Heavy gunbattles erupted in Saada province on the Saudi border while artillery pounded rebel positions in Amran province further south, commanders said.

On Wednesday, 28 rebels were killed in clashes at Uqab, west of Saada town, while four soldiers and five rebels died in fighting in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran, security sources said.

The army launched Operation Scorched

The civilian population is bearing the brunt in the latest upsurge in fighting in the troubled South Central region of Somalia and sparking a new wave of displacement. According to a network of our local partners, 145 people have been killed and another 285 injured in heavy clashes throughout Somalia, mainly in Kismayo and Mogadishu in September alone.

For the first time, clashes have erupted

In neighbouring Omran province four soldiers and five rebels died in fighting in the Harf Sufyan district, military officials said as the army continued its "Scorched Earth" operation against the Zaidi rebels.

Meanwhile in south Yemen, two demonstrators were killed and 19 others wounded in clashes with security forces on Wednesday, witnesses and medical officials said.

SANA'A, Sept. 30 - A new outbreak of a livestock disease commonly known as screw worm is expected in the coming months as winter approaches, and may reach most areas of the country, said officials.

"The good environment for the fly is humidity and cool temperature, so the fly activates more in winter and during summer it moves from Tehama region to cool areas," stated Dr. Mansoor Al-Qadasi, General Manager of Animal Health Administration.

The disease, which traveled from Saudi Arabia to Al-Malahidh district in northern Yemen in November 2007, became

Agenda Item 4

GENERAL DEBATE

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This statement has been drafted in consultation with, and is delivered on behalf of, a wide range of NGOs and aims to reflect the diversity of views within the NGO community.

At the 60th session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, NGOs would like to express our concern over ongoing emergencies, highlight the shrinking of the protection space available to refugees, and emphasise the changing nature of humanitarian

H1N1 "Swine Flu"

As of 3 October 2009, 12,861 laboratory-confirmed cases of Pandemic (H1N1) were reported to WHO by 21 out of 22 Member States of WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region1 .A total of 815 of these reported

Procesos de paz

?Se produjeron numerosas divisiones internas en los grupos armados africanos que entraban en negociación.

Se reanudaron las conversaciones sobre el futuro del Sáhara Occidental, aunque sin lograr avances.

El Gobierno de Filipinas activó los diálogos con el MILF y el NPA.

El Gobierno de Turquía inició un proceso de acercamiento con los kurdos y con el grupo armado PKK.

Crisis humanitarias

?El 19 de agosto se celebró el 1er Día Mundial de la Acción Humanitaria.

Somalia se enfrentó a la mayor crisis humanitaria de los últimos 18 años.

SANAA, Sept 29, 2009 (AFP) - Yemeni troops pounded rebel positions in northern Yemen with artillery on Tuesday, a day after killing 29 Shiite fighters, while clashes were also reported in the impoverished south.

Military sources said the army used artillery in Harf Sufyan, in Omran province, as well as on the northern outskirts of Saada city, stronghold of the Zaidi rebels and target of a government offensive since August 11.

Twenty-nine rebels died in battles with government troops in the mountainous north, a military official said in

Some 100-200 cows, sheep and goats died in the past two weeks in the villages of Mahmadan, al-Aridha, al-Ahtoub and Hajifa as a result of the outbreak, Anwar Abdullah, a local councillor in Taiz, told IRIN on 28 September. Dozens of cattle had also died in southern parts of Ibb Governorate, he said.