http://www.irinnews.org/Updated everydayen-gbTue, 30 Apr 2013 07:31:00 GMTMon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>AQABA 29 April 2013 (IRIN) - Prevention may be better than a cure, but for the authorities in Arab cities and towns, natural disasters up to now have been largely about coping with them after they have taken place.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97941/Arab-cities-aim-to-build-resilience-to-natural-disastersAQABA 29 April 2013 (IRIN) - Prevention may be better than a cure, but for the authorities in Arab cities and towns, natural disasters up to now have been largely about coping with them after they have taken place.]]>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA 15 April 2013 (IRIN) - A ceasefire brokered in November to end eight days of conflict between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza has been violated several times in recent weeks with renewed rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli air strikes and Israeli tank incursions onto Gazan territory. What are the chances of a lasting peace? IRIN takes a look at the main military actors on the ground.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97847/A-who-s-who-of-fighters-in-GazaGAZA 15 April 2013 (IRIN) - A ceasefire brokered in November to end eight days of conflict between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza has been violated several times in recent weeks with renewed rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli air strikes and Israeli tank incursions onto Gazan territory. What are the chances of a lasting peace? IRIN takes a look at the main military actors on the ground.]]>Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA 09 April 2013 (IRIN) - UN-run relief and distribution centres in Gaza, which provide food to around 25,000 people a day, reopened today after guarantees were given about the security of staff.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97810/UNRWA-reopens-food-distribution-centres-in-GazaGAZA 09 April 2013 (IRIN) - UN-run relief and distribution centres in Gaza, which provide food to around 25,000 people a day, reopened today after guarantees were given about the security of staff.]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>AQABA 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - Nearly 300 government officials, scientists, aid workers and activists from across the Arab world are working together in Jordan to draw up the first joint regional platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR).http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97685/Disaster-Risk-Reduction-in-the-Arab-worldAQABA 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - Nearly 300 government officials, scientists, aid workers and activists from across the Arab world are working together in Jordan to draw up the first joint regional platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR).]]>Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JERUSALEM 18 March 2013 (IRIN) - A controversial Israeli settlement plan, known as E-1, has garnered much attention in the media. But Israel has also been moving forward with equally controversial settlement plans under less scrutiny and with unusual speed. As US President Barack Obama prepares to visit the region this week, IRIN takes a look at some of the details that have been overlooked in the discussion.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97676/Briefing-Beyond-the-E-1-Israeli-settlementJERUSALEM 18 March 2013 (IRIN) - A controversial Israeli settlement plan, known as E-1, has garnered much attention in the media. But Israel has also been moving forward with equally controversial settlement plans under less scrutiny and with unusual speed. As US President Barack Obama prepares to visit the region this week, IRIN takes a look at some of the details that have been overlooked in the discussion.]]>Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JERUSALEM 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - There was much fanfare over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement last year that Israel would move ahead with the controversial E-1 settlement plan. But what has happened since? How quickly could E-1 become reality? And what of the oft-overlooked humanitarian implications?http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97644/Briefing-Inside-the-E-1-Israeli-settlementJERUSALEM 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - There was much fanfare over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement last year that Israel would move ahead with the controversial E-1 settlement plan. But what has happened since? How quickly could E-1 become reality? And what of the oft-overlooked humanitarian implications?]]>Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 08 March 2013 (IRIN) - Aid workers and policy makers looking for easy access to malnutrition data in Yemen or how rainfall tends to vary in Syria can now turn to a handy web-based tool. Launched in February, the Arab Spatial aims to fill the information gap on food security in the region, ultimately leading to better development policies.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97613/Middle-East-food-security-tracking-tool-launchedDUBAI 08 March 2013 (IRIN) - Aid workers and policy makers looking for easy access to malnutrition data in Yemen or how rainfall tends to vary in Syria can now turn to a handy web-based tool. Launched in February, the Arab Spatial aims to fill the information gap on food security in the region, ultimately leading to better development policies.]]>Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 05 March 2013 (IRIN) - The world’s driest region, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97596/Export-oil-import-water-the-Middle-East-s-risky-economicsDUBAI 05 March 2013 (IRIN) - The world’s driest region, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate.]]>Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 01 March 2013 (IRIN) - The death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention last week has raised tension in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, leading to renewed rocket fire from Gaza into Israel for the first time since a ceasefire ended eight days of heavy conflict in November 2012, and a series of clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli Army.