Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-120: 22-Apr-07
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 120
16 - 22 April 2007
CONTENTS:
About IRIN: IRIN to launch Sri Lanka coverage
AFGHANISTAN: Civilians the main victims of conflicts
AFGHANISTAN: Roadside bomb kills five UN staff and contractors
AFGHANISTAN: Disaster management system needs urgent improvement
KAZAKHSTAN: Southern mineral mining industry centre hit by floods
KYRGYZSTAN: Southern villages hit by floods and mudslides
NEPAL: Delayed elections threaten peace
NEPAL: Registration of weapons completed with UN help
NEPAL: Ethnic groups threaten nationwide strike
NEPAL: HIV awareness amongst MSM still low
NEPAL: Hi-tech monitoring system set for expanded role
PAKISTAN: UN-assisted repatriation drive resumes for registered
refugees only
SRI LANKA: Government promises inquiry into 'disappeared' while
families wait in anguish
SRI LANKA: IDPs in transit centre face uncertain future
TAJIKISTAN: New studies reveal major gap in HIV/AIDS awareness among
youth
About IRIN: IRIN to launch Sri Lanka coverage
Starting from mid-April 2007, IRIN is to include Sri Lanka as part of
its international humanitarian news and analysis service. IRIN e-mail
subscribers wishing to add Sri Lanka to their profiles can do so after
logging into their IRIN account online:
http://www.irinnews.org/subscriberlogin.aspx. In case of any
difficulties, or to request IRIN to update your profile on your behalf,
please contact e-mail: subs@irinnews.org. Sri Lanka will be the tenth
Asian country covered by IRIN. The IRIN Sri Lanka web page will be at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Asia-Country.aspx?Country=LK
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71641
AFGHANISTAN: Civilians the main victims of conflicts
The United Nations and two prominent human rights organisations have
raised grave concerns about the increasing number of civilians affected
in armed conflicts in Afghanistan. On Monday, the New York-based group
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on the dramatic rise in
civilian casualties during insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has said that
in 2006 alone, more than 650 civilians were killed in fighting between
Islamic insurgents and Afghan government forces backed by the US and
NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF).
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71647
AFGHANISTAN: Roadside bomb kills five UN staff and contractors
Four Nepalese men contracted by the United Nations Office for Project
Services (UNOPS) to do security work and their Afghan driver died on
Tuesday in a roadside bomb explosion in the volatile province of
Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, UN and Afghan officials said. On 4
April, insurgents abducted two French and three Afghan health workers as
they were heading to Kandahar city after visiting a camp for displaced
people in the outskirts of the restive province that was once a Taliban
stronghold.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71659
AFGHANISTAN: Disaster management system needs urgent improvement
Weeks after floods and avalanches caused extensive destruction across a
third of Afghanistan, the Afghan government, United Nations agencies and
NGOs agree that better relief coordination systems need to be in place
for future natural disasters. The Afghan government has reported more
than 130 deaths and about 10,000 houses damaged in the country's recent
natural disaster. But there is still no reliable data on the exact
numbers of dead and the full extent of damage.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71701
KAZAKHSTAN: Southern mineral mining industry centre hit by floods
Heavy downpours in southern Kazakhstan have flooded 200 houses and
mining facilities in the mineral industry centre of Kentau, the Ministry
of Emergencies (MOE) has said. Along with the 200 houses and mining
facilities, a plant for enriching polymetallic ores, a transformer
factory, and an excavation company have all been flooded, Yermukhambetov
said. Water is also being pumped out of a mineral ore mine. A further 49
houses were flooded in the commercial capital of Almaty following heavy
rain on Saturday, the MOE said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71644
KYRGYZSTAN: Southern villages hit by floods and mudslides
Floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours hit southern Kyrgyzstan
on Tuesday, damaging houses and displacing families, the Kyrgyz Ministry
of Emergencies (MOE) has said. At least six families were evacuated from
their homes in southern Jalalabad province after mudslides hit the
villages of Charbak and Juzumjan in Aksy district, emergencies ministry
reported on Wednesday.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71704
NEPAL: Delayed elections threaten peace
Nepal's key political parties have expressed concern that the country's
hard-earned peace is at risk due to delayed national elections. The
