Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Six years after the end of a decade-long armed conflict, Nepal’s ex-Maoist fighters who have been languishing in various satellite camps have begun leaving their cantonments.

The process started Friday in the three major camps–Sindhuli, Chitwan and Nawalparasi–and was scheduled to begin in the other four main camps from Saturday. The entire process is expected to be over in two weeks.

The lengthy conflict ended in 2006 after killing nearly 14, 000 people and replacing a century-long Hindu monarchy with a secular republic country.

This is an important part of Nepal’s ongoing peace process.

The Maoist combatants have been monitored since 2007 by the United Nation’s political mission that oversaw the storage of weapons and the soldiers’ registration, verification and housing. After the UN left Nepal in 2011, Nepal’s political party agreed to set up Special Secretariat to look after them.

After completion of this process, integration of the Maoist combatants in the national army and the social life of the nation will begin.

Out of the 19,000 UN-verified combatants, 7,365 combatants who chose voluntary retirement will head to their homes after the Maoist party hosts a formal farewell ceremony on Feb. 11. Another 9,000 opted for integration into security agencies.

Those who opted for retirement will receive around $ 6,300 to $10,200 from the government in installments.

The Maoist guerillas, under the aegis of the UCPN (Maoist) party, which is now largest political party in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly, fought to set up a hardcore communist regime in Nepal.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States this week expanded cooperation with India on labor and employment issues with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was hailed by both as a tool to enhance strong bonds between the two democracies.

Calling the MoU “an essential part of our bilateral relationship,” Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, told journalists on Friday, “When you look at our relationship and the strategic dialogue that we have with India, there’s many baskets of issues that fall under that rubric, and certainly labor laws are one of those.”

Earlier on Thursday, Mallikarjun Kharge, visiting Indian minister for labor and employment, and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis inked a bilateral MoU for cooperation in the areas of skill development, youth employment, occupational safety and health and mines safety and health.

Kharge emphasized that, “the road map laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate very close cooperation and interaction between our two countries and bring about improvements in the life of workers and their working conditions.”

Welcoming the structured bilateral engagement, Solis said, “Our governments share a firm commitment to workers and their rights. Today marks the launch of a new program to share valuable information that will ensure that workers’ rights are respected.”

Kharge said that India was interested in increasing its know-how in the areas of accreditation systems, self-regulation and auditing through collaboration, exchange and sharing of ideas, among other initiatives with the U.S.

During a press conference with Washington-based Indian media, the minister said, “This is the first time India and the U.S. is signing such an important document and naturally it is going to help both of us–more to us and they will be also very anxious to help us.”

Citing a vision by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of teaching skills to 500 million persons by 2022, the visiting minister stated that collaboration with U.S. would “enrich us in the areas of training delivery methods, certification, preparation of instructional material, curriculum development and expanding outreach.”

The latest cooperation move would help in further developing “an appropriate employment strategy for inclusive growth in India and strong bonds between the people of our two great nations,” Kharge emphasized.

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Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia (IRIN) – Cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), as well as domestic violence, are increasing in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland, with social workers attributing the trend to hard economic times made worse by recent drought in the region.

“Numbers of the displaced have increased in recent months, with many families coming to town to escape drought; lack of a police presence within the camps and inadequate lighting have contributed to the increase in some of these cases,” Shukri Osman Said, an SGBV coordinator for an NGO, Comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation Somaliland (CCBRS), told IRIN at the Stadium IDP camp in Hargeisa.

The Stadium IDP camp, home to an estimated 5,000 families (30,000 people), is one of several IDP camps in Hargeisa where humanitarian organizations such as CCBRS have ongoing programs aimed at addressing SGBV among vulnerable communities.

According to Said, CCBRS has been running the SGBV program in the IDP camps since 2006 with funding from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

“On average, CCBRS handled between 15 and 20 cases of SGBV per month; however, we have noticed that the cases of domestic violence have increased dramatically; in 2011 alone, we had over 500 cases of domestic violence,” Said told IRIN.

“Our SGBV prevention program has helped somewhat because the SGBV cases have started reducing; our concern is the rise in domestic violence, which is mostly due to men not coping well with economic hardship and ending up venting their frustration on their wives.”

The CCBRS program, she said, had a component targeting those with physical disabilities and provided orthopedic aids – such as wheelchairs – to some of the affected IDPs. SGBV coordinators from CCBRS also made home visits for physiotherapy sessions, provided counseling and psycho-social support and referred those requiring specialized treatment and/or legal aid to relevant institutions.