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97569/Little-change-for-Palestinians-in-Israeli-detention-despite-agreementDUBAI 01 March 2013 (IRIN) - The death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention last week has raised tension in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, leading to renewed rocket fire from Gaza into Israel for the first time since a ceasefire ended eight days of heavy conflict in November 2012, and a series of clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli Army.]]>Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 19 February 2013 (IRIN) - Following the 9/11 attacks and the launch of the Global War on Terror, many humanitarian policy wonks spoke of a new era of heightened aid instrumentalization - that is the use of humanitarian action or rhetoric as a tool to pursue political, security, development, economic, or other non-humanitarian goals, which would muddy humanitarian principles and constrain access to those in need.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97502/The-use-and-abuse-of-humanitarian-principleDAKAR 19 February 2013 (IRIN) - Following the 9/11 attacks and the launch of the Global War on Terror, many humanitarian policy wonks spoke of a new era of heightened aid instrumentalization - that is the use of humanitarian action or rhetoric as a tool to pursue political, security, development, economic, or other non-humanitarian goals, which would muddy humanitarian principles and constrain access to those in need.]]>Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA CITY 14 February 2013 (IRIN) - Some 150 Palestinian families have fled the violence in Syria and returned to Gaza, but their homecoming has been far from easy.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97474/Becoming-refugees-once-more-Palestinians-from-Syria-return-to-GazaGAZA CITY 14 February 2013 (IRIN) - Some 150 Palestinian families have fled the violence in Syria and returned to Gaza, but their homecoming has been far from easy.]]>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>KUWAIT CITY 01 February 2013 (IRIN) - The international community pledged more than US$1.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria on 30 January, in the most successful fundraising conference in UN history - meant to meet the needs of two UN appeals:http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97395/Breakdown-of-Syria-aid-pledges-in-KuwaitKUWAIT CITY 01 February 2013 (IRIN) - The international community pledged more than US$1.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria on 30 January, in the most successful fundraising conference in UN history - meant to meet the needs of two UN appeals:]]>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAMALLAH 30 January 2013 (IRIN) - Fluctuating prices, poverty and border restrictions mean growing numbers of Palestinians are facing food insecurity this year - one of the key priorities in the humanitarian community’s annual appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97368/Palestinians-face-growing-food-crisisRAMALLAH 30 January 2013 (IRIN) - Fluctuating prices, poverty and border restrictions mean growing numbers of Palestinians are facing food insecurity this year - one of the key priorities in the humanitarian community’s annual appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).]]>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TEL AVIV 29 January 2013 (IRIN) - Health officials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are calling on residents to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) after 25 deaths in recent weeks.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97349/Swine-flu-kills-25-in-OPT-in-past-few-weeksTEL AVIV 29 January 2013 (IRIN) - Health officials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are calling on residents to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) after 25 deaths in recent weeks.]]>Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA 23 January 2013 (IRIN) - Ashraf Azzam, 33, stands in the ruins of his house in Zeitoun Area, Eastern Gaza City, destroyed in an Israeli bombing attack two months ago.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97315/Rebuilding-in-Gaza-between-war-and-peaceGAZA 23 January 2013 (IRIN) - Ashraf Azzam, 33, stands in the ruins of his house in Zeitoun Area, Eastern Gaza City, destroyed in an Israeli bombing attack two months ago.]]>Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAMALLAH/AL-JIFTLIK 11 January 2013 (IRIN) - Palestinian communities in Area C, a zone that covers 60 percent of the West Bank, are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the occupied Palestinian territory, but development organizations that try to improve living conditions there say they are hampered by Israeli restrictions and bureaucracy.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97228/Aid-agencies-tread-gingerly-in-the-West-Bank-apos-s-Area-CRAMALLAH/AL-JIFTLIK 11 January 2013 (IRIN) - Palestinian communities in Area C, a zone that covers 60 percent of the West Bank, are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the occupied Palestinian territory, but development organizations that try to improve living conditions there say they are hampered by Israeli restrictions and bureaucracy.]]>Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>NEW YORK 02 January 2013 (IRIN) - In Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare (population 3,000,000), a man relieves himself in the dirt next to his tin shack, holding his nose to ward off the stench of a nearby overflowing latrine. In Ramallah (population 300,000) in the occupied Palestinian territory a 14-year-old girl wakes with menstrual cramps - and skips class because her school lacks a washroom where she can clean herself in private. In Bangladesh’s mega-capital (population 12 million), a monsoon-season flash flood leaves thousands with cholera.