"In a day, I can visit 15 people. It's hard because they stay far away from each other, but they need you," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "I am their bridge to the health facility or the doctor."

Mapelu's life has been made considerably

MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - Two people were killed in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan overnight when a blast ripped through their car, which was believed to have been carrying explosives, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

Interfax quoted police as saying the car blew up near a village in western Dagestan and that a third person was in hospital with serious injuries.

"According to preliminary information, an explosive device transported in the car spontaneously went off," a police spokesman said.

At the "Toward a New Future for Haiti" ministerial conference in New York on 31 March, the Swiss delegation

Humanitarian needs

The humanitarian aid granted by Finland is based on the joint appeal for needs-oriented assistance published annually

In future, parcels would contain only flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil and milk.

"The food rationing system has become a burden on the budget," Deputy Trade Minister Waleed al-Hilo told IRIN. About US$3 million has been allocated to the Trade Ministry for state food aid - half the sum requested, he said.

"These allocations are not enough

By Missy Ryan

BAGHDAD, April 1 (Reuters) - Iraq held parliamentary polls last month that could help consolidate security or thrust a divided nation back into open sectarian conflict.

The coming period will be crucial in determining whether Iraq can capitalise on its great oil wealth, revive a moribund economy and recover from years of war and sanctions. Iraq, which has the world's third largest oil reserves, has signed contracts with energy majors like Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Lukoil <LKOH.MM>

The ICRC has sent international staff who left the north of the country in September back to Sa'ada, where they are joining 40 staff members who put their lives at risk by staying in the area throughout the conflict to carry on with their humanitarian work.

Joint ICRC and Yemen Red Crescent teams have visited camps for displaced people (IDPs) and areas such as Sa'ada

* Eritrea denies illegal detentions, blames West

* Thousands flee country each year, groups say

By Jeremy Clarke

ASMARA, April 1 (Reuters) - You can see the wounds on the Eritrean woman's arms and legs. Torture wounds, she says. She can barely walk without help.

"We spent 23 hours a day in a cell underground. The heat was unbearable," she said. "We were barefoot and made to walk on sharp rocks and thorns for one hour each day. If we did not walk fast enough we were beaten with hard, plastic rods."

In a statement on 31 March, Health Minister Ahmed Hassan Ali said members of the taskforce had been drawn from the ministries of health, water and minerals, and interior, and from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Somaliland Red Crescent Society.