent to $1.628 billion during the first seven months of the year, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics."

"A lack of transportation to get children to school in India and Cambodia may be denying them an education. That's where a project called 'Lotus Pedals' helps in Cambodia. It provides sturdy bicycles to a group of poor children so they can travel to school. Public secondary schools are few and some are a considerable distance from the students in Cambodia and India.

There are usually more primary schools than secondary schools in some of these poor regions. So a student may find themselves faced with a trip of up to 40 kilometers away from the nearest secondary school. Scholarship programs across Cambodia offer girls bicycles to help them get to and stay in school."

"Known in the global market for its cheap labor, Bangladesh does not have minimum wages for 34 industries and has not revised wages in a dozen others for the past many years, a media report said. The government is sitting on a proposal from the Minimum Wage Board for fixing or reviewing legal minimum wages for a dozen industrial sectors having several million employees.

Important industries where no legal minimum wage has as yet been set include poultry, power and handloom, garment accessories manufacturing, ceramic, jewelry, cement, electronics, publications, paper, cable, beverage, brick, cigarettes, audio-visual products, newspaper, printing and dairy farm. The Board is currently struggling to get minimum wages fixed for the money-spinning ready-made garment sector acceptable by both employers and workers. The sector that netted $12 billion in export earnings last year employs three million workers, mostly women."

"Chongqing's roadmap to turn about 10 million rural residents into urban dwellers in 20 years is the first of its kind in PRC and of exemplary importance to the reform of the household registration system. If successful, it will set a precedent for the rapid urbanization process across the country.

From 2010 to 2012, 3.8 million first- and second-generation migrant workers will be made residents of the urban districts they work in. This group includes demobilized servicemen and college graduates, who are originally from rural areas. But the change in resident status will not come without conditions. They have to meet the requirements of working for at least five consecutive years in a city and having paid some tax."

"The Indian government deserves to be complimented for opening up raw cotton exports once again from the new season beginning October, despite pressure from industry groups. India's credibility as a reliable supplier of cotton to the world market took a beating in recent months because of changes in government polices (imposition of export duty and suspension of contracted shipments) but the lifting of export suspensions, coupled with bright crop prospects, has now sent a clear message to the global marketplace about India's intent to be back in the trade.

There is tremendous optimism among growers and other stakeholders as the country is poised to harvest an unprecedented crop for 2010-11 season. Such a large output opens up many possibilities for those along the value chain; but it also means prices may be at risk of a collapse because of an underdeveloped supply chain. Sharp price declines have to be prevented at any cost as numerous growers' fortunes are at stake."

"The first phase of construction on a much-needed railway connecting Tanjung Priok Port with Indonesia's largest manufacturing park could be completed within three months, the coordinating minister for the economy said. The railway, which would be used to transport containers from the Cikarang Dry Port at West Java's Jababeka industrial estate, would help take some of the burden off the heavily congested roads leading to Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.

The first phase of the railway connects Cikarang with Pasoso Station -- two kilometers from Tanjung Priok ? and can transport 100 containers a day. The government did not reveal the cost of the first phase. Located at the heart of Jababeka, the country's largest industrial zone, the Cikarang Dry Port serves as an extension of Tanjung Priok, providing one-stop export and import services for more than 2,500 companies."

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