“Most of the victims of SGBV are poor and cannot afford treatment in private hospitals; some cannot even afford the transport to public hospitals, so we help by referring them to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in the main hospital in Hargeisa,” Said told IRIN.

“We also refer those requiring legal aid to organizations that help women seek justice.”

Hawo Yusuf, a member of the management committee at the Stadium IDP camp, said the committee supported SGBV survivors by helping them be accepted by society.

“We help construct shelter for those in need of a place to stay, especially those who become pregnant; we help by tracking and [apprehending] the perpetrators, although our efforts are frustrated when these people are freed without being charged with any offense.”

Livelihood projects

According to UNHCR Somaliland, Hargeisa is home to approximately 85,000 displaced people who have fled their homes mostly from south and central regions of Somalia, due to various reasons, including drought, limited livelihood opportunities and increased violence.

“IDPs often live in difficult conditions, more often than not with limited access to basic facilities such as adequate healthcare, good shelter and clean water and sanitation amenities, ample security as well as employment opportunities,” the agency said.

“UNHCR engages IDPs in Hargeisa in various projects like solar lighting or animal husbandry that will equip them with the necessary skills to start up their own businesses and provide a better life for their families.”

CCBRS is implementing an income-generating project, funded by UNHCR, aimed at empowering woman in the IDP camps. Started in 2008, the project has helped transform the lives of the IDPs by providing them with better livelihoods.

Fouzia Hassan, mother of eight and one of the beneficiaries, told IRIN: “All my children are now in school, thanks to the US$600 grant I received to boost my bread-making business. My business has expanded and I now make between 55 and 65 loaves a day, something I could not have dreamt of doing before the start of this project.”

Hassan said she can now take care of her family better: “I can meet their medical bills, I have built a latrine for the family’s use and I have installed a water tank, this is now my home. It has changed my life and my family’s.”

js-ah/mw

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Khartoum, Sudan (AHN) – Sudan’s army on Monday was pursuing rebels who kidnapped 29 Chinese workers in the restive South Kordofan region.

Fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which is trying to overthrow Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, seized the workers in the compound of a Chinese construction company involved in a local road project on Saturday during a clash with government troops.

Fourteen Chinese workers were rescued by soldiers while another 15 were missing, according to Khartoum government spokesman Rabie Abdelaty. The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that 18 Chinese workers who fled the compound when rebels raided it were found in a neighboring area and secured.

The Chinese construction company’s security personnel were working with Sudanese authorities in the rescue of the workers.

The rebels claimed the Chinese workers were unharmed and they were just protecting the foreigners from harm during the fighting with government troops. They denied any link with the South Sudan government, which is ruled by a party having the same name as the rebels’ group.

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Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – There’s no place like home–when it comes to giving birth.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of home births in the United States has risen dramatically since 2004.

Births taking place outside of the traditional hospital setting increased 29 percent between 2004 and 2009, from 0.56 percent of all births, to 0.72 percent, or almost 30,000 births.

For non-Hispanic white women, the increase was most pronounced, with a 36 percent increase.

The rise in home births is believed to be attributed to personal preference, although some experts point to the lower costs of giving birth at home.

Highlights in the report include:

• Among white women, home births increased 36 percent, from 0.80 percent in 2004 to 1.09 percent in 2009
• For white women, home births account for one in every 90 births
• In other racial and ethic groups, home births are less common
• Home births are more common among women aged 35 and over, and among women who have had other children.

Births that occur in the home more often involve lower risk pregnancies, with fewer among teenagers or unmarried women, and fewer pre-term, low birth weight or multiple births.

In 2009, home births varied from a low of 0.2 percent in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, to a high of 2 percent in Oregon and 2.6 percent in Montana.

Some of the benefits of home birth are privacy, comfort and continuing care from someone who women have a more personal relationship with.

The biggest objection to home births are concerns about safety for both the mother and the infant.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 21 rose by 21,000 to 377,000, compared with the previous week’s revised figure of 356,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The less volatile four-week moving average was 377,500, a drop of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 380,000.

DOL figures show that the total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Jan. 7, the most recent week for which such data is available, was 7,638,233, down by 188,612 people from the previous week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 14 were:

• Florida (+2,711)
• California (+1,682)
• Iowa (+596)
• West Virginia (+571)
• District of Columbia (+115)

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Niamey, Niger (IRIN) – Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.

