is struggling to lift itself out of dire poverty after a dozen years of bloody civil war. U.N. peacekeepers may be on the way out, but it now needs cash, and lots of it, to bolster health and education services and boost the economy in a country where half the population is malnourished.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up for its first democratic elections in 40 years, hoping the polls will draw a line under a 1998-2003 war that dragged in half a dozen foreign armies. But violence still boils in the east, claiming 1,000 lives a day. Extra peacekeeping support is on the way, with the European Union pledging troops to help the U.N. safeguard security during the elections.
In Burundi, it&${esc.hash}39;s a case of mission mostly accomplished, with only one rebel group remaining outside the peace process. But will donors cough up the funds for long-term development?
Carolyn McAskie, the top U.N. envoy in Burundi, says the ${esc.dollar}300 million annual cost of the U.N. mission could go a long way to getting it right. "My challenge to the international community is &${esc.hash}39; You&${esc.hash}39;ve done the peacekeeping job. Now do the peace building job." ( Story)
It&${esc.hash}39;s likely to be a while before Congo can talk about replacing blue helmets with development dollars.
U.N. chief Kofi Annan says international peacekeepers will stick around for some time after the polls. "One has to have patience and stabilise the countries coming out of conflict and not rush out too soon," he said yesterday. ( Story)
Eritrea expulsionsThis just in: Eritrea has expelled three more international charities, adding to a long list of foreign expulsions from one of the world&${esc.hash}39;s poorest countries, now gripped by a devastating drought. Mercy Corps, Concern and ACORD have all got their marching orders. Story.
They join a club whose other members include the U.S. government&${esc.hash}39;s international aid agency, USAID, at least eight other international relief charities, scores of Western peacekeepers and an Italian diplomat.
What&${esc.hash}39;s going on here? Diplomats and analysts say the latest expulsions are probably linked to border tensions with Ethiopia. Eritrea is deeply suspicious of the international community, accusing foreign powers of favouring Ethiopia in the border dispute, which threatens to flare up into another war, six years after a conflict that killed 70,000 people.
One analyst said the expulsion was a good way to keep global attention focused on the border issue: "They&${esc.hash}39;ve realised that a series of implementable, small threats is the most credible way to keep tensions high."
Early warning alertsAlarms bells are ringing elsewhere.
The head of the U.N. relief agency in the Palestinian territories says a humanitarian crisis is looming as the cash-strapped Palestinian authority feels the pain of Israel&${esc.hash}39;s decision to freeze tax revenues after Hamas&${esc.hash}39; election victory.
"For the first time ever, we in UNRWA (the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) ran out of fuel and the bakeries in Gaza ran out of flour," Karen AbuZayd told Reuters in an interview.
Crowds of Zimbabwean economic migrants deported from neighbouring South Africa are stranded in the border town of Beitbriedge, on the Zimbabwean side, with no funds to get home, reports IRIN.
The news agency quotes the International Organisation for Migration as saying about 2,000 people are deported from South Africa a week. Many are trying to escape Zimbabwe&${esc.hash}39;s economic crisis, where inflation is up 782 percent and unemployment is over 70 percent, IRIN says.
The BBC Monitoring service has picked up a Russian TV report saying the separatist Dnestr region of ex-Soviet Moldova is on the verge of a humanitarian emergency as a self-imposed blockade chokes off vital supplies of food, fuel and medicine.
The U.N. has raised the stakes in Somalia, warning that more than 2 million people need urgent food aid as the worst drought in more than a decade bites deeper in "the most difficult operating environment for any emergency situation globally". Britain&${esc.hash}39;s Guardian carried the story on Wednesday.
A catalogue of disasters...Yesterday was World Water Day. Today it&${esc.hash}39;s World Weather Day.
The World Meteorological Organisation is using this year&${esc.hash}39;s World Meteorological Day to celebrate efforts to prevent and mitigate natural disasters, which were linked to more than 600,000 deaths worldwide between 1992 and 2001 and affected more than 2 billion people.
It&${esc.hash}39;s an old chestnut: Spending ${esc.dollar}1 now on disaster prevention saves ${esc.dollar}10 down the line on relief and reconstruction. As global warming fuels ever greater numbers of devastating floods, hurricanes and droughts, that&${esc.hash}39;s a message hazard experts are likely to keep shouting from the rooftops for years to come.
That&${esc.hash}39;s it from me.
Best wishes, Tim Large AlertNet Deputy Editor
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