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Australia + 2 others
Australia extends reach of tough refugee policy

05/16/2013 09:39 GMT

SYDNEY, May 16, 2013 (AFP) - Australia on Thursday extended tough refugee policies to any asylum-seeker who lands on its mainland, allowing them to be banished to remote Nauru or Papua New Guinea for detention.

Until now, the government only had powers to send boatpeople for indefinite detention in the Pacific when they reached its remote offshore territories such as Christmas Island.

The change, which was passed in parliament Thursday, strips away any advantage asylum-seekers get from reaching the mainland.

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.

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World + 6 others
Australia's aid program gets substantial increase

Australia’s aid program will increase by $518 million in the 2013-14 budget to a record $5.7 billion – the equivalent of 0.37 per cent of gross national income (GNI) – the highest ODA/GNI level since 1985.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the Australian Government remained committed to increasing its aid budget to 0.5 per cent of GNI but this would be delayed to 2017-18 due to a write-dow in Government revenues.

The Asia-Pacific region remains the aid program’s highest priority, and will receive about 86 per cent of country specific aid in 2013-14.

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World + 7 others
Minds traumatised by disaster heal themselves without therapy

Report
Guardian

Aid agencies that promote one-off counselling sessions after major traumas only prolong victims' suffering

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit on Boxing Day 2004. The resulting tsunami devastated huge swaths of the Indian Ocean coastline and left an estimated quarter of a million people dead across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Aid agencies quickly arrived to help battered and traumatised survivors.

Read the full report on the Guardian

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Mushroom farming in Indonesia

Report
Islamic Relief

An Islamic Relief project, which trained vulnerable Indonesians in West Sumatera to grow mushrooms sustainably, ended last month, allowing participating farmers to continue harvesting independently.

In total, 175 people from the districts of Padang Pariaman and Pesisir Selatan participated in this project, including women who hadn’t completed their education, orphaned children, widowed women and poor families.

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Bringing home-farming to Indonesia’s orphanage

Report
Islamic Relief

Last month, Islamic Relief launched a project to bring micro-farms to eight orphanages in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The project aims to turn the disused land of local orphanages into gardens filled with vegetables, ducks, and fishponds.

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Safeguarding students in disaster-prone Aceh

Report
Islamic Relief

Children learning first aid techniques at school

Islamic Relief has made sure that three vulnerable schools in disaster-prone Indonesia are ready for when the worst happens.

In a project funded by Islamic Relief Netherlands, we worked with local partner the PKPU to deliver the project. It saw us working collaboratively with two vulnerable elementary schools and one junior high in Aceh, an area that was devastated by the boxing-day tsunami of 2004.

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Racing for water

Posted by Bethany on May 6th, 2013

Tanah Keke, Indonesia

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World Bank to Help Scale-Up Water Sanitation Coverage in Indonesia

Report
World Bank

Third Water Supply and Sanitation for Low Income Communities project expected to provide improved water and sanitation to 11.6 million Indonesians

Washington DC, May 2, 2013 – Over 11 million Indonesians across the country are set to benefit from improved water and sanitation facilities following approval of additional financing today by the World Bank Board of Directors.

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Pillay concerned about persistent violence and abuses in Papua (Indonesia)

GENEVA (2 May 2013) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday expressed serious concerns over the crackdown on mass demonstrations across Papua since 30 April, with police reportedly using excessive force and arresting people for raising pro-independence flags.

“These latest incidents are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua,” Pillay said. “I urge the Government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protest and hold accountable those involved in abuses.”

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FAO gives cows, goats to Merapi farmers

Report
Jakarta Post

Bambang Muryanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Archipelago | Wed, May 01 2013, 10:28 AM

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has given more than 240 cows, goats and sheep to those in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and Magelang, Central Java, affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010.

“The livestock [donation] is aimed at supporting and securing the livelihood of the people who live in the area,” Indonesia FAO representative Mustafa Imir said after visiting community livestock pens in Cangkringan district in Sleman on Monday.

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West Papua Report May 2013

This is the 109th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).

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Philippines + 1 other
Philippines mulls formula donations during disasters

Report
IRIN

COMPOSTELA VALLEY, 30 April 2013 (IRIN) - Health authorities in the Philippines were vigilant in keeping out infant formula donations when Typhoon Bopha hit last December, but activists are concerned the infant formula industry will succeed in pushing through legislative changes that will allow formula donations in future emergencies, making it harder to convince women in those crises to continue exclusive breastfeeding.

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.

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Bangladesh + 12 others
Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction: Stories of Triumph from the Field

Description

The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) was established in May 2000 and provides direct grant assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable groups in developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) while fostering long-term socioeconomic development. The grants target poverty reduction initiatives with the direct participation of nongovernment organizations, community groups, and civil society.

Asian Development Bank:

© Asian Development Bank

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World + 8 others
Pounds of Prevention - A Disaster Risk Reduction Story - Focus: Money & Microfinance

Natural disasters can quickly wipe out a community’s homes, crops, livestock, and businesses. In the aftermath, affected populations often need money—accessed through savings or loans—to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. In many disaster-prone countries, however, getting cash is not as easy as walking into a neighborhood bank. Around the world, low-income households and small business owners frequently cannot access regular banks. Rather, they rely on various types of microfinance providers, from local savings-and-credit groups to credit unions and cooperatives.

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Myanmar + 10 others
Equity is critical to protecting children against vaccine preventable diseases

SEAR/PR 1556

22 April 2013, New Delhi: WHO has urged countries to reach out to the children who are still not protected from vaccine preventable diseases. World Immunization Week will be observed globally from 24 to 30 April 2013.

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World + 5 others
UNDP chief calls for scaled-up development cooperation

Development challenges are increasingly complex, Helen Clark says

Washington — Increasingly complex and interrelated challenges posed by conflict, violence, and disasters demand scaled-up collaboration among governments and development partners, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said here Thursday.

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Villages inundated in Kutai, Gorontalo

Report
Jakarta Post

Nurni Sulaiman and Syamsul Huda M. Suhari, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda/Gorontalo | Archipelago | Sat, April 20 2013, 1:31 PM

Dozens of villages in East Kalimantan and Gorontalo have been flooded following incessant rain affecting thousands of residents.

Flooding in Tabang district in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, inundated 18 traditional Dayak and Kutai villages.

Kutai Kartanegara Regent Rita Widyasari said the flood happened after the Belayan River, a tributary of the Mahakam River, overflowed its banks following heavy rain.

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Indonesia's natural disaster risks, costs rise

Report
IRIN

Indonesia is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to natural disasters, but even though fewer people are dying from disasters, the economic toll is growing.

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.

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Philippines + 6 others
Asia-Pacific Countries Conduct Maritime Disaster Response Exercise

Report
Voice of America

MANILA — Military officials from 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region met in Manila Monday to try to improve cooperation when maritime disasters strike in international waters. Participants included representatives from China and several countries that all have competing claims in nearby disputed waters.

Philippine military officials say this is the first time this many countries have come together for such “tabletop” maritime disaster response exercises.

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Indonesia – Floods (ECHO Daily Flash, 15/04/2013)

Heavy rainfall over the past week caused severe floods in central and eastern Java, mainly due to overflow of the Bengawan Solo river. As of 12 April, 11 people had been killed and 22,830 houses were flooded, with Bojonegoro regency in East Java the most heavily hit.

Floods hit also Kutai regency in East Kalimantan province on 12-14 April, inundating ca. 1,500 houses.