Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-140: 09-Sep-07

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Asia IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 140 3 - 9 September 2007

CONTENTS: AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Jalozai refugee camp wins temporary reprieve AFGHANISTAN: Opium production, addiction soar in Helmand Province AFGHANISTAN: Civilian casualties reportedly peak in August AFGHANISTAN: Hundreds of schools remain closed in south AFGHANISTAN: Canadians and Kandaharis differ on security and development BANGLADESH: Number of diarrhoea cases stabilizing NEPAL: WHO concerned at increasing risk of post-flood diseases PAKISTAN: Government mulls new law on illegal kidney sales PAKISTAN: Infrastructure badly hit in flood areas PAKISTAN: Karachi suburbs still struggling with floods SRI LANKA: Orphanages used as last resort by parents of 19,000 children SRI LANKA: Uneven progress in post-tsunami schools' reconstruction UZBEKISTAN: Food price rises spark sporadic protests AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Jalozai refugee camp wins temporary reprieve Thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan's largest refugee camp have won a temporary reprieve after an official closure date set by Islamabad was postponed by about six months. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74076 AFGHANISTAN: Opium production, addiction soar in Helmand Province Nazar Mohammad was brought to Wadan Rehabilitation Centre (WRC) - a drug addiction treatment and counselling facility in southern Afghanistan - by his father three days ago. The 16-year-old is addicted to opium, which his father cultivates on their farm in southern Helmand Province. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74101 AFGHANISTAN: Civilian casualties reportedly peak in August One hundred and sixty-eight civilians died in armed conflicts, suicide attacks, improvised explosions and aerial bombardments in Afghanistan in August, the country's human rights watchdog told IRIN on 4 September. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74118 AFGHANISTAN: Hundreds of schools remain closed in south As the new school year begins on 10 September in Afghanistan's insurgency-hit southern provinces, there are concerns that hundreds of schools will remain closed due to insecurity. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74153 AFGHANISTAN: Canadians and Kandaharis differ on security and development Insecurity in southern Afghanistan, particularly in the volatile province of Kandahar, is a major obstacle for humanitarian and development work in the area, aid workers and officials say. But opinions differ widely on the extent of the insecurity problem in Kandahar and the effectiveness of Canadian work there. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74199 BANGLADESH: Number of diarrhoea cases stabilising The number of diarrhoea cases in flood-hit Bangladesh shows signs of stabilisation, health experts on the ground say. As of 2 September, the country's National Disease Surveillance Centre reported 128,957 diarrhoea cases nationwide since 30 July, resulting in 21 deaths and a case fatality rate of about 0.02 percent; an extremely low number under the circumstances. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74092 NEPAL: WHO concerned at increasing risk of post-flood diseases The UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Nepal in a new report has said it is concerned about the increasing risk of diarrhoeal and vector-borne diseases in the country due to recent floods and landslides. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74080 PAKISTAN: Government mulls new law on illegal kidney sales "I came from my village, about 20km outside Lahore to sell my kidney, but I can't find anyone to help me," 25-year-old Haroon Ahmed said as he sat beside a busy road in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's populous Punjab Province. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74114 PAKISTAN: Infrastructure badly hit in flood areas Aslam Khoro, a farmer in the flood-ravaged sub-district of K.N. Shah in Dadu District in the southern province of Sindh, about 350km southwest of Karachi, points in the general direction of where his village lay. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74126 PAKISTAN: Karachi suburbs still struggling with floods Saadia Amir looks in exasperation at a roughly dug trench in Karachi that cuts a swathe through the roads in her up-market, seaside residential area to the sea just a few hundred yards away. "In normal circumstances, it would take me just two minutes to drive through these by-lanes and reach my child's school," the young mother said. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74198 SRI LANKA: Orphanages used as last resort by parents of 19,000 children Thirteen-year-old Kumuduni Perera (not her real name) was found outside the Suvasetha orphanage in Panadura town, Kalutara District, when she was just two months old. The authorities from the orphanage believe Kumuduni was left at the entrance early one morning by one of her relatives who has not visited her since. Raised in the orphanage, Kumuduni says that some day she hopes to find her parents. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74073 SRI LANKA: Uneven progress in post-tsunami schools' reconstruction Fourteen-year-old Vinoka Rosari's story is an all too common one among the civilian population in northern and eastern Sri Lanka where the decades-old conflict and the 2004 tsunami continue to affect lives. A camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Alles Garden, not far from Trincomalee, is the only home Rosari has ever known. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74156 UZBEKISTAN: Food price rises spark sporadic protests Sharp increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs are causing discontent and sporadic protests in Uzbekistan, say rights activists. The price of flat local bread has gone up 50-100 percent and the flour imported from Kazakhstan used for baking bread, has almost doubled in price, according to activists. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74097 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Center for International web: www.cidi.org Disaster Information listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Asia www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/casia