The changing face of land disputes in Liberia

MONROVIA, 20 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - The Liberia Land Commission, which was set up in 2009 to help settle land disputes between returning refugees and their neighbours, is making significant headway, say land experts, but non-conflict related land disputes are increasing, most of them as a result of weak land laws. full report

Microcredit helps small businesses buck the system in Madagascar

TOLIARA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future. full report

Libyans in North Africa scared to return home

CAIRO, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Middle East) - Until government and revolutionary forces attacked the Libyan town of Bani Walid, about 170km southeast of the capital Tripoli in October last year, Abdullah Warfella had been determined never to leave. full report

Cape Town's asylum seekers struggle to get documented

CAPE TOWN, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town. full report

Evacuation volunteers fan out in Bangladesh

DHAKA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Some 50,000 volunteers in coastal communities across southern Bangladesh are out and about warning people to move to higher ground ahead of Cyclone Mahasen. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated so far. full report

Call for oil revenues to improve living standards in Congo

BRAZZAVILLE, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - Congo, which is heavily dependent on revenue from the oil industry, has been declared as “conforming to” a global standard that aims to ensure transparency of payments for natural resources; NGOs hope the announcement will improve the lives of the poor. full report

Humanitarian intervention in violence-hit slums - from whether to how

RIO DE JANEIRO, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - In a move that experts say could open the door to a more robust aid response to chronic violence in urban areas, the European Commission’s humanitarian aid arm, ECHO, has approved 2 million euro in funding for interventions in cases of violence outside of conventional war in Central America and Mexico until the end of 2014. If large-scale aid work in so-called 'other situations of violence' is the way of the future, there are certain things humanitarian workers will have to keep in mind. full report

Landmine casualties rising in Kachin, Myanmar

LAIZA, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Former rebel fighter Lahpai Hkam has been in pain every day since a landmine destroyed his lower right leg during a battle with government soldiers 18 months ago in Myanmar’s northern Kachin State. full report

The price of fear

RIO DE JANEIRO, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - In slums where killings, rape, kidnappings and other criminal violence are commonplace, say researchers, lives and livelihoods are hampered by a force that is tough to measure: Fear. full report