Earthquakes highlight need for regional preparedness

	humanitarian news and analysis a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Table of contents 1. VIETNAM: Religious persecution intensifies, study says 2. MIGRATION: Afghan asylum-seekers hit by tighter immigration rules 3. ASIA: Earthquakes highlight need for regional preparedness, say experts 4. In Brief: Thailand to host climate change conference 5. CAMBODIA: Rural poor most at risk from rabies 6. MYANMAR: Earthquake homeless need urgent shelter VIETNAM: Religious persecution intensifies, study says BANGKOK, 31 March 2011 (IRIN) - Ethnic minority Christians in Vietnam increasingly face charges of national security crimes, severe abuse, property confiscation and forced renunciations of faith, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and US parliamentarians. Read report online MIGRATION: Afghan asylum-seekers hit by tighter immigration rules KABUL, 31 March 2011 (IRIN) - There were fewer Afghan asylum-seekers in 2010 and this could, in part, be due to tighter immigration controls in destination countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Returnees. Read report online ASIA: Earthquakes highlight need for regional preparedness, say experts BANGKOK, 31 March 2011 (IRIN) - Two back-to-back earthquakes in Japan and Myanmar, which left more than 27,000 people dead and thousands more injured, underscore the need for greater disaster preparedness in the region, experts say. Read report online In Brief: Thailand to host climate change conference BANGKOK, 1 April 2011 (IRIN) - More than 13 years after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol and three months after the Cancun Agreements, nearly 200 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will gather in Bangkok on 5 April. Read report online CAMBODIA: Rural poor most at risk from rabies KAMPOT, 1 April 2011 (IRIN) - Yinn Siet, 65, recalls in horror when a snarling dog bit her husband four years ago. Before he died, the farmer hallucinated and convulsed. “He barked like a dog,” she said. “We put a chain on him and locked him up.” Read report online MYANMAR: Earthquake homeless need urgent shelter MA AN HKAN, 1 April 2011 (IRIN) - The main concern for thousands of survivors of last week's devastating earthquake in Myanmar is lack of shelter. Read report online

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