Sri Lankan troops have captured the first line of defence of Tamil Tiger rebels on the Jaffna peninsula, the army says.
  Sexual exploitation of male children is on the rise in India, particularly in places of religious tourism, a report reveals.
  England pass 100 but lose their third wicket as they bat first in the third one-day international against India in Kanpur.
  An Indian navy warship has destroyed a Somali pirate "mother ship" that fired on it in the Gulf of Aden, officials say.
  Amnesty International urges the Sri Lankan government to allow aid to reach more than 300,000 people displaced by fighting.
  The international pressure group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), accuses police in Nepal of torturing children.
  A former chief of Pakistan's elite military commandos is killed near the capital Islamabad, police officials say.
  Veteran Indian film star MN Nambiar dies at home after a brief illness aged 89.
  A missile fired by a suspected US drone kills at least five people in north-western Pakistan, officials and locals say.
  Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad is appointed director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
  Why India is hurt by lawlessness on the high seas
  The challenges faced by returning Afghan refugees
  Victims of police excesses speak out in India
  Small firms in India come under pressure
  Kaushik Basu on how China can help India
  Kashmir voters cast their ballots as protests fade
  A strike by thousands of workers in India's thriving TV soap entertainment industry is called off.
  The government in Bangladesh says general elections will be held as planned on 18 December - despite a former PM's boycott threat.
  The UN refugee agency holds talks in Afghanistan to mobilise support for the return and reintegration of Afghan refugees.
  Nato-led troops in Afghanistan say Pakistani security forces helped in a recent attack on militants.
  A Pakistani scientist accused of having links to al-Qaeda is mentally unfit to stand trial, according to US psychiatrists.
  A wild tiger cub attacked by Indian villagers dies two days after vets gave it a rare blood transfusion.
  The mainly Indian crew of a Japanese ship, released by Somali pirates, enter safe water on their way back home.
  Police in India must be punished for torturing Muslims detained after last year's blasts in Hyderabad, a rights group says.
  The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra asks businesses to give preference to 'locals' when recruiting staff.
  Police in Pakistan-administered Kashmir investigate reports that a soldier attempted to rape a local girl.
  Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia calls on Bangladesh's caretaker government to lift emergency rule ahead of scheduled elections.
  In Indian-administered Kashmir, an unusual rush of voters marks the first phase of elections for a new state government.
  Tibetan exiles, including the Dalai Lama, are due to meet in Dharamsala to discuss the future of their campaign.
  Pakistan has reopened a key route for fuel tankers and trucks supplying international forces in Afghanistan, after militants hijacked twelve trucks and two humvee armoured vehicles last week.
  Sri Lankan troops capture a strategically important town used by Tamil Tiger rebels as a supply route to the island's north, the army says.
  A serving policeman in India's eastern state of West Bengal refuses to command a camp in a jungle region dominated by Maoist guerrillas.
  Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund for a loan of at least $7.6bn, its top economic adviser says.
  Indian conglomerate Tata Group says it will cut down on acquisitions because of increasing problems in raising capital.
  Traffic dangers to India's precious wildlife
  Afghan president tells BBC what his country needs
  Tibetans debate future direction of their struggle
  Militant attacks send shockwaves through Peshawar
  Is Delhi losing its battle against pollution?
  Should the UK pull its troops out of Afghanistan?
  Women in an Afghan jail endure dire conditions
  Ahmed Rashid on Barack Obama's challenges in S Asia