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

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

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

KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide activity starts early in 2006, 20/Feb/06
ARAVAN, 20 February (IRIN) - A landslide on Sunday ripped through a road linking the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh with the Aravan district, blocking traffic and destroying electricity and telephone services to the area, with no casualties reported.... Full Report... Email Report

WESTERN SAHARA: Tens of thousands of refugees homeless after rains wipe out shelters, 16/Feb/06
DAKAR, 16 February (IRIN) - Aid agencies are rushing to help some 60,000 Western Sahara refugees after freak rains late last week wiped out houses and schools and damaged hospitals in camps in eastern Algeria.... Full Report... Email Report

TAJIKISTAN: UN appeal for 2006 launched, 16/Feb/06
DUSHANBE, 16 February (IRIN) - The United Nations launched its appeal for Tajikistan for 2006 in the capital, Dushanbe, on Thursday, requesting more than US $51 million from international donors. ... Full Report... Email Report

CENTRAL ASIA: Ferghana environment meeting wraps up, 16/Feb/06
BISHKEK, 16 February (IRIN) - A meeting of environmental experts has wrapped up in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, as part of a regional project on environmental safety and emergency preparedness in Ferghana Valley. ... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: IOM promoting income generation for quake reconstruction, 15/Feb/06
MUZAFFARABAD, 15 February (IRIN) - Under a blue sky in the grounds of the Ajaz Gillani Relief Tent Village, in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, a group of women wearing heavy-duty workmens gloves are grappling with thick coils of metal wire.... Full Report... Email Report

SOMALIA: UN calls for safe access as ICRC steps up aid, 15/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 15 February (IRIN) - United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Maxwell Gaylard has called on Somalis and their political leaders to ensure the safe transport of food aid to drought-affected people in the southern regions. ... Full Report... Email Report

TURKMENISTAN: Interview with United Nations Resident Representative, 15/Feb/06
ASHGABAT, 15 February (IRIN) - Richard Young is the United Nations' new Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. In an interview with IRIN in the capital, Ashgabat he spoke about the need to formulate an emergency preparedness plan for the earthquake-prone republic and about new... Full Report... Email Report

DJIBOUTI: Drought forcing people into towns, says President Guelleh, 13/Feb/06
DJIBOUTIVILLE, 13 February (IRIN) - Djibouti is facing a humanitarian crisis as a result of consecutive years of drought. In an interview with IRIN on 9 February, President Ismail Omar Guelleh talked about his government's plans to contain the situation. ... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: Improving weather facilitating quake relief, 13/Feb/06
ISLAMABAD, 13 February (IRIN) - Improving weather in northern Pakistan is facilitating the international earthquake humanitarian operation, relief officials said on Monday in the capital, Islamabad. ... Full Report... Email Report

IRAQ: Aid agencies struggle to help flood affected people , 12/Feb/06
BAGHDAD, 12 February (IRIN) - Relief workers are struggling to assist more than 7,500 families in northern and south-eastern Iraq who have been forced to leave their homes due to heavy flooding.... Full Report... Email Report

HORN OF AFRICA: EC gives 5 m for drought-affected people, 9/Feb/06
NAIROBI, 9 February (IRIN) - The European Commission has allocated 5 (US $6 million) to assist some 5.6 million drought-affected people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. ... Full Report... Email Report

ZIMBABWE: Floods drown hope for better harvest, 9/Feb/06
BULAWAYO, 9 February (IRIN) - After five years of consecutive drought and food shortages, farmers in Zimbabwe were hoping for a better harvest in 2006, but torrential rains over the past two weeks have dampened the optimism of many, particularly in northern parts of the country. ... Full Report... Email Report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Arrival of bird flu sparks concern, 9/Feb/06
JOHANNESBURG, 9 February (IRIN) - The arrival of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain in Nigeria has sparked concern over levels of preparedness and capacity to deal with a potential outbreak throughout southern Africa. ... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: Africas poorest nations fight to ward off deadly bird flu, 9/Feb/06
DAKAR, 9 February (IRIN) - A string of West African nations on Thursday took action against the spread of the deadly bird flu virus following confirmation of an outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, the regional powerhouse.... Full Report... Email Report

EGYPT: Human rights groups investigate shipping disaster, 8/Feb/06
CAIRO, 8 February (IRIN) - Alongside an official government investigation, local human rights groups have launched a parallel inquiry into the circumstances under which a ferry sank in the Red Sea on 3 February.... Full Report... Email Report

NIGERIA: First confirmed cases of killer bird flu in Kaduna, 8/Feb/06
ABUJA, 8 February (IRIN) - Tens of thousands of chickens have died of the killer bird flu virus in northern Nigeria, the first confirmed cases of H5N1 in the country, the International Organisation for Animal Health said on Wednesday.... Full Report... Email Report

MOZAMBIQUE: Rising Zambezi inundates island villages, 8/Feb/06
MAPUTO, 8 February (IRIN) - Around 2,500 people who fled flooding on the islands of Nhanhe and Rezenda in the Zambezi river in central Mozambique are reported to be living in precarious conditions. ... Full Report... Email Report