Five actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in June 2008 and three improved, according to the new issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch, released today.

In Zimbabwe, state-sponsored violence further escalated ahead of the 27 June presidential run-off vote, as the Mugabe regime continued its brutal crackdown to secure victory. Opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained five times over the month, opposition campaigning was repressed and the polling day itself marked by widespread

'Research Institute for North Korean Society of Good Friends, in order to bring news of the food crisis in North Korea more accurately and quickly, will increase its e-newsletter frequency to more than one issue per week. As such, the release dates might shift. Thank you for your understanding and attention to this looming crisis. We at Good Friends hope to be a bridge between the North Korean people and the world.'

Children Killed By Eating Toads

In Sambong District of Daehongdan County, Ryanggang Province, there has been an increase in the number of children

SEOUL, June 30, 2008 (AFP) - The UN World Food Programme said Monday it will extend its work in North Korea to cover more than five million people after the US resumed food aid shipments.

The WFP said in a statement it had reached agreement with North Korean authorities to expand its feeding programme from the current 1.2 million people, and the US shipments would give it the means to do so.

It said a US-flagged ship arrived Sunday in the western port of Nampo carrying 37,000 tons of wheat, the first instalment of 500,000 tonnes of food promised by Washington to the communist state

FOCUS

All agricultural commodities covered in this report are of critical importance to global food and feed markets. They constitute much of the world's food consumption, generate income to farmers and represent the largest portion of food import expenditures across the world. The analysis in the report puts in perspective market developments in recent months with a view to providing some insights into how the outlook might unfold for the commodities covered during the coming months.

In recent weeks, international prices

FOREWORD

In 2007, natural and man-made disasters continued to take a toll on the lives of people. Flooding, cyclones, landslides and tropical storms have threatened lives and livelihoods on every continent. And in many parts of the world, from Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Iraq, Zimbabwe and Sudan, children and women continue to bear the brunt of conflict, displacement and deteriorating living conditions.

An important lesson learned from major emergencies is that timely and flexible funding enables humanitarian actors

"Research Institute for North Korean Society of Good Friends, in order to bring news of the food crisis in North Korea more accurately and quickly, will increase its e-newsletter frequency to more than one issue per week. As such, the release dates might shift. Thank you for your understanding and attention to this looming crisis. We at Good Friends hope to be a bridge between the North Korean people and the world."

[Special Report 5] Increasingly Open and Candid Lectures on Agriculture for the Officials and the Public

In April 2008, the North Korean government

‘Research Institute for North Korean Society of Good Friends, in order to bring news of the food crisis in North Korea more accurately and quickly, will increase its e-newsletter frequency to more than one issue per week. As such, the release dates might shift. Thank you for your understanding and attention to this looming crisis. We at Good Friends hope to be a bridge between the North Korean people and the world.’

[Special Report 4] Increasingly Open and Candid Lectures on Agriculture for the Officials and the Public

Seoul (23 June, 2008) -- Korean Sharing Movement (KSM) sent $50,000 worth of building repair materials to the Red Cross General Hospital in Pyongyang on 10 June by a sea route from Inchon harbor, S. Korea to Nampo, N. Korea.

These materials are the last supplies for the modernization of operating room of otolaryngology / head and neck surgical department. This renovation work has been conducting from the second half of 2007 as part of a hospital modernization project over the course of 4 deliveries and 4 technical team visits.

KSM signed an agreement with the Min

According to a global survey conducted by a US-based non-governmental organization, China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh are among the worst violators of the rights of refugees. The annual World Refugee Survey 2008 was released in Washington on Thursday (June 19) by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the five Asian countries join Iraq, Kenya, Russia, Sudan and Europe as the 10 worst countries for refugees last year. The USCRI says that the total number of refugees grew to 14 million by