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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: humanitarian crisis

humanitarian crisis stories: 19 news summaries

 Pakistani Town 
 Beats Back Taliban 

Locals raid militant invaders as army gains in Swat

May 22, 09 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Armed residents of a town in the troubled Swat Valley fought off Taliban forces yesterday,  the latest sign that locals are helping the Pakistan army beat back militants, reports the Wall Street Journal. Several Taliban fighters were captured when hundreds of residents stormed out of the mountain town of ... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • Swat • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

Taliban Shave Beards to Elude Pakistani Troops

Fighters get desperate as army routs militants in Swat stronghold

May 15, 09 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Frantic Taliban fighters are shaving their notoriously full beards and hair as they flee the Swat valley to escape Pakistan’s military, which says it’s making inroads against the militants, Reuters reports. The military is asking civilians to expose Taliban fighters, but nearly 1 million residents have already escaped.... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • militant • Swat Valley • beards

 Pakistani Civilians Stuck 
 as 55 Militants Die in War 

Curfew curbs residents' flight in 'war of country's survival'

May 9, 09 5:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistani troops and warplanes killed at least 55 Taliban militants today in what Prime Minister Raza Gilani is calling a "war of the country's survival," the AP reports. Fighting centered in the northwestern Swat Valley, where a curfew prevented residents from fleeing and the main town has... More »

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United Nations • Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • civilians • Swat Valley

 UN Asks Davos
for $613M in Gaza Aid

Funds would provide immediate aid, more money needed for long-term

Jan 29, 09 9:24 AM CST
(Newser) - The UN asked attendees at the Davos economic forum for $613 million to address “massive and multi-faceted” needs resulting from recent violence in Gaza, the BBC reports. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the funds will provide medical care and clean water for 6-9 months. As fresh violence heightened the need... More »

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Israel • United Nations • Gaza • aid • Israel and Palestinians • humanitarian crisis • ceasefire • Arab Israeli conflict • World Economic Forum • Davos • humanitarian aid • Ban Ki-Moon

Red Cross Slams IDF After Grisly Gaza Find

Corpses, starving children in zone where army banned rescuers

Jan 8, 09 4:45 AM CST
(Newser) - The Red Cross has condemned the Israeli military in unusually harsh terms after finding 15 corpses in shattered houses the organization was prevented from visiting, the Washington Post reports. Officials said they received reports of casualties in the Gaza neighborhood Saturday but weren’t allowed to enter until yesterday. Four... More »

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Israel • Gaza • Gaza City • Red Cross • humanitarian crisis • IDF

OPINION

The World's Worst Humanitarian Crises

Civil war and displacement fuel tragedies across the globe: aid group

Dec 23, 08 4:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Aid organization Doctors Without Borders has released its annual list of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Here's a sample:
  • Somalia: Increased friction between insurgents and the government unleashed some of the worst violence in a decade. One in five children there dies before turning 5.
  • Congo: Hundreds of
... More »

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Zimbabwe • Pakistan • HIV • list • humanitarian crisis • Doctors Without Borders • HIV/AIDS • Congo • Best of 2008

 Sudan Prepares for 
 Tougher US Stance 

Obama's team of humanitarians prepare shift on Darfur

Dec 8, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - The government of Sudan is getting nervous about the Barack Obama White House. The Bush administration called the situation in Darfur genocide, but did little to stop the carnage that has left 450,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced in western Sudan. But several members of Obama's foreign policy... More »

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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Joe Biden • genocide • Sudan • US foreign policy • Crisis in Darfur • humanitarian crisis • Susan Rice • President Obama

Zimbabwe Bars Carter,
Annan, Mandela's Wife

Ex-prez, Annan aimed to work on humanitarian crisis

Nov 22, 08 10:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Zimbabwe has denied Jimmy Carter, former UN chief Kofi Annan, and the wife of Nelson Mandela entry to the country to review its humanitarian crisis, Reuters reports. Even the support of former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who's been trying to mediate an end to the ongoing political stalemate, wasn’... More »

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Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • Morgan Tsvangirai • Jimmy Carter • visa • Kofi Annan • humanitarian crisis • Thabo Mbeki • The Elders

 UN Boss Jets 
 to Congo Amid 
 New Fighting 

Fears of a wider conflict grow as rebel leader threatens to take Goma

Nov 5, 08 4:32 AM CST
(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo to press for a peace deal just as new fighting breaks out, the Guardian reports. The Congolese government has rejected peace talks with the rebels, who have vowed to attack the provincial capital of Goma and continue a... More »

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United Nations • peacekeeping force • Democratic Republic of Congo • humanitarian crisis • Rwanda • Ban Ki-Moon • Congo • Laurent Nkunda