elections had been set for June, but the recent announcement by the
Election Commission (EC) to postpone voting has caused fear and
frustration among the main political parties. According to the parties,
holding national elections for the Constituent Assembly (CA) in June was
among the key agreements to pave the way for a politically stable and
peaceful nation.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71628
NEPAL: Registration of weapons completed with UN help
The United Nations in Nepal has completed the first phase of the arms
registration process, said officials from the UN Mission in Nepal
(UNMIN), which has been supervising and monitoring the arms management
process in the country. After nearly a decade of armed conflict that
killed over 14,000 people and internally displaced nearly 200,000
persons, a truce was finally reached in November 2006. One of the key
agreements of the deal was the management of arms and armies on both
sides.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71653
NEPAL: Ethnic groups threaten nationwide strike
Nepal's indigenous ethnic groups - known locally as the 'Janjati' - have
threatened to hold an indefinite nationwide strike and blockade if the
government fails to hold talks with them soon, leaders of the Nepal
Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NFIN) told IRIN on Wednesday.
NFIN is the leading organisation of the indigenous groups and has been
spearheading a nationwide movement over the past three months fighting
for their recognition, equal political rights and their right to
self-determination.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71680
NEPAL: HIV awareness amongst MSM still low
Nepal has recorded almost 9,000 cases of HIV since the first case was
reported in 1988, but UNAIDS puts the estimated number of HIV infections
at closer to 75,000, in a population of 27 million. Men who have sex
with men (MSM) are considered one of the groups most at risk and in need
of HIV/AIDS education.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71738
NEPAL: Hi-tech monitoring system set for expanded role
Lack of access and poor communication in many districts of Nepal have
proven to be the greatest challenges for local inhabitants and the
international humanitarian community trying to assist them. A World Food
Programme hi-tech surveillance initiative launched three years ago is
set to expand to include other themes, such as health and education.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71739
PAKISTAN: UN-assisted repatriation drive resumes for registered refugees
only
The United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR) has resumed its assisted
repatriation drive for more than two million Afghans living in Pakistan,
the agency said on Thursday. According to a tripartite agreement between
UNHCR and the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Afghan refugees
will not be forced to leave Pakistan. However, they are required to
register their presence in Pakistan and can choose to repatriate
voluntarily.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71708
SRI LANKA: Government promises inquiry into 'disappeared' while families
wait in anguish
Seven-year-old Angel Yogarajan held a photograph of her family and
stared blankly, while her brother and mother fought hard to keep back
the tears. On 2 March, their family of seven was suddenly reduced to
three people who have been desperate ever since. Angel's father,
Emmanuel Yogarajan, and three of her brothers were abducted in the
coastal town of Negombo, 40 km north of the capital, Colombo. The family
has no information of the whereabouts of the four or even if they are
still alive.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71679
SRI LANKA: IDPs in transit centre face uncertain future
Some of an estimated 40,000 Trincomalee residents displaced south -
principally to Batticaloa District - by Sri Lanka's conflict as it
intensified in 2006 are in the process of returning to their home areas.
The Kiliveddy transit centre in southern Trincomalee district was set up
in early March 2007 to meet their needs and already it has the feel of a
crowded bus station, with small numbers of internally displaced persons
(IDPs) coming and going.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71682
TAJIKISTAN: New studies reveal major gap in HIV/AIDS awareness among
youth
The results of two surveys released this week in Tajikistan warn of low
levels of HIV/AIDS awareness among young people and a lack of knowledge
about preventive measures. One of the studies, conducted between
November 2006 and January 2007 with support from UNAIDS, found that 77
percent of respondents between the ages of 15 and 24 had heard of the
HIV virus, but only a little over half knew how to protect themselves
from infection. The majority of HIV-infected people are between 24 and
39 years old.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71694
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