Today more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, with an additional two billion urban residents expected in the next 20 years. Much of the population growth is expected in small and medium-sized cities in developing countries, yet 1.2 billion urban residents already live in slums, and this too is expected to grow.

06/15/2013 14:44 GMT

by Prashant RAO

BAGHDAD, June 15, 2013 (AFP) - A deadly rocket attack struck a camp near Baghdad housing Iranian exiles on Saturday, killing two residents, the second such assault on the group this year as its members await resettlement outside Iraq.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack involving at least half a dozen mortar rounds, which came as Iran tallied ballot papers from Friday's presidential election there.

Decades of conflict, and violence still raging in Iraq today have caused many Iraqis to suffer from physical disabilities. However, the country is struggling to provide physical rehabilitation training to doctors. To help address the needs, the ICRC, supported by Iranian doctors, organized a unique training course in April in Erbil.

In this issue

Earth Observation for Disaster Response 1

Pakistan: Monitoring Floods from Space 2

Satellite Based Drought Monitoring in Iran 3

Organisational Mechanisms 4

Interview: Stefan Voigt, DLR 5

Open Access: The International Charter Space and Major Disasters 6

The return rate of Afghan refugees for the first five months of 2013 amounts to only 15 per cent of the total returns in 2012. Increasing displacement and fewer returns are indicative of heightened conflict and uncertainty.

The Association for Protection of Refugee Women and Children (HAMI), a local NGO, invited its partners on the 28th of May, 2013 to the ceremonies it had organized for the end of the current academic year and also in line with World Refugee Day 2013. Participating colleagues were from UNHCR, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), German and Norwegian embassies. The visit was to two of HAMI’s educational centres in Shourabad (South of Tehran) where around 700 Afghan girls and boys have been studying at the elementary level.

16 May 2013 – The top United Nations official in Iraq today called the relocation of 14 Iranians to Albania from an exile camp near Baghdad, an “encouraging first step.”

“The residents’ arrival in Albania late last night is an encouraging first step in the relocation of the group of 210 residents the Albanian government has agreed to receive,” said the UN Special Representative for the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler.

This bulletin is being issued for information, and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), has determined that external assistance is not required at this moment, and is therefore not seeking funding or other assistance from donors and the International Movement of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at this time.

An earthquake with the magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale rocked Goharan District, Sardasht, Bandar-e Jask, in Hormozgan province, Iran on 11 May 2013.

05/11/2013 09:19 GMT

by Mohammad Davari

TEHRAN, Iran, May 11, 2013 (AFP) - A strong earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hit southern Iran early on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, with local media reporting of damaged villages and at least 20 people injured.

The epicentre of the quake was measured at 85 kilometres (52 miles) southeast of the southern town of Minab, located in the Hormuzgan province, at 0208 GMT , the USGS said. It was at a depth of 36.44 km (22.64 miles).