The government says it needs 3.8 million tons of cereals to feed six million people spread across 6,981 villages, equating to 49.4 percent of the affected zones.

In a survey conducted in November 2011, the government’s Early Warning System projected the 2011-2012 “winter” gross cereal production for millet, sorghum, rice, wheat and fonio (one of West Africa’s most ancient cereals) at 3.8 million tons – 27 percent down on 2010-2011. Grain production last season was about 3.2 million tons.

The Early Warning System, which monitors and forecasts food security needs, has identified three major areas as reporting deficits: Tillabéry in the west; Agadez in the north; and Diffa in the east; with respective shortfalls of 164,146 tons, 123,576 tons, and 68,115 tons.

Boukanda, a village with a population of 1,000 about 50 kilometers west of the capital Niamey, is typical of many food insecure villages which have been largely abandoned by their younger residents.

“The able-bodied and young people of the village preferred to leave for big cities or abroad. They have little to do here,” Adamou Talba, the marabout (religions teacher) of Boukanda, said.

Only a few “wealthier” families pound sorghum instead of millet, the main staple of the village. These people still have small supplies but they will not last long.

“There’s just a little bit in the granary,” said Balkissa Adamou, a villager.

Boukanda village chief Seyni Seydou said the rains ended just when the plants needed water, and grasshoppers and other insects finished off the crops.

“In our village, some people have been left with just seven bundles [of grain], whereas previously nearly 700 could be harvested,” he added. The Early Warning System puts Boukanda’s food deficit at 90 percent.

Appeals for help

Concerned by the current situation, Cheick Boureima Abdou Daoud, a citizen of Niger, donated 3,000 tons of cereal to the relief effort. “I want to kick-start action so that other citizens of Niger, who can afford it, can also help those in need,” he said.

While previous governments tended to avoid admitting to food crises, the current government is different: In August 2011, it asked for 100 billion francs CFA (about US$198 million) in donor aid.

President Mahamadou Issoufou, addressing the UN General Assembly in September 2011, said: “Knowing that we would have a very large deficit this harvest crop, we decided… to alert the international community. I would like, at this highest level of this forum, to renew once more our appeal to help Niger.”

Donors have pledged help, and the UN has launched a Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for $229 million.

“The CAP aims to provide humanitarian aid and to strengthen the resilience of millions of men, women and vulnerable children,” said Guido Cornale, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Niger who is also acting humanitarian coordinator in the country.

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– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promising a legal challenge to federal rules the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday requiring health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.

The Department of Health and Human Services made no changes to a rule released in August that exempted some religious organizations, like those that employ or serve people who follow its religion, from the requirement. But religious organizations that do not meet those qualifications would be required to provide contraceptive coverage to employees. While churches are exempt, for example, religious universities and hospitals are not.

The rule goes into effect Aug. 1. Religious institutions that aren’t exempt get an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the regulation.

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she believed Friday’s announcement “strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services.”

Abortion rights opponents had challenged the rule, which is part of the health law, arguing that contraception violates the religious beliefs of some Americans, and that some forms of emergency contraception, including Plan B, are akin to early abortion. Religious groups also wanted a broader exemption. Friday’s announcement didn’t make them any happier.

“There really is no change,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the bishops. “What has been announced is that they are going to delay an enforcement. It’s as if they said ‘We’ll give you a year to figure out how to violate your conscience.’” The bishops’ group “will fight this edict; they have no choice but to fight this edict,” she said.

Other Catholic organizations were also upset. The Catholic Health Association called Friday’s announcement “a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection,” Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

But abortion right proponents, who feared the Obama administration might back down from the original rule, were pleased.

Planned Parenthood praised the ruling, saying that it is “grounded in sound medical science and health policy and protects access to affordable birth control for millions of women, including women who are employed by a religiously affiliated hospital, university, or other religiously affiliated organization that serves the broader public.”

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the decision means that “millions will get access to contraception—and they will not have to ask their bosses for permission.”

HHS officials said Friday that the agency had received approximately 200,000 comments on the regulation, which covers all Food and Drug Administration approved forms of birth control. While emergency contraception is covered, abortion is not, they said.

Friday’s announcement will no doubt give Democrats and Republicans alike new ammunition in their ongoing debate over the sweeping health law that has been under attack ever since President Barack Obama signed it nearly two years ago.

Proponents of the law hailed the announcement as additional proof that it is expanding coverage for all Americans. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., said the decision “marks a tremendous victory for women’s health and equality, and will ensure that women have access to affordable contraceptive coverage.”

