Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-197: 12-Oct-08
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 197
6 - 12 October 2008
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: Influx of Pakistani refugees could spark crisis - ministry
official
AFGHANISTAN: El-Tor cholera leaves 17 dead
AFGHANISTAN: Aid agencies call on Taliban to back new humanitarian
agenda
AFGHANISTAN: Ministry warns of severe food shortage
BANGLADESH: Working to improve disaster preparedness
CAMBODIA: Coastal development threatens livelihoods
INDONESIA: Hand washing with soap saves lives
KYRGYZSTAN: First consignment of aid dispatched to quake victims
MYANMAR: High cost of fertiliser threatens harvest
MYANMAR: Aye Yin, Myanmar: "I pray we won't starve to death"
MYANMAR: Disabled people await post-cyclone aid
NEPAL: Huge challenges in preparing for natural disasters
PAKISTAN: IDPs to seek refuge at former Afghan camp
PAKISTAN: Scars still linger after 2005 quake
PAKISTAN: Why is polio spreading?
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Training young and old in disaster preparedness
PHILIPPINES: Former rebels seek new life in weaving
PHILIPPINES: Building a framework for long-term disaster preparedness
SRI LANKA: Livelihoods at risk as tourism sector slides
SRI LANKA: Salt and jumbos - rice farming in a changing climate
THAILAND: Government turns tough on PAD protesters
THAILAND: Clash toll mounts to two dead and 443 injured
TIMOR-LESTE: Tens of thousands of IDPs prepare for more flooding
AFGHANISTAN: Influx of Pakistani refugees could spark crisis - ministry
official
Any increase in the flow of refugees from northwestern Pakistan into
eastern parts of Afghanistan could lead to a humanitarian crisis unless
international aid organizations deliver urgent assistance, a senior
official at Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Returnees Affairs
(MoRRA) has said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80760
AFGHANISTAN: El-Tor cholera leaves 17 dead
An outbreak of El Tor cholera in northern, eastern and southeastern
Afghanistan has killed at least 17 people - mostly women and children -
in the past few weeks, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said on 6
October.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80777\
AFGHANISTAN: Aid agencies call on Taliban to back new humanitarian
agenda
The UN and some aid agencies have called on Taliban insurgents to
support a new humanitarian agenda in Afghanistan with the aim of
regaining operating space for aid workers.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80807
AFGHANISTAN: Ministry warns of severe food shortage
Afghanistan faces a deficit of two million tonnes of staple food -
primarily wheat flour and rice - to feed millions of vulnerable people
in the coming six months, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and
Livestock (MAIL) has said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80832
BANGLADESH: Working to improve disaster preparedness
Natural disasters are synonymous with Bangladesh, with floods, cyclones,
tornados, epidemics and river bank erosion often occurring
simultaneously - and with increasing ferocity.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80808
CAMBODIA: Coastal development threatens livelihoods
The beach looks idyllic with its white sand and seagulls but soon it
will be populated with high-end resorts. Sophal, who requested his
family name not be revealed, does not know what will happen to his home
once the evictions begin.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80752
INDONESIA: Hand washing with soap saves lives
Many of the deaths caused by diarrhoea and respiratory infections in
Indonesia could have been prevented had people washed their hands more
often with soap, the Health Ministry has said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80870
KYRGYZSTAN: First consignment of aid dispatched to quake victims
An earthquake that jolted southern Kyrgyzstan on the evening of 5
October killed at least 70 people and destroyed over 100 houses in a
remote village, according to officials. An initial aid delivery has been
dispatched.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80767
MYANMAR: High cost of fertiliser threatens harvest
With many farmers in Myanmar's cyclone-affected areas unable to prepare
their fields in time, many planted high yielding rice varieties (HYVs),
which have a shorter growth period than traditional types.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80779
MYANMAR: Aye Yin, Myanmar: "I pray we won't starve to death"
More than five months after Cyclone Nargis slammed into southern
Myanmar, leaving close to 140,000 people dead or missing, survivors
continue to pick up the pieces.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80802
MYANMAR: Disabled people await post-cyclone aid
More than five months after Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar,
people with physical disabilities (PwDs) continue to await assistance.
