BURUNDI: Homes, schools for returnees inaugurated, 21/Feb/06
BUJUMBURA, 21 February (IRIN) - Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has inaugurated 1,100 homes and two schools financed by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in two previously war-torn southern provinces of the country.... Full Report... Email Report

YEMEN: Measles vaccination campaign launched to prevent childrens deaths, 21/Feb/06
SANA, 21 February (IRIN) - A massive vaccination drive against measles began this week in an effort to stamp out a disease that kills between 5,000 and 10,000 Yemeni children ever year. For the first time in the country, the campaign is targeting children over 18 months old as... Full Report... Email Report

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe delivers broadside to neighbours, 21/Feb/06
HARARE, 21 February (IRIN) - President Robert Mugabe has called on neighbouring countries not to interfere in Zimbabwe's internal affairs, while signalling that constitutional reform was on the cards, possibly to smooth the way for a chosen successor. ... Full Report... Email Report

SUDAN: Insecurity could affect polio campaign, say health workers, 21/Feb/06
KHARTOUM, 21 February (IRIN) - The success of the current polio vaccination campaign in Sudan will depend on how easily children living in remote, insecure areas, particularly the war-ravaged western Darfur region, can be reached, health workers said. ... Full Report... Email Report

HORN OF AFRICA: UN envoy urges quick response to drought crisis, 21/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 21 February (IRIN) - The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has urged the international community to respond quickly to the needs of millions of people affected by severe drought in the Horn of Africa. ... Full Report... Email Report

SOMALIA: Severe malnutrition in drought-hit Wajid, 21/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 21 February (IRIN) - High levels of malnutrition have been reported among internally displaced people in Wajid, southern Somalia, a region that has been hit by severe food and water shortages as a result of prolonged drought, agencies said. ... Full Report... Email Report

TANZANIA: HIV/AIDS counselling centres set up in prisons, 21/Feb/06
DAR ES SALAAM, 21 February (IRIN) - In a move aimed at stepping up the campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS in prisons, the Tanzanian government has started establishing vocational counselling and testing centres to provide services to penal institutions.... Full Report... Email Report

SYRIA: US funding offer for NGOs draws mixed reactions, 21/Feb/06
DAMASCUS, 21 February (IRIN) - US funding that has been made available for local pro-democracy NGOs has received mixed reactions from Syrian rights groups.... Full Report... Email Report

IRAQ: Thousands of families still displaced after flooding, 21/Feb/06
BAGHDAD, 21 February (IRIN) - Nearly 6,000 families forced to leave their homes in the wake of heavy flooding in northern and southeastern Iraq earlier this month remain displaced, mostly due to the destruction of their houses.... Full Report... Email Report

SOMALIA: Thousands displaced as Mogadishu clashes continue, 21/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 21 February (IRIN) - Thousands of people have fled the northern and northeastern suburbs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since clashes between militia groups started over the weekend, a top city official said. ... Full Report... Email Report

NIGERIA: Bird flu confirmed in five states and the capital, 21/Feb/06
ABUJA, 21 February (IRIN) - Tests have confirmed the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus also fatal in humans has now infected poultry in five contiguous Nigerian states and the federal capital, Abuja, according to the government.... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: Women's committee highlights problems facing women in quake camps, 21/Feb/06
MUZAFFARABAD, 21 February (IRIN) - Over 30 women sitting in a tent in quake-ravaged northern Pakistan are holding up their right arms high in the air, waiting for their turn to talk. Many are clutching scraps of paper with meticulous lists written on them.... Full Report... Email Report

UGANDA: Official campaigns end two days before polls, 21/Feb/06
KAMPALA, 21 February (IRIN) - Campaigning in Ugandas first multiparty elections in 25 years ended on a tense note on Tuesday, after weeks of political activity marked by several violent clashes between security personnel and supporters of opposition candidate, Kizza Besigye.... Full Report... Email Report

SUDAN: 59 dead as cholera spreads to Juba - ICRC, 21/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 21 February (IRIN) - An outbreak of cholera in the southern Sudanese city of Juba has claimed the lives of 59 people since the first case was reported there two weeks ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday. ... Full Report... Email Report

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donors pledge support for humanitarian crisis, 21/Feb/06
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON, 21 February (IRIN) - A donor conference for the Central African Republic (CAR) has ended in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, with funding assurances to the poverty-stricken nation. ... Full Report... Email Report

KYRGYZSTAN: Typhoid cases reported in south, 21/Feb/06
OSH, 21 February (IRIN) - Almost half a dozen patients have been hospitalised in southern Kyrgyzstan with typhoid in a town near radioactive dump sites. Eight local residents have been hospitalised over the past week in the Mailuu-Suu town in the southern province of... Full Report... Email Report

AFGHANISTAN: Five ex-commanders surrender arms to DIAG, 21/Feb/06
KABUL, 21 February (IRIN) - Five ex-commanders in Afghanistan's southwestern Paktya province voluntarily surrendered 15 mt of ammunition, as well as more than 30 light and heavy weapons, to the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) programme, officials from the UN-backed... Full Report... Email Report

NEPAL: Grave danger for civilians due to the conflict, 21/Feb/06
NAWALPARASI, 21 February (IRIN) - Kul Kumari Chapagain has not been able to sleep for over a week since she lost her 21-year-old daughter Asmita in a roadside bomb planted by the Maoist rebels.... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTH AFRICA: Govt adopts more focused approach to help orphans, 21/Feb/06
JOHANNESBURG, 21 February (IRIN) - The South African government has begun addressing some of the problems over its delivery of social services, particularly help to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), according to experts. ... Full Report... Email Report

YEMEN: Two killed in flash floods, 21/Feb/06
SANA, 21 February (IRIN) - Two people were killed and a number of houses destroyed in flash floods that hit the village of Maabar, in the southwestern Thamar governorate, on the night of 20 February.... Full Report... Email Report