ANKARA, 13 October (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: USAID to provide small loans to thousands of farmers AFGHANISTAN: UN and rights bodies condemn murder of two German journalists AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: UN-assisted Afghan repatriation ends PAKISTAN: IFRC to distribute shelter kits to quake survivors PAKISTAN: Farmers in quake zone get assistance ahead of winter PAKISTAN: 'Angels of Mercy' back in Allai skies PAKISTAN: Focus on earthquake recovery 12 months on PAKISTAN: Call to assist vulnerable in quake region NEPAL: More work needed to achieve development goals - report NEPAL: Peace talks to continue as progress remains elusive NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees hesitant over US resettlement offer NEPAL: Rebels and government agree to hold elections NEPAL: Peace talks making positive headway – rebels and government

AFGHANISTAN: USAID to provide small loans to thousands of farmers

An estimated US $80 million will be distributed over a three-year period in the form of small loans to some 60,000 people across Afghanistan to boost rural development and livelihoods, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Tuesday.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55897 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN: UN and rights bodies condemn murder of two German journalists

The United Nations (UN), Afghanistan's top media watchdog and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Monday condemned the killings of two German journalists and have called on the government to take strict measures to maintain the safety of reporters.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55877 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: UN-assisted Afghan repatriation ends

After five years in operation, the UN-assisted Afghan repatriation programme came to an end on Thursday, said UN officials in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. "Today is the last scheduled departure for [UNHCR-assisted] voluntary Afghan repatriation across the country [Pakistan]," said Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55931 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: IFRC to distribute shelter kits to quake survivors

As part of its winter contingency plan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC), together with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has started preparing to assist some 13,500 families affected by last year's massive earthquake in northern Pakistan.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55938 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Farmers in quake zone get assistance ahead of winter

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) began training some 3,000 farmers from Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) at the beginning of October to build quake-resistant animal shelters ahead of the oncoming winter, the organisation said on Tuesday.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55899 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: 'Angels of Mercy' back in Allai skies

Unlike the grim mood in the devastated town of Balakot, where rubble still lies thick on the ground a year after the 8 October 2005 quake, spirits in the remote Allai Valley are distinctly higher. In the small village of Rashang, near the main town of Bana, children excitedly show off new school books. Many of their fathers work on houses and though tents are still visible in many places, there is confidence they may not be needed too much longer.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55933 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Focus on earthquake recovery 12 months on

One year after the worst natural disaster in Pakistan's 59-year history, which left 75,000 people dead and another 3.5 million homeless, progress on earthquake recovery has remained slow and many reconstruction programmes are facing a funding deficit.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55864 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN: Call to assist vulnerable in quake region

More than 12 months after the massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northern Pakistan, humanitarian workers have called for assistance to protect thousands of quake survivors in remote rural parts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) against the forthcoming Himalayan winter.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55876 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

NEPAL: More work needed to achieve development goals - report

Nepal, along with many other developing country in the Asia Pacific region, is falling behind in efforts to meet the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said a new report 'A Future Within Reach' jointly prepared by the United Nations and the Asian Development bank (ADB).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55940 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: Peace talks to continue as progress remains elusive

Representatives from Nepal's Maoist rebels and the government said on Thursday that ongoing peace talks were progressing effectively but more time was needed to iron out differences. "We have narrowed down most of our differences after a series of consultations. There is hope for a positive end to our talks," said rebel spokesman and senior leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55932 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees hesitant over US resettlement offer

Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal have expressed scepticism over an offer of third-country settlement from Washington. On 2 October, US Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Affairs, Ellen Sauerbury, told reporters in Geneva that her government was willing to "absorb 50,000 or 60,000 of the [Bhutanese] people who are now in these [refugee] camps".

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55880 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: Rebels and government agree to hold elections

Maoist rebels and Nepal's interim government have agreed to hold elections for a constituent assembly by June 2007, negotiators from both sides said on Tuesday at the end of three days of high-level peace talks. Maoists have been waging a 'people's war' against the Nepalese state since 1996 in a conflict that has left 14,000 people dead.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55898 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

NEPAL: Peace talks making positive headway – rebels and government

High-level peace talks in Nepal, which got under way at the weekend, are making good progress, according to both government and Maoist rebel representatives. After 10 years of violent conflict that has claimed at least 14,000 lives and a series of unsuccessful peace talks earlier in the year, both sides want to bring the three-day discussions to a positive conclusion as quickly as possible, they said.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55874 and SelectRegion=Asia and SelectCountry=NEPAL

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