DUBAI, 8 October 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Teenager hanged by Taliban in latest child killing AFGHANISTAN: Lack of agreement on how to tackle IDP issue in south AFGHANISTAN: Some aid vulnerable to mismanagement, corruption, say experts

BANGLADESH: Drowning leading cause of death among children BANGLADESH: Greater disaster preparedness needed NEPAL: Newly displaced fear to return home, seek security guarantees NEPAL: Former Maoist rebels threaten to disrupt elections NEPAL: Grassroots communities most affected by suspension of elections PAKISTAN: Landless quake victims to receive compensation PAKISTAN: Tented schools a reality for 800,000 quake-affected children PAKISTAN: Faisal Awan, Pakistan: "We have been forgotten" SRI LANKA: Monks show solidarity with Myanmar protesters

AFGHANISTAN: Teenager hanged by Taliban in latest child killing

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned the hanging of a teenager boy by Taliban insurgents in Sangin District of volatile Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. On 30 September armed Taliban men hanged a 15-year-old boy on charges of espionage for foreign forces based in Afghanistan, said Ezatullah Mujahid, the administrator of Sangin District.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74597

AFGHANISTAN: Lack of agreement on how to tackle IDP issue in south

Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in and around Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan need to be temporarily sheltered in a new camp and provided with urgent humanitarian assistance, provincial aid workers told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74609

AFGHANISTAN: Some aid vulnerable to mismanagement, corruption, say experts

Relief operations in insecure parts of Afghanistan are highly vulnerable to waste and corruption, local officials, residents, aid officials and analysts say. "The spending imperative, the weakness of the Afghan government, and insecurity have contributed to a high risk of corruption in 'postwar' Afghanistan," stated a July 2007 report by humanitarian think-tank ODI.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74635

BANGLADESH: Drowning leading cause of death among children

Hardly a day goes by in Bangladesh in which the media do not report a child's death by drowning, with this year's heavy monsoon rains only driving those numbers higher. In the last week over a dozen deaths - all of them children aged 16 months to 11 years old - were reported.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74571

BANGLADESH: Greater disaster preparedness needed

Rupchand Bibi is a widow with little more than a thatched hut along the Dharla, a relatively quiet river that meanders through much of Bangladesh from its origins in the Himalayas. But this year – after unusually heavy monsoon rains – the Dharla took her home, rendering her and thousands more homeless.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74683

NEPAL: Newly displaced fear to return home, seek security guarantees

Thousands of displaced people are fearful of returning to their homes in the Terai region of southern Nepal, after ethnic clashes forced them flee nearly two weeks ago, local human rights activists told IRIN. They say they have not received sufficient guarantees of their security.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74593

NEPAL: Former Maoist rebels threaten to disrupt elections

Concern is growing among politicians and foreign envoys that the elections for Nepal's Constituent Assembly next month could be disrupted. The focus of their concerns is threats by former Maoist rebels to sabotage the elections unless the government fulfils their demands to implement a fully proportional electoral system and declare Nepal a republic in parliament.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74638

NEPAL: Grassroots communities most affected by suspension of elections

Sheela Nepali had been counting down the days until Nepal's national elections for its Constituent Assembly were to take place on 22 November. For her, the vote was a hope for a new beginning. But her hopes were dashed when increasing violence between various ethnic groups delayed the vote. Then, the government announced that the elections were suspended indefinitely.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74681

PAKISTAN: Landless quake victims to receive compensation

The Pakistani government has begun compensating those left landless by a devastating earthquake almost two years ago - a move likely to help thousands of quake victims rebuild their lives.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74584

PAKISTAN: Tented schools a reality for 800,000 quake-affected children

On 8 October 2005 at least 17,000 students and 900 teachers were killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and the country's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), according to the UN. Eight thousand schools out of a total of 11,534 primary and secondary schools in the mountainous region were destroyed while nearly one million children needed school support.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74601

PAKISTAN: Faisal Awan, Pakistan: "We have been forgotten"

I will never forget the earthquake. Within seconds, we lost everything – something hard to imagine unless you actually go through it.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74633

SRI LANKA: Monks show solidarity with Myanmar protesters

A group of monks chanting from sacred Buddhist scripts is not a typical scene near the UN compound in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, but 100 monks from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand and Bangladesh were there to support the pro-democracy protests in Myanmar.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74636

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