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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: aid workers

aid workers stories: 12 news summaries

 Attacks on Aid Workers 
 Hit Record in 2008 

It's more dangerous to distribute aid than fight as a UN peacekeeper

(Newser) - A shocking number of fatal attacks on international aid workers made 2008 the most dangerous year yet to perform such work, Reuters reports. Last year, 260 workers were attacked on the job, 122 fatally; the majority were working in Somalia, Darfur, or Afghanistan. The Center on International Cooperation’s study... More »

(AP) - Gunmen shot and killed an American aid worker as he traveled to work today in northwestern Pakistan, the latest in a spate of attacks on foreigners in the militancy-wracked country. The shooting occurred in University Town, an upscale area of Peshawar where a top US diplomat was attacked just a... More »

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Taliban Pakistan aid workers al-Qaeda American

 Aid Worker Murders
 Cripple Somali Relief 

As crisis reaches flashpoint, 'organized terror campaign' drives out help

(Newser) - Aid workers are fleeing Somalia, even as global food prices soar and a full-blown famine is feared, in response to what officials say is an organized campaign of violence. Messages posted in the capital and sent to aid organizations threaten: “We know all the so-called aid workers. We promise... More »

updated

Zimbabwe Halts Aid Groups, Detains Tsvangirai Again

Mugabe accuses charities of supporting the opposition

(Newser) - Zimbabwe today ordered all charities operating in the country to quit their work, saying they would not be allowed to resume until they had promised not to interfere in the upcoming election, the Guardian reports. The government also detained opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai for the second time this week, Reuters... More »

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Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe Morgan Tsvangirai charity aid workers runoff election Zimbabwe elections

 Burma Agrees to Accept All Aid 

Junta drops opposition to aid workers entering country

(Newser) - Burma has agreed to let international disaster relief workers into the country to help with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, Bloomberg reports. The junta's about-face came after  UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who flew in yesterday, met the nation's  reclusive military leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. The UN hopes to ramp... More »

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cyclone relief aid workers Myanmar Burma Than Shwe military junta disaster zones Cyclone Nargis Irrawaddy Delta Ban Ki-Moon

 Burma Relents
 on Foreign Docs,
 Aid Workers

But only from ASEAN member nations

(Newser) - Two and a half weeks after cyclone Nargis hit, Burma finally agreed today to allow foreign medics and disaster experts into the battered country, reports the BBC—but only from ASEAN member nations. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon also plans to jet to Burma on Wednesday to bring additional pressure to... More »

Updated

 US Aid Plane Lands in Burma 

Official death toll at 32K; observers say it could be triple that

(Newser) - After days of negotiating, a US aid flight landed today in Rangoon, the BBC reports. It’s the latest sign Burma’s military junta might be relaxing its restrictions on foreign aid—a French charity’s plane also touched down—but relief workers still aren’t allowed in to distribute... More »

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Chad Pardons, Frees
French 'Orphan' Kidnappers 

Chad's president pardons aid workers

(Newser) - The six men imprisoned for kidnapping 103 Chadian children have been pardoned and freed from a French prison, reports the BBC. Convicted in Chad and sentenced to hard labor, the members of charity group Zoe's Ark had been transferred to a facility in France, and received a pardon from Chadian... More »

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Darfur Chad France kidnapping pardon Idriss Deby aid workers Zoe's Ark

Afghans Search for Abducted American

Taliban remains silent as police hunt for missing aid worker

(Newser) - Afghan police are searching for an American aid worker and her driver kidnapped yesterday in Kandahar. Police have tightened security in the southern city, AFP reports, blocking traffic and questioning Afghans in the area where Cyd Mizell was seized. Nobody has claimed responsibility; a Taliban spokesman refused to say whether... More »

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Afghanistan Taliban kidnapping Kandahar aid workers Cyd Mizell hostage

Afghan Gunmen Kidnap Female US Aid Worker

Woman, 49, was wearing burqa when stopped near Kandahar

(Newser) - An American woman has been kidnapped in Afghanistan along with her driver, the AP reports. The woman, 49, worked for an aid organization and was wearing a burqa when she was stopped near the southern city of Kandahar. Police are searching for the kidnappers, whom a local governor called “... More »

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Afghanistan Taliban insurgents kidnapping Americans Kandahar aid workers

Chad Sentences Aid Workers
to 8 Years

Release likely after French govt. intervenes in 'kidnapping' case

(Newser) - Six French charity workers were convicted today of attempting to kidnap 103 children and send them from Chad to Europe, but a diplomatic agreement is expected to repatriate them before they begin their sentences of 8 years at hard labor, Reuters reports. The workers had testified that they believed the... More »

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(Newser) - "All I could think about was staying alive," said one of the South Korean aid workers released from captivity in Afghanistan yesterday. “Now that the tension is gone my body aches all over.” The group reunited in a Kabul hotel today and spoke to the South... More »

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12 Stories