DUBAI, 7 October 2007 (IRIN) - Contents:

IRAQ: Closure of Iranian border affects Kurdistan region's economy IRAQ: Scabies said to be rife in several Iraqi prisons IRAQ: Difficult to access the needy in Diyala Province, say aid workers IRAQ: Shortage of cancer treatments puts thousands at risk IRAQ: Rayhan Nasir, "We never saw my father again" IRAQ-JORDAN: First death registered among refugees at border ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza squeezed by steady decline in imports, closure threats JORDAN: Some Iraqi refugees resort to begging JORDAN: "Honour" killings pose serious challenge to rule of law LEBANON: International tug of war complicating Lebanon's election outcome OPT: Dozens of Palestinians sift through rubbish tips to survive OPT: Few legal options for abused Palestinian women, say activists YEMEN-HORN OF AFRICA: Worries over increasing African exodus to Yemen YEMEN: Red Sea volcano still active, say specialists

IRAQ: Closure of Iranian border affects Kurdistan region's economy

Aid agencies in the northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan have said the continuing closure of Iraq's border with Iran will not hamper their work as they do not use the Iranian border for getting supplies. However, Azad Ahmed, a 45-year old pharmacist in Sulaimaniyah, said that although medicines are imported from neighbouring countries other than Iran some critical items do come from Iran as well.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74558

IRAQ: Scabies said to be rife in several Iraqi prisons

Bad hygiene in several Iraqi prisons has caused prisoners to become infected with scabies, and no treatment is being given, according to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dealing with prisoners.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74592

IRAQ: Difficult to access the needy in Diyala Province, say aid workers

The humanitarian situation in Diyala Province, eastern-central Iraq, is deteriorating because of continuing tension between armed factions and the difficulty of accessing internally displaced persons and the needy, said local aid workers.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74617

IRAQ: Shortage of cancer treatments puts thousands at risk

Hospitals specialising in cancer treatment have urged the Iraq authorities to replenish supplies because they say a shortage of essential medicines is putting the lives of thousands of patients at risk.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74632

IRAQ: Rayhan Nasir, "We never saw my father again"

Rayhan Nasir, 24, is losing hope after two years spent searching for his father, who disappeared on his way home from work. Nasir Muhammad, then a 53-year-old pharmacy owner, telephoned the family to say he was leaving his shop, would buy some bread and cheese, and join them for dinner. That was the last time the family had any information about the father of four.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74634

IRAQ-JORDAN: First death registered among refugees at border

A woman from a group of 193 Iranian-Kurd refugees who have been stranded at the border of Jordan and Iraq for the past two and a half years became the first fatality there after she died on 2 October as a result of a disease complication, according to refugees at the camp and international and local relief organisations.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74637

ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza squeezed by steady decline in imports, closure threats

The UN has expressed renewed concern over the state of the Gaza Strip's border crossings, saying that, if realised, the Israeli threat of increased restrictions would most likely lead to a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished enclave.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74612

JORDAN: Some Iraqi refugees resort to begging

Ali Abdul Rahman, a 12-year-old Iraqi immigrant, joins an army of Jordanian beggars as they throng the vibrant streets of Amman in their tattered clothes, seeking a handout during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Thousands of Iraqi immigrants have seen their life savings depleted by the high cost of living in Jordan, and some - including children like Ali - have now resorted to begging.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74565

JORDAN: "Honour" killings pose serious challenge to rule of law

Omaima was disposed of within minutes of her birth on 4 September in a rubbish bin. The illegitimate baby, however, was saved thanks to a street cleaner who heard her screaming from her makeshift tomb.

The incident sent a shockwave throughout the conservative kingdom, with local papers dubbing Omaima "the rubbish bin girl". Sari Nasir, a sociologist at the University of Jordan, showed no surprise at the chain of events that led to this travesty. "Values are stronger than life in Jordan," he said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74591

LEBANON: International tug of war complicating Lebanon's election outcome

Lebanon's tussling factions are headed for a stalemate, settlement, or war, and international actors as much as local ones will decide which, analysts say.

The presidential vote which was to be held on 25 September was deferred until 23 October after lawmakers failed to find a consensus candidate. Opposition members of parliament (MPs) boycotted the vote, arguing that Lebanon's fragile sectarian political system requires a president agreeable to both camps.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74563

OPT: Dozens of Palestinians sift through rubbish tips to survive

For some West Bank Palestinians rubbish has become not only a livelihood but the only method of survival they know. Many dozens of Palestinians across the territory, including children, work at landfill sites, trying to earn a meagre living.

"This is very hard work here. My hands are all cut up, it smells. But what can I do? There's no work in Ramallah," said Muhammad, from Al-Bireh, a nearby town.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74559

OPT: Few legal options for abused Palestinian women, say activists

Palestinian female victims of domestic violence have little chance of escaping their situation or bringing the perpetrators to justice as they face a legal system stacked in favour of the accused and a prevailing attitude that places blame on the victim, women's rights experts said.

Moreover, many women who have been raped are then killed by family members in "honour killings" for having brought shame to their family.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74610

YEMEN-HORN OF AFRICA: Worries over increasing African exodus to Yemen

The Somali consulate in Yemen's southern province of Aden has said it is worried about the increasing number of smugglers' boats being used to ferry African migrants, mostly Somalis, from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. It also expressed concern about the deaths of Somalis and the squalid conditions in which survivors live.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on 28 September said that in September alone 50 such boats had reached Yemen from Somalia carrying 4,741 people, mostly Somalis and Ethiopians - a 70 percent increase on the same period last year when 30 boats arrived with 2,961 people.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74567

YEMEN: Red Sea volcano still active, say specialists

The head of the Ministry of Oil's Geological Survey Authority (GSA), Ismael al-Janad, told IRIN on 2 October that the volcano which erupted on the tiny island of Jabal al-Tair in the Red Sea on 30 September was still active. "It will take time to calm down," he said.

Yemeni geologists linked the volcano to seismic activity which coincided with the eruption. The Earthquake Observation Centre said it had recorded tremors in the Red Sea from 22 September until the volcano's eruption. They measured 2.0-3.6 degrees on the Richter scale, with five of the larger ones recorded on 30 September.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74613

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