http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbFri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:38 GMTFri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LAGOS 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - A month after an angry public launched protests across Nigeria over skyrocketing fuel prices due to the removal of a government subsidy, a measure of calm has returned and people seem to have settled into accepting a compromise.Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94787LAGOS 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - A month after an angry public launched protests across Nigeria over skyrocketing fuel prices due to the removal of a government subsidy, a measure of calm has returned and people seem to have settled into accepting a compromise.]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>TALATA 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Ernest Rakotoarivony, 45, was teased by some members of the Talata community, a small town 30km north of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, after breaking with traditional rice cultivation methods and employing a technique taught to him by a Jesuit priest.Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94764TALATA 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Ernest Rakotoarivony, 45, was teased by some members of the Talata community, a small town 30km north of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, after breaking with traditional rice cultivation methods and employing a technique taught to him by a Jesuit priest.]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KABUL 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Afghanistan suffers from cyclical natural disasters - floods and drought - which affect people annually and require expensive emergency responses, but their impacts could well be avoided, or at least mitigated, if proper water management systems or dams were built, for example.Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94753KABUL 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Afghanistan suffers from cyclical natural disasters - floods and drought - which affect people annually and require expensive emergency responses, but their impacts could well be avoided, or at least mitigated, if proper water management systems or dams were built, for example.]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - About 40 people have died and more than 100,000 are affected by twin storms that struck Mozambique 18-26 January, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94759JOHANNESBURG 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - About 40 people have died and more than 100,000 are affected by twin storms that struck Mozambique 18-26 January, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MAZAR-I-SHARIF 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - Much of Dawood Boy’s village in northern Afghanistan is empty. More than 1,000 families from Alburz in Balkh Province abandoned it 4-6 months ago after a drought affecting nearly half the country left 2.8 million people in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Programme.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94735MAZAR-I-SHARIF 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - Much of Dawood Boy’s village in northern Afghanistan is empty. More than 1,000 families from Alburz in Balkh Province abandoned it 4-6 months ago after a drought affecting nearly half the country left 2.8 million people in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Programme.]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BUJUMBURA 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - There are fears of a looming food shortage in Burundi after heavy rains damaged two successive harvests, say officials.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94737BUJUMBURA 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - There are fears of a looming food shortage in Burundi after heavy rains damaged two successive harvests, say officials.]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The 850,000 residents of northwestern Kenya's vast and parched Turkana region face some of the most inhospitable living conditions on Earth.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94739NAIROBI 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The 850,000 residents of northwestern Kenya's vast and parched Turkana region face some of the most inhospitable living conditions on Earth.]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAMALLAH 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community’s 2012-2013 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has a narrower scope than in previous years, focusing on two strategic objectives: improving the protective environment, including access to essential services like health care and education, and tackling food insecurity especially in areas where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has limited access.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94740RAMALLAH 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community’s 2012-2013 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has a narrower scope than in previous years, focusing on two strategic objectives: improving the protective environment, including access to essential services like health care and education, and tackling food insecurity especially in areas where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has limited access.]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the past five years, “resilience” (the ability to absorb shocks and recover) has become quite a buzzword in the aid community. Discussions on adapting to a changing climate are increasingly peppered with the “need to build resilience” of people, infrastructure and governments in the face of shocks such as soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, severe storms and flooding.Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94714JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the past five years, “resilience” (the ability to absorb shocks and recover) has become quite a buzzword in the aid community. Discussions on adapting to a changing climate are increasingly peppered with the “need to build resilience” of people, infrastructure and governments in the face of shocks such as soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, severe storms and flooding.]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>TENGRELA 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - Local authorities across eight out of 81 districts in northern Côte d’Ivoire have announced they are banning artisanal gold-mining in a bid to try to regulate the informal industry, and stop the encroachment of gold-miners on precious farmland.Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94723TENGRELA 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - Local authorities across eight out of 81 districts in northern Côte d’Ivoire have announced they are banning artisanal gold-mining in a bid to try to regulate the informal industry, and stop the encroachment of gold-miners on precious farmland.]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Agriculture has been seen either as a cause or victim of global warming at the UN climate change talks over the past few years - something that has thwarted efforts to attract the investment it needs, say scientists.Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94711JOHANNESBURG 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Agriculture has been seen either as a cause or victim of global warming at the UN climate change talks over the past few years - something that has thwarted efforts to attract the investment it needs, say scientists.]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NIAMEY 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94713NIAMEY 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>COLOMBO 20 January 2012 (IRIN) - Tea in Sri Lanka is one of the country's biggest cash crops, but families working on tea estates are among the nation's poorest in terms of earnings as well as nutrition, say experts who back regional approaches to tackle nutrition disparity.Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94685COLOMBO 20 January 2012 (IRIN) - Tea in Sri Lanka is one of the country's biggest cash crops, but families working on tea estates are among the nation's poorest in terms of earnings as well as nutrition, say experts who back regional approaches to tackle nutrition disparity.]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Population growth and rising consumption by a minority of people around the world are fuelling global land acquisitions and Africa is a “prime target”, says the International Land Coalition.Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94680DAKAR 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Population growth and rising consumption by a minority of people around the world are fuelling global land acquisitions and Africa is a “prime target”, says the International Land Coalition.]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GUIGLO 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nine months after fighting ended in Côte d’Ivoire, at least 15,000 displaced people are still in camps, many of the half million returnees require food aid, the groundwork for reconciliation in many parts of the west has not yet been laid - and aid workers are worried funding will dry up, threatening the fragile peace.Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94684GUIGLO 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nine months after fighting ended in Côte d’Ivoire, at least 15,000 displaced people are still in camps, many of the half million returnees require food aid, the groundwork for reconciliation in many parts of the west has not yet been laid - and aid workers are worried funding will dry up, threatening the fragile peace.]]>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KABUL 17 January 2012 (IRIN) - Avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan have cut off tens - if not hundreds - of thousands of people already at risk of hunger due to drought, opening the door to a potential humanitarian crisis if aid cannot reach them, says a provincial official.Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94662KABUL 17 January 2012 (IRIN) - Avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan have cut off tens - if not hundreds - of thousands of people already at risk of hunger due to drought, opening the door to a potential humanitarian crisis if aid cannot reach them, says a provincial official.]]>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>WASHINGTON 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union (AU) has unveiled an ambitious wish-list of priorities for Africa that would give the continent a stronger global voice, boost democracy and encourage peace and security.Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94630WASHINGTON 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union (AU) has unveiled an ambitious wish-list of priorities for Africa that would give the continent a stronger global voice, boost democracy and encourage peace and security.]]>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - If you thought 2011 was a historic year for the Middle East, 2012 is likely to be even more unpredictable.Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94633DUBAI 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - If you thought 2011 was a historic year for the Middle East, 2012 is likely to be even more unpredictable.]]>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KATHMANDU 10 January 2012 (IRIN) - An effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions.Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94611KATHMANDU 10 January 2012 (IRIN) - An effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions.]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KACHIN STATE 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - The annual harvest season in Myanmar's northern Kachin State has come and gone but much of the rice crop has not been harvested or was never planted after fighting between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) erupted on 9 June 2011.Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94595KACHIN STATE 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - The annual harvest season in Myanmar's northern Kachin State has come and gone but much of the rice crop has not been harvested or was never planted after fighting between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) erupted on 9 June 2011.]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94598JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - When hundreds of thousands of people across the Arab world poured into the streets in 2011 to demand freedom from dictatorship, they set in motion a series of events which not only created humanitarian needs in countries that were otherwise relatively stable, but also exacerbated existing humanitarian and developmental challenges.Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94581DUBAI 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - When hundreds of thousands of people across the Arab world poured into the streets in 2011 to demand freedom from dictatorship, they set in motion a series of events which not only created humanitarian needs in countries that were otherwise relatively stable, but also exacerbated existing humanitarian and developmental challenges.]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - It's been a roller coaster of a year in HIV and AIDS. AIDS turned 30 in 2011, and with new evidence of the effectiveness of HIV treatment as prevention, experts are increasingly talking about "the end of AIDS". At the same time, however, funding for HIV has become ever more uncertain, jeopardizing efforts to put new, life-saving science into action.Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94562NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - It's been a roller coaster of a year in HIV and AIDS. AIDS turned 30 in 2011, and with new evidence of the effectiveness of HIV treatment as prevention, experts are increasingly talking about "the end of AIDS". At the same time, however, funding for HIV has become ever more uncertain, jeopardizing efforts to put new, life-saving science into action.]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94564JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Computers and mobile phones are already essential to humanitarian planning, and 2011 saw the growth of technology-based humanitarian interventions, from the use of GPS (global positioning systems) to provide early weather warnings to real-time health reporting.Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94565NAIROBI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Computers and mobile phones are already essential to humanitarian planning, and 2011 saw the growth of technology-based humanitarian interventions, from the use of GPS (global positioning systems) to provide early weather warnings to real-time health reporting.]]>