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97161/Urban-water-woesNEW YORK 02 January 2013 (IRIN) - In Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare (population 3,000,000), a man relieves himself in the dirt next to his tin shack, holding his nose to ward off the stench of a nearby overflowing latrine. In Ramallah (population 300,000) in the occupied Palestinian territory a 14-year-old girl wakes with menstrual cramps - and skips class because her school lacks a washroom where she can clean herself in private. In Bangladesh’s mega-capital (population 12 million), a monsoon-season flash flood leaves thousands with cholera.]]>Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 31 December 2012 (IRIN) - While much of the world has been consumed by quickly changing political and security developments in the Middle East this year, longer-term humanitarian issues have also been simmering under the surface – and sometimes in plain – but neglected – view. Here are 10 stories IRIN brought you in 2012. http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97155/MIDDLE-EAST-2012-a-year-of-continuing-turmoilDUBAI 31 December 2012 (IRIN) - While much of the world has been consumed by quickly changing political and security developments in the Middle East this year, longer-term humanitarian issues have also been simmering under the surface – and sometimes in plain – but neglected – view. Here are 10 stories IRIN brought you in 2012. ]]>Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>AL-JIFTLIK/WEST BANK 31 December 2012 (IRIN) - Palestinians living in firing zones are among the most vulnerable populations in the West Bank with little access to basic services.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97158/OPT-A-precarious-existence-in-the-Jordan-ValleyAL-JIFTLIK/WEST BANK 31 December 2012 (IRIN) - Palestinians living in firing zones are among the most vulnerable populations in the West Bank with little access to basic services.]]>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA 11 December 2012 (IRIN) - When Jaber Abu Rjaila heard about the recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza, he rushed back to his farmland - for the first time in more than 10 years.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97014/OPT-Call-for-freer-access-to-Gaza-land-and-seaGAZA 11 December 2012 (IRIN) - When Jaber Abu Rjaila heard about the recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza, he rushed back to his farmland - for the first time in more than 10 years.]]>Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 10 December 2012 (IRIN) - Despite the end of an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation there remains dire, says the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the occupied Palestinian territory.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97005/In-Brief-Gaza-operation-over-but-emergency-remainsDUBAI 10 December 2012 (IRIN) - Despite the end of an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation there remains dire, says the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the occupied Palestinian territory.]]>Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DOHA 05 December 2012 (IRIN) - In the last three decades, 50 million people in the Arab world have been affected by natural disasters, many of them extreme climate events, according to a new report by the World Bank. The report projects the horrific scenario of temperatures regularly rising to over 50 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century, which experts fear could lead to countless more disasters.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96974/CLIMATE-CHANGE-In-the-Arab-world-building-fridges-to-live-in-an-ovenDOHA 05 December 2012 (IRIN) - In the last three decades, 50 million people in the Arab world have been affected by natural disasters, many of them extreme climate events, according to a new report by the World Bank. The report projects the horrific scenario of temperatures regularly rising to over 50 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century, which experts fear could lead to countless more disasters.]]>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JERUSALEM 29 November 2012 (IRIN) - “We do aid not politics”, has been the traditional mantra of the mainstream humanitarian community. But that division is not always easy to maintain, perhaps nowhere more so than for those working in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), something that was brought into sharp relief by the recent seven-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96920/Analysis-Politics-and-humanitarianism-in-Israel-oPtJERUSALEM 29 November 2012 (IRIN) - “We do aid not politics”, has been the traditional mantra of the mainstream humanitarian community. But that division is not always easy to maintain, perhaps nowhere more so than for those working in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), something that was brought into sharp relief by the recent seven-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip.]]>Fri, 23 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>CAIRO 23 November 2012 (IRIN) - Aid agencies in Egypt are updating contingency plans in case an uncertain ceasefire, agreed on 21 November between Israel and Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, does not hold.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96877/EGYPT-OPT-Contingency-planning-despite-ceasefireCAIRO 23 November 2012 (IRIN) - Aid agencies in Egypt are updating contingency plans in case an uncertain ceasefire, agreed on 21 November between Israel and Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, does not hold.]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA 19 November 2012 (IRIN) - The nurses at Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip have seen bombing casualties before, but never on this scale. “I was here when the [23-day] 2008-09 war took place, and I think this one is more difficult in [terms of] injuries and the type of demanding work we do”, said Tal’at Al Ejla, a 30-year-old nurse.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96823/OPT-Gaza-hospitals-need-more-drugsGAZA 19 November 2012 (IRIN) - The nurses at Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip have seen bombing casualties before, but never on this scale. “I was here when the [23-day] 2008-09 war took place, and I think this one is more difficult in [terms of] injuries and the type of demanding work we do”, said Tal’at Al Ejla, a 30-year-old nurse.]]>