 Congo's Crisis 
 at Breaking Point 

EU, African Union scramble to broker peace deal as Nkunda attacks

Nov 3, 08 7:27 AM CST
(Newser) - European and African officials held crisis talks last night to avert a complete meltdown in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the civil war risks degenerating into genocide. The diplomatic push came as Laurent Nkunda, the Tutsi general, led 10,000 rebels into battle in a province bordering Rwanda, which... More »

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David Miliband • civil war • Democratic Republic of Congo • humanitarian crisis • refugee • Rwanda • Tutsi • Laurent Nkunda

Junta Leader Visits Nargis Victims as UN Envoy Arrives

General meets survivors for first time since cyclone hit

May 18, 08 2:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The head of Burma's junta emerged today for the first time since cyclone Nargis struck two weeks ago to meet with survivors, CNN reports. Gen. Than Shwe visited a refugee camp 200 miles south of Yangon, touching the faces of infant survivors. The visit came as the UN's humanitarian secretary... More »

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United Nations • foreign aid • natural disaster • humanitarian crisis • Myanmar • Burma • survivors • Than Shwe • humanitarian aid • Cyclone Nargis

 300,000 Dead in Darfur: UN 

Security Council told that situation is worsening

Apr 23, 08 6:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The UN's humanitarian chief has painted a grim picture of the situation in Darfur, estimating that disease, war, and famine have claimed 300,000 lives in the region since conflict broke out in 2003—100,000 of them since 2006. People are continuing to die as efforts to solve the... More »

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United Nations • Darfur • genocide • Sudan • humanitarian crisis • UN Security Council

Iraq Still Lacks Clean Water, Health Care

Medical system worse than ever at 5-year mark, says Red Cross

Mar 17, 08 11:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, its health care system is “now in worse shape than ever,” and millions of Iraqis still don’t have clean water and medical care, Reuters reports. “The humanitarian situation in most of the country remains among the most critical... More »

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Iraq • health care • civilian casualties • Red Cross • humanitarian crisis • drinking water • Iraqi refugees • Iraq war

Gaza, Israel Spar Over Power Outage, Embargo

Israel resolute amid condemnations, worries situation could spin out of control

Jan 21, 08 8:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Gazans awoke to a second day without its main power plant or fuel as international leaders condemned the “collective punishment of the people of Gaza,” and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert resolutely said Gazans "will walk, without gas for their cars" until their "murderous regime's" rocket attacks... More »

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Israel • Ehud Olmert • Gaza • Hamas • rocket attacks • fuel • humanitarian crisis • Arab Israeli conflict • blockade

Humanitarian Relief is a Text Message Away

Social sites like Twitter, Facebook part of Google's new venture

Jan 17, 08 6:33 PM CST
(Newser) - A Google-funded website that uses technology to spread the word about emergencies launches today, CNET reports. The company's charitable arm has put $5 million into InSTEDD, which will use social software like Twitter and Facebook to alert humanitarian groups to crises and organize rescue operations. “Social networking in the... More »

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Google • Google Earth • UNICEF • Facebook • relief • humanitarian crisis • open source • inSTEDD • Twitter

Kenyan Prez  Agrees to Form Unity Gov't

Top US diplomat in
talks as humanitarian crisis grows

Jan 5, 08 6:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki today pledged to form a unity government, after talks with the top US diplomat for Africa aimed at solving the country's violent post-election crisis, the BBC reports. Jendayi Frazer met first with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has said he will not negotiate unless Kibaki steps... More »

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Kenya • diplomacy • diplomat • humanitarian crisis • Mwai Kibaki • Raila Odinga • Jendayi Frazer

Ethiopia Forces Untrained Civilians Into War

Clerks, teachers, administrators sent into action against Ogaden rebels

Dec 15, 07 11:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Ethiopa's overstretched army is forcing untrained civilians into the bush to fight guerrillas, the New York Times reports. Office clerks, teachers, and other white-collar workers face imprisonment or torture if they refuse to comply, but many have been killed in battle, say aid workers. “We don’t know how... More »

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United Nations • Ethiopia • soldier • humanitarian crisis • Ogaden

UN to Increase Iraq Presence

US praises decision, but adds it too will continue to be involved

Aug 10, 07 1:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The UN will expand its role in Iraq and try to help quell the sectarian violence that has hobbled the country, after a Security Council vote today. Iraq's government says it'll help peacekeepers mediate disputes between the feuding sectarian groups and among Iraq’s neighbors in the region; the blue... More »

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Iraq • United Nations • sectarian violence • Baghdad • United States • humanitarian crisis • Britain • UN Security Council

(Newser) - Over 2 million Iraqis have fled their war-torn homeland, with 50,000 more leaving each month for neighboring countries—primarily Jordan and Syria. A UN official is terming the exodus a "humanitarian crisis," and the organization is calling for extra funding to cover medical supplies and shelter for... More »

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Iraq • Jordan • Syria • humanitarian crisis • immigrant • refugee

19 Stories


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