IRIN
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• DRC-UGANDA: Overwhelmed relief workers struggle to provide HIV services
  ISHASHA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced thousands of people to flee across the border into neighbouring countries, but relief workers in Uganda admit that HIV is low on the list of priorities.
• COLOMBIA: Sex tourism booming on the Caribbean coast
  CARTAGENA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - On the surface, the historic northern city of Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast is an up-market tourist destination, with cruise boat passengers strolling through the old, walled city's maze of narrow streets as sight-seers duck into air-conditioned boutiques and cafés to escape the tropical heat.
• ETHIOPIA: Thousands displaced by floods in Somali region
  ADDIS ABABA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 52,000 people have abandoned their homes in Ethiopia's Somali region after the Wade Shabelle and Genale rivers burst their banks following heavy rains.
• SRI LANKA: ICRC to distribute Indian aid to Vanni IDPs
  COLOMBO, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - A consignment of relief supplies from the government of India destined for tens of thousands of displaced persons in areas under the control of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island's north arrived in Sri Lanka on 15 November, Indian diplomats in Colombo said.
• UGANDA: Officials hope emergency will be avoided as rains subside
  KAMPALA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Heavy rains have displaced thousands and damaged crops in eastern and northern Uganda, but officials are optimistic an emergency will be avoided as better weather is predicted.
• AFGHANISTAN: Threat to aid deliveries as early snow blocks roads
  KABUL, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Early snow has blocked roads to several districts where people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
• SOMALIA: Dozens die in diarrhoea outbreak
  NAIROBI, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 100 people have died in the past four weeks after an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in and around the town of Abudwaaq, in Galgadud region of central Somalia, medical sources said on 18 November.
• EGYPT: Contingency planning for an avian flu pandemic
  CAIRO, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Egypt, the country hit hardest by avian flu in the Middle East, is working on preventative measures to stop a potential human influenza pandemic. The government, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have put together a plan to boost rapid containment procedures.
• YEMEN: Mistakes made in relief distribution
  DUBAI/SANAA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Lack of coordination among aid agencies led to mistakes in the distribution of relief aid to the southern flood-hit governorates of Hadramaut and al-Mahra, humanitarian workers say.
• PAKISTAN: Dengue fever hits Punjab Province
  LAHORE, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - The chief minister of Punjab has stepped in to try to halt the spread of a dengue virus epidemic which has seen 799 confirmed cases and two deaths in the province.
• NEPAL: Displaced children face hardship
  KATHMANDU, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - "When can we go home?" is Furma Lama's constant refrain. The 10-year-old has spent the last eight years displaced since her family fled Ramechhap District, 100km east of the capital, in fear of former Maoists rebels.
• SOUTH AFRICA: Diane, "Most people hate sex workers"
  CAPE TOWN, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Diane* is a sex worker in South Africa's tourist capital, Cape Town. She spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about her 12 years in the business.
• CHAD: UN Secretary-General calls to double troop numbers
  GOZ BEIDA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a doubling of international troops deployed to eastern Chad. UN peacekeepers, expected to replace the European Union force (EUFOR) due to leave in March 2009, would have a similar mandate of protecting displaced civilians and aid workers in the increasingly volatile region.
• MALAWI: Planning for a disaster
  LILONGWE, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - The state of preparedness for a natural disaster in Malawi's flood-prone areas as well as other locales is coming under intense scrutiny ahead of the expected annual rise in the rivers during the rainy season.
• NIGERIA: Under-development continues to fuel oil theft
  ABUJA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Crude oil smuggling continues unabated in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, spurred by chronic under-development, a disaffected youth, and increasing lawlessness.
• ZIMBABWE: Surviving as an HIV-positive teacher
  HARARE, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Memory Motsi* rents a room in Chitungwiza, about 20km from the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. She wakes up at five in the morning to get to work on time at the school where she teaches Grade 5 in Hatfield, a suburb in the city, because the poor salaries in education sector, totally outpaced by hyperinflation, mean she can no longer afford the bus fare to and from work.
• MADAGASCAR: Bracing for storm season
  JOHANNESBURG, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - All eyes are glued to the radar screen in anticipation of the cyclone season in Madagascar, and this year the authorities and their humanitarian partners hope not be caught off guard.
• KENYA: UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Dadaab camps
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - An influx of asylum-seekers fleeing violence in Somalia to the refugee camps in Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya is causing overcrowding that could lead to a humanitarian crisis, UN officials have warned.
• In brief: Ushahidi launches website on eastern DR Congo conflict
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Ushahidi, the citizen reporting platform and network which came to prominence during the post-election violence in Kenya in early 2008, has launched a new conflict monitoring tool for eastern DRC.
• SOMALIA: Cutting charcoal use in urban Somaliland
  HARGEISA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Authorities in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland have embarked on efforts to reduce charcoal use in urban areas to curb deforestation, officials said.
• In brief: UN satellite maps indicate damage at two IDP camps
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - UNOSAT has released satellite map assessments of two IDP camps in North Kivu, DRC. The camps are in Nyongera (Kiwanja Town) and Dumez (Rutshuru). The images indicate arson, shelter destruction and the possible impact of shelling.
• In brief: “Interdependence is the name of the game”
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Reacting to our recent report on the food crisis: GLOBAL: Donor response to food crisis inadequate, agencies say, Pete Matassa, a subscriber and reader, says: ”As the article notes, while the financial crisis is at center stage right now, other important topics such as the food crisis are being ignored...
• SOMALIA: “TFG on brink of collapse”
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - The widening split between Somalia's leaders could lead to the total collapse of the transitional federal government, a Nairobi-based regional analyst, who requested anonymity, has warned.
• In brief: Lessons from the food price crisis
  NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - ALNAP, an international interagency forum working to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action, is offering you a new paper: Lessons Paper on the Food Price Crisis. The paper aims to assist practitioners undertaking operational relief and recovery work in the context of high food prices.
• ZIMBABWE: Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, "These days people are dying in large numbers"
  BULAWAYO, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Business is booming for Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, 56, who runs a small funeral parlour in the working-class district of Kelvin North in Bulawayo, Z