2009 found more than 300,000 Sri Lankans displaced from their homes. The civil war that has plagued their country for over two decades brought about the last surge of infighting that sent people in droves to camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In order to help camp residents fully recover, access to food, shelter, health care, water and sanitation was and is a crucial need. With this call for help in Sri Lanka, our staff, volunteers and donors stepped up to the plate in a very sacrificial way. In partnership with USAID, the United Methodist Committee on Relief and

I. Situation Overview & highlights

Jaffna District:

- The A9 road from the Jaffna Peninsula was opened for public and private vehicles from 18 December, with movement permitted between 6.00am and 4.00pm. Travel no longer requires authorization. However, the transport of goods will continue to take place through vehicle convoys and standard registration processes. The UN is consulting with the relevant government authorities to clarify use of the A9 road for UN/INGO vehicles.

- On 27 December, the Governor of the

MULLAITTIVU : Army 68 Division recovered a haul of 4000 x live MPMG rounds and a stock of 148 x Hand Grenades during search operations conducted in PUDUKUDIYIRIPPU area, MULLAITTIVU on yesterday (30).

Army 68 Division Troops also recovered the military items as given below during search operations conducted in NILWELIKULAM area, MULLAITTIVU on yesterday (30).

60mm mortar bombs 28

Booby traps 09

Anti personnel mines 05

120mm mortar bombs 01

81mm mortar bombs 04

C4 explosives 15kg

RPG bombs 28

82mm mortar bombs 10

15kg Claymore mines 05

24Kg claymore mines 04

COLOMBO, Dec 31, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A curfew imposed over decades in Sri Lanka's northern capital of Jaffna is to be permanently lifted with effect from Thursday, defense officials said.

"In consideration of the improved security situation in the region it has been decided to completely lift the curfew in Jaffna. It will not be reimposed", Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman told reporters.

Jaffnaites were subject to curfew from midnight local time to 4 a.m (1830 to 2230 GMT) daily for decades due to

FAO initiative to promote climate change mitigation in agriculture in developing countries

Agriculture accounts for an estimated 14 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also has significant potential to capture atmospheric carbon and store it in soils and plants. A number of suitable technologies and practices can sequester carbon in smallholder agriculture. About 70 percent of the GHG-reducing potential of agriculture can be realized in developing countries, according to an FAO policy brief prepared for the UN Climate Change Conference held in

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

At the start of the year MAGs activities were based in Batticaloa District in the East of Sri Lanka. However, with the Government forces defeating the LTTE in May 2009, MAG restarted operations in the North in support of the government plans to resettle 80% of the IDPs in their District of origin by the end of 2009. Survey and clearance activities were undertaken from April 2009 in Mannar and Vavuniya districts in the North. MAG activities in Batticaloa district were ongoing until September 2009.

MAGs work is done in partnership with

By Rob McBride

THIRAIMADU, Sri Lanka, 30 December 2009 - Dressed in homemade costumes to represent the different wild animals native to Sri Lanka, the children of Navalady Namahal Vidyalaya High School make a colourful and lively spectacle as they run through the final dress rehearsal of a play in the main hall. A crow, a deer and even a tortoise will all have a role to play in the performance.

Dressed as a mischievous fox, Sundaralingham Gnanasekaram, 10, has one of the most important roles, which he plays with enthusiasm. The performance is all the more remarkable when you consider

Two appalling events marked 2009: one was the largest ever massacre of journalists in a single day - a total of 30 killed - by the private militia of a governor in the southern Philippines and the other was an Tunprecedented wave of arrests and convictions of journalists and bloggers in Iran following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection.

A total of around 160 journalists in all continents were forced to go into exile to escape prison or death, often in very dangerous circumstances. The Iranian press photographers

International Federation Sri Lanka delegation.

When the waves of the 2004 Tsunami finally receded, Upali, 52, was found clinging to a coconut tree - barely alive. He had suffered a stroke a month before the 2004 tsunami and was just recovering when the tidal wave struck. Upali, his wife Rupawathie, 45, and his four children live in Peraliya, Galle district - a coastal village in the south of Sri Lanka.

Although Upali and his family survived, to this day, Upali suffers from the effects of the tidal wave. Not only did he have to be hospitalized for a month afterwards, his leg was left