Little of the international relief targeting the 2.4 million people
affected has filtered down to them.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80853
NEPAL: Huge challenges in preparing for natural disasters
Nepal is becoming a disaster hotspot, with natural hazards increasing
over the past two decades, according to aid agencies. Floods,
landslides, fire, cyclonic winds, hailstorms, drought and famine are
among the disasters gripping the Himalayan nation with increasing
ferocity.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80803
PAKISTAN: IDPs to seek refuge at former Afghan camp
"There is so much sadness here," said Muhammad Hussain. He is one of the
600 or so internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the conflict-hit
Bajaur tribal agency on the Pakistan-Afghan border about to be moved to
the nearby Kacha Garhi refugee camp, where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
aims to house up to 60,000 people.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80764
PAKISTAN: Scars still linger after 2005 quake
Karamullah Khan, aged five, can remember nothing of the day three years
ago that changed forever the life of his family. The boy was only two
when the devastating earthquake of 8 October 2005 hit North West
Frontier Province (NWFP) and parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir,
bringing the roof of his house crashing down. At least 72,000 were
killed.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80801
PAKISTAN: Why is polio spreading?
The refusal by parents to get their children vaccinated against polio in
Pakistan is only a minor contributory factor explaining the rise in the
number of polio cases among children, say health experts.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80827
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Training young and old in disaster preparedness
For a country as disaster-prone as Papua New Guinea, with a history of
deadly cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, it is surprising
that the Centre for Disaster Reduction was not established until 2002.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80830
PHILIPPINES: Former rebels seek new life in weaving
Bai Albaya Wampa inspects some colourful scarves and wonders if they
will be good enough to export. Wampa is chairwoman and founder of the Al
Jamelah Organisation, a cooperative that seeks to empower women who were
once immersed in conflict by employing them as weavers of traditional
scarves and other clothing, mostly sold on the international market.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80805
PHILIPPINES: Building a framework for long-term disaster preparedness
About 20 typhoons hit each year and earthquakes occur frequently as the
island nation lies within the so-called "Ring of Fire" in Asia. The last
deadly earthquake struck Luzon Island in 1990, killing about 1,600
people. The country has become more adept at disaster preparedness and
mitigation measures that substantially reduced the risk of deaths.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80805
SRI LANKA: Livelihoods at risk as tourism sector slides
Sri Lanka's struggling tourism industry - hard hit by the conflict
between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and government
forces, and with security concerns increasing in Colombo, the capital -
is banking on the island's traditional attractions to lure tourists back
again.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80833
SRI LANKA: Salt and jumbos - rice farming in a changing climate
Hundreds of families uprooted from villages in Sri Lanka's northwestern
Kurunegala District are having to learn new ways of growing rice in the
salty soils of their new homes in Puttalam District. Moved to make way
for an irrigation project near the Deduru Oya river, they were relocated
to Nelumwewa, where observers say higher rates of evaporation are
increasing the land's salinity.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80848
THAILAND: Government turns tough on PAD protesters
An estimated 1,500 police mobilised to disperse demonstrators of the
People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on 7 October, firing tear gas at
the protesters, who had laid siege to the Parliament since 6 October.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80790
THAILAND: Clash toll mounts to two dead and 443 injured
The Narenthorn Emergency Centre of the Thai Public Health Ministry
reported on 8 October that 443 people had been injured in violent
clashes between anti-government protesters led by the Peoples Alliance
for Democracy (PAD) and police on 7 October. Of the total, 82, three of
them children, remain in hospital; the rest were discharged after
receiving treatment.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80810
TIMOR-LESTE: Tens of thousands of IDPs prepare for more flooding
Tens of thousands of people are preparing for their third bout of
flooding since 2006 in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) as
the rainy season once again descends on Timor-Leste.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80846[END]
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