DUBAI, 26 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Conflict-affected displacement "major" humanitarian challenge - Afghan Red Crescent

AFGHANISTAN: Oxfam calls for aid to be more effective, transparent AFGHANISTAN: Revitalise transitional justice system - UN human rights commissioner AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: No sudden deportation of "undocumented" Afghans in Pakistan BANGLADESH: Cyclone death toll likely to climb BANGLADESH: Too early to link Cyclone Sidr to global warming – researcher BANGLADESH: Donors pledge over US$120 million in aid to cyclone victims BANGLADESH: Cyclone survivors lack safe drinking water BANGLADESH: Cyclone-hit areas to get food cards from 1 December BANGLADESH: Megaphones save thousands

GLOBAL: UN emergency fund CERF and NGOs - "Progress made, progress to make" GLOBAL: IRIN presents Tomorrow's Crises Today: the humanitarian impact of urbanisation - the book NEPAL: Fire-hit Bhutanese refugees receive aid PAKISTAN: Thousands flee Swat Valley as army moves in to tackle militants PAKISTAN: Hope fades for the "disappeared" under emergency rule PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Cyclone Guba flood response gains pace PHILIPPINES: Typhoon tests Philippine readiness SRI LANKA: Humanitarian access improving in resettlement areas in east

AFGHANISTAN: Conflict-affected displacement "major" humanitarian challenge - Afghan Red Crescent

Afghan civilians displaced by armed conflict in volatile parts of the country have become a "major" humanitarian challenge, the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) told IRIN on 20 November.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75399

AFGHANISTAN: Oxfam calls for aid to be more effective, transparent

Over US$15 billion of international aid money spent in Afghanistan in the past six years has not met the urgent humanitarian and development needs of the Afghan people because aid has either been insufficient or delivered ineffectively, a British charity organisation, Oxfam GB, said in a report.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75403

AFGHANISTAN: Revitalise transitional justice system - UN human rights commissioner

The government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the international community involved in Afghanistan must recommit to the Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice (APPRJ) - known as transitional justice - which is expected to address crimes committed in the past three decades in the war-torn country, said the UN high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75425

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: No sudden deportation of "undocumented" Afghans in Pakistan

Over 100,000 Afghans living and working in Pakistan without refugee cards will not be "unilaterally and hastily" deported to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani official said at the end of a tripartite meeting of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan on 21 November in Kabul.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75440

BANGLADESH: Cyclone death toll likely to climb

The final death toll from the devastating cyclone that struck southwestern Bangladesh on 15 November continues to rise, as aid workers struggle to reach survivors.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75394

BANGLADESH: Too early to link Cyclone Sidr to global warming – researcher

A senior researcher with the UK-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Oxfam says it is too early to say that Cyclone Sidr, which hit Bangladesh last week, is related to global climate change.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75406

BANGLADESH: Donors pledge over US$120 million in aid to cyclone victims

The international community has pledged over US$120 million in relief and rehabilitation assistance to victims of Cyclone Sidr, the Bangladesh government has confirmed.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75424

BANGLADESH: Cyclone survivors lack safe drinking water

Hundreds of thousands of survivors from last week's devastating cyclone in Bangladesh are reportedly now without access to safe drinking water. Over 3,000 people are confirmed dead and millions more left homeless after the category four storm swept across the Bay of Bengal and struck the southwestern coast on 15 November.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75439

BANGLADESH: Cyclone-hit areas to get food cards from 1 December

As the need for food, water and other relief items multiplies, the government of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the armed forces and members of the humanitarian community, is working overtime to reach victims of Cyclone Sidr.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75458

BANGLADESH: Megaphones save thousands

A simple early warning system that used local volunteers shouting through megaphones to warn people about the impending cyclone saved thousands of lives when Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh last week, and the system proved so effective that it might even become a model for other countries.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75470

GLOBAL: UN emergency fund CERF and NGOs - "Progress made, progress to make"

In a January report, Save the Children UK - one of the more vocal non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on humanitarian financing reforms - criticised the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for being "clumsy and inefficient" in its distribution of funds to NGOs. However, by September this year their view had shifted.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75404

GLOBAL: IRIN presents Tomorrow's Crises Today: the humanitarian impact of urbanisation - the book

Co-published by IRIN and UN-HABITAT, Tomorrow's Crises Today explores the effect living in today's cities has on the millions of people who already live in metropolises, and those who are being drawn into them from the countryside every day - by the millions.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75390

NEPAL: Fire-hit Bhutanese refugees receive aid

Over 400 Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal whose homes were ravaged by fire last week are receiving aid, and materials to rebuild their homes, refugees told IRIN on 18 November.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75375

PAKISTAN: Thousands flee Swat Valley as army moves in to tackle militants

Thousands of people have begun fleeing Pakistan's troubled Swat Valley in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) following an announcement by security forces calling on residents to leave their homes.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75410

PAKISTAN: Hope fades for the "disappeared" under emergency rule

Pakistan's state of emergency declared on 3 November has aggravated the situation for some 100 or so people deemed "missing" in the country, according to rights groups.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75428

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Cyclone Guba flood response gains pace

Humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine and shelter is increasingly reaching more remote parts of Papua New Guinea's Oro and Milne Bay Provinces in the eastern part of the country following widespread flooding and high tides a week-and-a-half ago from slow-moving tropical cyclone Guba.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75498

PHILIPPINES: Typhoon tests Philippine readiness

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) is tracking a typhoon, Mina (also know as Mitag), headed for the country's northern island.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75496

SRI LANKA: Humanitarian access improving in resettlement areas in east

Basil Sylvester, coordinator in Batticaloa District in eastern Sri Lanka for the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), is more relaxed now than three months ago. He no longer hears myriad complaints from frustrated aid workers about being denied access by the government to areas where nearly 100,000 internally displaced people have been resettled since June 2007.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75435

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