DUBAI, 26 August 2007 (IRIN) - Contents:   ISRAEL-AFRICA: Deportation of 50 Africans sparks concern GLOBAL: US company sues American Red Cross over use of Red Cross emblem IRAQ: Conflict blamed for increase in number of sterile men IRAQ: Power cuts getting worse, affecting lives IRAQ: Aid work becoming more risky in Baghdad IRAQ: Former children's camp in south in urgent need of assistance IRAQ-SYRIA: Iraqi pledge to Syria fails to assuage refugees ISRAEL: Bedouins demand improved access to health care OPT: Power shortages threaten sewage treatment YEMEN: Desert locust infestation yet to be controlled YEMEN: Peace agreement with northern rebels in jeopardy?

ISRAEL-AFRICA: Deportation of 50 Africans sparks concern

Israel deported to Egypt on 19 August some 50 asylum seekers who had illegally crossed the border over the weekend. The move has been legalised by the state's attorney-general but criticised by rights groups.

Most of the asylum seekers were from the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan.

[This story is also available in Arabic]

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73854

GLOBAL: US company sues American Red Cross over use of Red Cross emblem

The world's largest for-profit healthcare products conglomerate, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), is suing the American Red Cross (ARC) over its use of the life-saving emblem - the red cross on a white background.

On 8 August J&J filed a civil complaint in the US District Court in New York charging the ARC with infringing its trademark for commercial use of the red-cross-on-white-background by licensing it to for-profit companies to produce items such as baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers, which directly compete with J&J's own products.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73919

IRAQ: Conflict blamed for increase in number of sterile men

Youssef Obeidi, 32, last week left Karada Hospital's family planning clinic with news that he will not be able to have children unless he undergoes lengthy treatment to reverse his sterility. Doctors told him that in war conditions, there is a higher chance men can become sterile.

"For three years I have been blaming my wife because she couldn't get pregnant. But after a long examination in this clinic, a doctor said that she was fine and in perfect condition to become a mother. For this reason, I had to have myself checked," Obeidi said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73805

IRAQ: Power cuts getting worse, affecting lives

In the backyard of the house of Jassim Abdel-Rahman, a 34-year-old resident of Sadr City, a suburb of Baghdad, there are always six or so jerry cans which he refills daily with petrol for his small generator.

With less than four hours electricity a day and with a newborn baby at home, Abdel-Rahman refuses to leave his family sweltering in the hot weather so he spends at least half his US$380 monthly salary repairing and refuelling his generator.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73835

IRAQ: Aid work becoming more risky in Baghdad

Aid workers are struggling to find safer ways to deliver aid to displaced and vulnerable families in Baghdad. The city, which is now effectively divided along religious lines, is increasingly under the control of armed gangs and is seen by aid agencies as the most dangerous place in Iraq in which to operate.

"We don't have freedom to deliver aid to displaced families," Fatah Ahmed, vice-president of the Iraqi Aid Association (IAA), said. "Unfortunately, we have to choose which families to help taking into account the safety of our volunteers."

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73867

IRAQ: Former children's camp in south in urgent need of assistance

People are leaving Karama camp in the southern province of al-Qadisiyyah because of the terrible conditions there, and urgent supplies are needed to rectify the situation. The camp, 15km to the west of Diwaniyah, the provincial capital, currently has 129 residents. It was previously a children's camp until its formal conversion into a centre to accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs).

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73891

IRAQ-SYRIA: Iraqi pledge to Syria fails to assuage refugees

Iraq refugees in Syria are not confident that the just concluded three-day visit to Damascus by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will make a difference to their worsening plight. During the visit al-Maliki pledged his government would increase support to Syria for the estimated two million Iraqi refugees living in the country.

"His visit will not help any refugees," said Ayad Tariq, an Iraqi in Damascus. "Honestly, I don't think he can do anything for us. He has to give some money to the Syrians but it won't make a difference to us."

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73895

ISRAEL: Bedouins demand improved access to health care

A new legal petition to Israel's High Court demands the state connect 11 primary health care clinics in the unrecognised Bedouin villages in the Negev desert to the main power grid in order to provide better health services.

[This story is also available in Arabic]

The clinics, which were established as a result of previous petitions, use generators, but only during opening hours. Afterwards, the electricity shuts off.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73813

OPT: Power shortages threaten sewage treatment

If power and fuel shortages continue, a major sewage treatment plant in the Gaza Strip will be unable to operate, causing public health risks, a water and sanitation official said.

"Without electricity, we will face a real environmental and humanitarian disaster," said Munzer Shublak, the head of Coastal Municipalities Water Utilities. He raised concerns that sewage would either end up flowing onto the streets or there might be another overflow of the plant, as occurred in April. He said they only had enough fuel for their generators for a few days, after which they would have trouble treating sewage.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73840

YEMEN: Desert locust infestation yet to be controlled

Yemen's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation says the current desert locusts' invasion has entered a dangerous phase. Swarms of locusts have infested both the south and the north, posing a threat to agricultural crops.

Agriculture Minister Mansour Ahmed al -Hawshabi said on 20 August that the problem had become severe owing to the spread of the swarms to eight of the country's governorates, and he called for greater efforts to control them.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73830

YEMEN: Peace agreement with northern rebels in jeopardy?

A committee appointed by the Qatari government to supervise the peace agreement between government forces and followers of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi left Yemen on 17 August for a second time, sparking fears that clashes might resume in Saada Governorate, northern Yemen, observers say.

Officials at the Yemeni Presidential Committee - formed to supervise the ceasefire agreement on behalf of the Yemeni government - accused al-Houthi of not abiding by the peace agreement, and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has threatened to resort to military means if al-Houthi breaks it. He accused the rebel leader of procrastination in implementing the peace agreement.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73865

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