News and Press Release

Maps and updates related to this term.

2,924 updates found
Toggle text

OPT: Australia pledges $20 million to assist Gaza

Australia will provide a further $20 million to assist the Palestinian Territories and the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza.

Australia will make this commitment at an international donors' conference on the recovery of Gaza in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, 2 March 2009.

The conference aims to build on the initial humanitarian response to help restore services and provide a basis for reconstruction.

Australia's funding will support the efforts of the Palestinian Authority, United Nations agencies, the World

Toggle text

Factbox - Security developments in Afghanistan, 01 Mar 2009

March 1 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 0730 GMT on Sunday.

NANGARHAR - Six people were wounded when a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of Afghan troops on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, some 140 km (90 miles) east of Kabul, the provincial governor's spokesman said.

KANDAHAR - U.S.-led coalition troops killed four militants in operations in Maiwand district, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Kabul, a U.S. military statement said.

GHAZNI - Afghan forces assisted by U.S.-led coalition troops arrested eight militants to prevent a roadside

Reuters - AlertNet:



For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

Toggle text

Myanmar + 1 other
Chairman's statement of the 14th ASEAN Summit "ASEAN Charter for ASEAN Peoples"

Cha-am, 28 February - 1 March 2009

1. We, the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN Member States, gathered in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, for the first time under a new Charter, for the 14th ASEAN Summit on 28 February - 1 March 2009. We had extensive, open and fruitful discussions under the theme of "ASEAN Charter for ASEAN Peoples".

ASEAN Charter

2. We celebrated the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008. The Charter provides the legal and institutional framework for ASEAN to be a more rules-based, effective

Toggle text

Malaysia vows continued help for Philippine peace talks

Manila_(dpa) _ Malaysia has vowed to help the Philippines resume stalled peace talks with Muslim separatist rebels in the troubled southern region of Mindanao, a Philippine government official said Sunday.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the assurance during a meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders' summit in Thailand.

Gonzales said Arroyo asked Badawi to

Deutsche Presse Agentur:

Copyright (c) dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

Toggle text

OPT: Gaza borders must open - UN humanitarian envoy

Report
IRIN
GAZA CITY, 1 March 2009 (IRIN) - On his first visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UN Secretary-General's Special Humanitarian Envoy, Abdul Aziz Arrukban, met with aid agency officials to discuss better ways of bringing in relief supplies and with Gaza residents to assess how much aid they were actually receiving.

"The borders are still closed and goods and building materials still can't enter," said Arrukban, a Saudi national who reports directly to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

Toggle text

Rwandan troops could return to DR Congo: president

KIGALI, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said Sunday he was ready to send his troops back into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo if he felt a fresh offensive against rebels forces there was needed.

Kagame was speaking after talks in the Rwandan capital with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

"Rwanda is ready to participate in any further operation of such a kind," said Kagame, whose forces have only just withdrawn from eastern DR Congo after carrying out a month-long joint operation with Congolese forces against Rwandan Hutu rebels.

Reuters - AlertNet:



For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

Toggle text

OPT: Douglas Alexander pledges £30m for recovery in Gaza

The UK government will give =A330m to help rebuild damaged and destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander announced today.

The money will support the first phase of rebuilding Gaza which is still devastated from the recent fighting. It will include the repair of essential infrastructure including water, sewage and electricity supplies. Six weeks after the conflict ended, many people are still living in temporary housing and over 90% of the population require food aid.

During a visit to Gaza, Douglas Alexander

Toggle text

Sri Lanka rejects truce calls as rebels resist

COLOMBO, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - Sri Lanka Sunday rejected fresh calls for a ceasefire with Tamil Tigers rebels as security forces hit stiff resistance in their efforts to secure final victory in the island's ethnic conflict.

Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said any ceasefire would be unnecessary if the Tigers accepted international appeals to surrender.

"When the Tigers lay down arms, there will be no fighting. The fire will automatically cease," Kohona told AFP.

Kohona was responding to calls from neighbouring

Agence France-Presse:

©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.

Toggle text

Gaza crisis - Humanitarian flight for Palestinian Territory Occupied

Rome March 1, 2009 - "The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Directorate General for Cooperation and Development - in coordination with Italian Regions - has organized one emergency humanitarian flight in response to urgent humanitarian assistance for the population living in Gaza Strip.

Food items, clothes, medicines and medical istruments have been transported by one Airbus 300 from Brindisi, today 1st of March, with destination Tel Aviv, where UN Agencies as UNRWA, WFP and WHO will performed the distribution to the population in need, assisted

Toggle text

RD Congo/Ban Ki-Moon à Goma : « Les auteurs des viols ne devraient pas être promus ou intégrés au sein de l'armée et de la police »

Report
Radio Okapi
Est de la RDC | 01 Mars 2009 à 09:05:31

Depuis le début de l'année, 360 femmes ont été victimes de viols à Goma. Au cours de son passage dans cette ville du Nord-Kivu samedi en provenance de Kisangani, le secrétaire général de l'Onu, Ban Ki-Moon, a visité l'hôpital Heal Africa où ces victimes sont prises en charge et où 10 nouveaux cas ont été enregistrés pour la seule journée de lundi dernier. Il s'est dit très choqué, rapporte radiookapi.net

Dans une interview exclusive à Radio Okapi, Ban Ki Moon a déclaré que la situation actuelle en RDC est plus

Radio Okapi:

Copyright Radio Okapi

Toggle text

OPT: The damage caused by the Gaza war

RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes to get 2.8 billion dollars from international donors who will meet in Egypt on Monday to discuss the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Israel's deadly 22-day military onslaught that ended on January 18 caused damaged estimated at 1.95 billion dollars in the impoverished enclave, the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) says.

