Cyclone beggars line roads of Myanmar delta
16 May 2008 - Without clothes or shoes, thousands of men, women and children made destitute by the cyclone stand in the mud and rain of the latest tropical downpour,begging for help at the occasional passing aid vehicle. The desperate entreaties expose the fragility of the claims by Myanmar's military government to be on top of the distribution of emergency relief in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta, where up to 2.5 million people are now clinging to survival. With almost total distrust of the government, private aid is being left in the care of Buddhist monasteries, to be distributed by the monkhood, whose immense moral authority makes it the only institution capable of standing up to the military. (more)

Japan fears rice'n'pickle diet as food supply slows
16 May 2008 - Japan could find itself dining on rice, pickles and potatoes if global food supplies keep tightening and imports are cut off, the government warned on Friday. Just 39 per cent of food in Japan is produced at home, the lowest percentage among the major industrialised countries, raising alarm among officials over food security as supplies fall and prices soar. In a white paper on food and agriculture, the government said eating habits would change radically if the country no longer had access to food from abroad. (more)

Kenya intimidating refugees out of camp-aid group
16 May 2008 - Kenyan government officials and police have used threats and intimidation to force displaced people to leave a refugee camp in western Kenya, the medical aid agency Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday. More than 300,000 Kenyans were left homeless after President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election in December triggered ethnic clashes. Aid workers estimate that half of them have returned home, but many don't have the resources or are still too afraid or to do so, despite reassurances from the power-sharing government sworn in last month. (more)

Russia accuses Georgia of aiding rebels
16 May 2008 - Russia's domestic spy service on Friday accused Georgia of supporting armed rebels in southern Russia, an accusation that could further damage the strained relations between the two countries. A source in the Federal Security Service (FSB) told Interfax news agency that a Chechen man working for Georgian intelligence had been giving cash to fighters across the turbulent North Caucasus. Russia and Georgia are locked in a row over Georgia's two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Russia supports. Georgia says war was only narrowly averted earlier this month. (more)