Millions Facing Starvation

Millions of Afghans in the north and west of the country face starvation after drought destroyed much of the harvest, Christian Aid has said.

The threat adds to Afghanistan's troubles as fierce fighting in the south between the Taliban and international coalition forces continues.

A survey carried out by the UK aid agency looked at 66 villages and found that farmers in the worst affected areas had lost all their crops after the rains failed last winter and spring.

In the provinces of Herat, Badghis and Ghor, most of the water sources had dried up, while in parts of Faryab province the wheat harvest was down by 90% to 100%.

Christian Aid has called on the British government and international donors to give money to the country's emergency drought appeal.

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This has been set up by the UN and the Afghan government and needs £41m.

The charity's John Davison said: "This week the world will clearly be remembering the terrible events of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington.

"We would ask them also to remember that five years ago, there was a drought in Afghanistan that threatened the lives of five million people.

"While much has happened on the international scene over this period, once again we are facing a serious drought threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions in Afghanistan."

The study found farmers and agricultural labourers were selling their animals and leaving the most severe drought areas to look for work, placing pressure on other areas with water supplies.

Children, pregnant women, landless families and the elderly were the most at risk.

U.N. refugee agency: Darfur catastrophe unless aid gets in

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region faces a humanitarian "catastrophe" without rapid action to improve security and get aid to those in need, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.

The warning by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres followed a cry of alarm by the top U.N. humanitarian official Jan Egeland late last month.

"Hundreds are still dying amid ongoing violence, and thousands are being forcibly displaced ... If things do not improve, we are heading for a major catastrophe," Guterres said in a statement.

"Urgent international action is needed to put pressure on the parties to the conflict and to convince everyone involved on the ground to let humanitarian agencies safely carry out their work ... Lives depend on it," Guterres said.

A dozen aid workers have been killed since May when only one of three rebel groups signed the peace deal. Humanitarian convoys are repeatedly attacked and vehicles stolen. U.N. offices and compounds have also been attacked, and staff can only get to some areas by air, the UNHCR added.

In one of the most serious examples of violence, villages around Buram in South Darfur were attacked at the end of August by up to 1,000 armed men, Arbour said.

At least 38 people were killed in the raids which forced the civilian population of some 10,000 to flee.

The UNHCR warned that the crisis could increase instability in bordering areas of Chad and the Central African Republic. Chad is already host to some 200,000 Darfur refugees and 46,000 from the Central African Republic.

"Chad ... is now close to breaking point," Guterres said.

Florence Takes Aim

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect for Bermuda. Tropical Storm Florence has been strengthening with winds of 70 mph. Continued strengthening is forecast for today, with the system likely reaching hurricane status later today. Hurricane Hunter Aircraft flew into the system overnight and found the center of circulation to be a bit further south. While the track of the storm may appear of have made a southwest turn, this is not a turn, but merely a repositioning of the center. Florence continues to move west-northwest, and a gradual turn to a more northerly direction is still forecast this weekend. This will bring the system very near Bermuda by Sunday night and Monday morning. At this time, Florence is a large tropical storm, and high seas and rip currents are already affecting Bermuda. These conditions are also impacting the northern Leeward Islands, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola. Parts of the eastern United States, especially from the Outer banks to Cape Cod, may also experience these higher seas as the storm nears Bermuda. However, the current forecast track will keep the United States far from the path of the storm.

Of other interest, a tropical wave currently trailing Florence to the southeast, has been occasionally flaring thunderstorms. This wave will continue to be monitored as it moves west, but any further development would be slow to occur at this time.

Wildfires continue to roar across western USA

STANLEY, Idaho — Federal officials on Friday were tracking 60 large, active fires that were burning more than 1 million acres, or more than 1,500 square miles, across the West.
The states in the region with the most number of fires included Idaho, Nevada, and Montana, according to the website of the Boise-based National Interagency Fire Center, composed of various federal agencies that coordinate to battle wildfires.

In Idaho, fires had burned more than 231,000 acres, or 360 square miles, the center reported.

In southern Montana, crews set backfires to keep a massive fire from spreading. The fire, estimated at 205,000 acres, or 320 square miles, was 55% contained, but fire information officer Dave Daniels said the hope was aggressive backburns would speed containment.

The fire, which started Aug. 22 from lightning, earlier burned 26 homes, but fire crews have prevented the loss of any additional homes, Daniels said. Authorities expect to begin allowing residents of 265 homes that were evacuated on Sunday to begin returning, but they would remain on alert in case conditions changed again.

"My sense is that people in this country seem to understand the need for this," Daniels said. "You live close to nature and these things happen."

U.N. official wants Congo rapes punished

BUKAVU, Congo - The U.N.'s humanitarian chief called Friday for an end to the rapes plaguing women in war-battered Congo and said the perpetrators, including those wearing military uniforms, must be severely punished.

Jan Egeland, visiting Congo's eastern borderlands where violence continues despite the official end to a 1996-2002 war, said women in the region continue to suffer from sexual violence.

"We must not have any more of these rapes. Sexual abuse and impunity must cease. ... The authors of these acts must be severely punished," he said. "Rape has become gangrene in Congolese society."

The exact number of rapes in Congo isn't known. Hospital officials report treating huge numbers of women for injuries suffered in sex crimes, particularly in the east where militia fighters and Congolese soldiers target civilians.

In July, the United Nations released a report documenting 905 human rights abuses during the first half of 2006, saying more than 80 percent of the violence was committed by members of the nation's security services.

Egeland said all armed factions are bound by the law.

"The armed men in government uniforms or (other) armed groups must know that rape is a crime against humanity that must be punished," Egeland said after visiting a hospital where officials said more than 10,000 women had been treated for sexual violence since 1999. "The civilian population must be protected."

New Rape Law 'At All Costs'

Pakistan's government has vowed to pass a bill "at all costs" to help rape victims prosecute their attackers.

Under a current law, rape cases require the testimonies of four witnesses, making convictions extremely difficult.

A woman who claims she was raped but fails to prove it risks being prosecuted for adultery - which is punishable by death.

Pakistan's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan reportedly said: "The protection of women bill will be on the agenda on Monday, and we will get it approved by the National Assembly at all costs."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said earlier that the changes are meant to "remove anomalies in this law that tend to victimise women".

The proposed changes have drawn fierce resistance from some religious parties, who say the changes would be un-Islamic.

More than 65 lawmakers have threatened to vacate their seats in the 344-seat Nationality Assembly, if the bill is passed.