Conservatives who oppose the health law point to the ruling as another example of the administration overstepping the rights of individuals and institutions. “This ruling forces religious organizations to violate the fundamental tenets of their faith, or stop offering health insurance coverage to their employees,” said Chris Jacobs, health policy analyst for the Republican Policy Committee.

– Provided by Kaiser Health News.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial unemployment claims dropped to 352,000 during the week ending Jan. 14, their lowest level in nearly four years.

First time claims for jobless benefits dropped by 50,000 from the previous week’s revised tally of 402,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The less volatile four-week moving average was 379,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 382,500.

However, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate also dropped. Only 2.7 percent of jobless workers were covered by unemployment insurance for the week ending Jan. 7, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Dec. 31, the most recent week for which data is available, was 7,826,665, an increase of 493,566 from the previous week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 31 were:

• Alaska (6.9)
• Connecticut (6.6)
• Oregon (5.0)
• Wisconsin (4.9)
• Pennsylvania (4.7)
• Idaho (4.5)
• Rhode Island (4.5)
• Montana (4.3)
• New Jersey (4.2)
• Arkansas (4.0)
• Illinois (4.0)
• Washington (4.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 7 were:

• New York (+29,389)
• California (+22,168)
• Texas (+13,946)
• North Carolina (+7,865)
• Georgia (+7,225)

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial marked its first holiday named for the slain civil rights leader Monday with a controversy.

Shortly after the memorial was dedicated in August, it became obvious that an inscription at the base of the 9.1-meter high statue inaccurately quotes King.

It says, “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

A columnist for The Washington Post researched King’s speeches just after the dedication ceremony to discover the true statement.

During his sermon titled “The Drum Major Instinct” two months before he was assassinated in November 1968, King said, “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week ordered the National Park Service to correct the inscription or find a new one within 30 days.

The National Park Service is now working with the King family and their foundation to come up with a modification to the inscription.

Visitors to the memorial discussed the controversy and their reasons for visiting the memorial Monday morning with All Headline News.

“It’s a mockery,” said Rory Cavanaugh Wilson, a Washington, D.C., carpenter. “It’s not a complete quote.”

Benjamin Dudley, a project management consultant from Washington, said, “I can see the concern people had and I agree with it.”

The inscription is deeply etched into the base of King’s standing image, which prompted Dudley to say, “The only thing is that it’s going to cost a ton. The logistics are going to be challenging.”

Other visitors believed visiting the memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was important, regardless of any controversy about an inaccurate quote.

“I first came here when I was 12 years old when he did the ‘I have a dream’ speech,” James Jamison, a Baptist minister from Wilmington, N.C., told All Headline News.

He and his family left their home in North Carolina at 3 a.m. Monday so they could visit the memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“It brings me to tears when I read about it,” said Jamison, who added that he touched the monument during his visit. “It’s like historical.”

President Barack Obama discussed the memorial Monday during a visit to a Washington school to promote volunteer service.

Regardless of whether the inscription is a misquote, it should be read as a call to action, he said.

“I know there’s been a lot of controversy lately about the quote on the memorial,” Obama said. “If you look at that speech about Dr. King as a drum major, what he really said was that all of us could be a drum major for service, all of us could be a drum major for justice, and there’s nobody who can’t serve, nobody who can’t help somebody else.”

The poet Maya Angelou, who knew King personally, told The Washington Post the misquote makes King look like “an arrogant twit.”

The truth is that King “had no arrogance at all,” Angelou said. “He had a humility that comes from deep inside. The ‘if’ clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely.”

Obama and his wife planned to attend a celebration later in the day at the Kennedy Center to honor King.

The day started in Washington with a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial.

The Washington National Cathedral held a special religious service for King Monday. King preached his last sermon at the cathedral before he was shot and killed by an assassin at a Memphis motel.

In addition, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation posted about 200,000 new documents on its Web site related to his life and civil rights efforts. They include his personal notes, letters to Vice President Richard Nixon and telegrams to President John F. Kennedy.

In one Aug. 30, 1957 letter to Nixon, King wrote, “It is almost my firm conviction that the full effect of the Civil Rights Bill will depend in large degree upon the program of a sustained mass movement on the part of Negroes. History has demonstrated that inadequate legislation supported by mass action can accomplish more than adequate legislation which remains unenforced for the lack of a determined mass movement.”

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