It says 5,000 homes were destroyed and 20,000 damaged, in addition to extensive damage to infrastructure.

Agence France-Presse:

©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.

Toggle text

Factbox - Security developments in Iraq, 01 Mar 2009

March 1 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1115 GMT on Sunday.

FALLUJA - A suicide bomber killed the cousin of Ifan al- Issawi, head of a U.S.-backed neighborhood patrol, when he managed to entered Issawi's house in Falluja, police said. Issawi, a winning candidate in the Jan. 31 provincial elections, was not harmed. Falluja is 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad.

SAMARRA - Mahmoud Khalaf, the mayor of the city of Samarra, was wounded by a roadside bomb while his convoy was passing by, police captain Mahmoud Anwar said.

Reuters - AlertNet:



For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

Toggle text

War medicine a lifeline for Afghans

by Herve Asquin

NIJRAB BASE, Afghanistan, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - The Afghan man lying on the examination table, his eyes rolled back and his body emaciated, is in agony.

He breathes roughly through a pipe in his trachea and has tubes in his stomach and bladder as well as a bulky pins through a fractured leg.

"If he is not taken care of quickly in intensive care, he will die in a month from dehydration and infection," says the head of a medical post staffed by French doctors about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of Kabul.

Fabien C., whose full name cannot be

Agence France-Presse:

©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.

Toggle text

Moldova: Food aid warms flood victims' winter

By Laura Sheahen

The blue-painted cottage nestled by a river-with blooming rosebushes, a large vegetable garden, and nine chickens pecking around-probably looked idyllic during the summer of 2008. Rima Litvinova, a 70-year-old widow living in an Eastern European region called Transnistria, had very little money, but she loved her house and plants. Despite a heart condition and the fact that her two grown sons lived far away, Rima was able to run her household in the small village of Rashkov. She raised carrots, onions and potatoes; cared for her roses and lilies;

Toggle text

In Brief: More Somali migrants drown off Yemeni coast

Report
IRIN
DUBAI, 1 March 2009 (IRIN) - Forty-five Somali migrants drowned when their boat capsized 95 km away from Mukalla Port on the coast of Yemen on 28 February, Yemeni authorities said.

The boat was carrying 45 migrants from Somalia, one from Ethiopia and three Somali smugglers, the ministry of interior said in a statement. The three smugglers and Ethiopian migrant somehow managed to reach the shore safely where the smugglers were arrested and questioned by local authorities.

This is the second smuggling boat to approach the Yemeni coast in a week. On 24 February, the UN Refugee Agency

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

Toggle text

OPT: Gaza aid troubled by logistics, closures, disunity

- Aid groups say too few supplies reaching Gaza

- Israel says will closely manage Gaza reconstruction

- U.S. expected to pledge $900 million

By Alastair Sharp

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, March 1 (Reuters) - Palestinians hoping to raise $2.8 billion to rebuild Gaza at a conference in Egypt on Monday will find the path to reconstruction blocked by political and logistical factors, relief agencies say.

Egypt, which called for the gathering soon after Israel halted its Gaza offensive in January, says leaders from

Reuters - AlertNet:



For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

Toggle text

RD Congo/Ituri : l'ONG Fédération luthérienne mondiale aménage 10 sources d'eau potable dans la périphérie de Bunia

Report
Radio Okapi
Province Orientale | 01 Mars 2009 à 12:15:53

La construction de ces sources d'eau s'est achevée, selon la source, le vendredi dernier. Les localités bénéficiaires de ce projet, situées pour la plupart à plus de 75 kilomètres au nord de Bunia, sont notamment Chulu, Lisseyi et Amema. Les travaux ont duré environ 1 mois. Ils ont été financés par Diaconi, une ONG internationale allemande. D'après le coordonnateur de la Fédération luthérienne mondiale (LWF) en Ituri, ce projet vise à pallier à la carence d'eau potable dans la périphérie

Radio Okapi:

Copyright Radio Okapi

Toggle text

In Brief: Abduction of health workers on the rise in Afghanistan

Report
IRIN
KABUL, 1 March 2009 (IRIN) - Unidentified armed men have abducted at least 10 health workers in the western province of Farah and the southern province of Zabul over the past two months, provincial officials told IRIN.

Two physicians were kidnapped on 26 February in the Mizan district of Zabul while several vaccinators and local healthcare personnel have been abducted in Farah since early January. Increased attacks on aid workers have diminished humanitarian access and have denied essential services to many vulnerable people, aid agencies say.

ad/at/ed[END]

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

Toggle text

Sri Lanka: Displaced civilians traumatised

Report
IRIN
COLOMBO, 1 March 2009 (IRIN) - Thousands of civilians who fled fighting in northern Sri Lanka remain traumatised by their experience and anxious about their future, say aid workers.

"All of those who have fled the fighting have seen people die in front of them," Annmarie Loof, the head of mission in Sri Lanka for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) [see: http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/countries/asia/srilanka/index.cfm], told IRIN.

"They are also anxious about their

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

Toggle text

Somali Islamist group rejects truce plans

MOGADISHU, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - Hardline Islamists in Somalia rejected on Sunday a truce offer from new President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and vowed to keep up their attacks on government forces.

The president, elected only last month, reached out to hardliners on Saturday by offering to accede to their demands to introduce sharia law across the war-torn country and introduce a ceasefire.

Ahmed made the offer after talks with mediators.

But Hizb al-Islamiya (Islamic Party), a group of hardline Islamists who claimed bloody attacks in the capital last week, rejected the proposals.

Agence France-Presse:

©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.