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Mediawatch

AlertNet scours the world's media for provocative articles on humanitarian themes. Below are our choice pickings, updated daily.

The untold story of Iraq's refugee crisis
19 Mar 2008 16:28:00 GMT
Author: Alex Klaushofer

Coming back on the train from a news-free holiday earlier this week, idly flicking through the papers abandoned by commuters, I found myself plunged into the tabloid world of Iraq Five Years On.

One paper devoted half a dozen pages to the anniversary. There was extensive reporting of the ongoing discussion about when 'we' will withdraw our forces, an 'I told-you-so' piece by a vexed defence correspondent about politicians' failure to listen when it mattered, and a heart-rending account by a childhood friend of a promising young Englishman killed in the battle against Saddam.

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MEDIAWATCH: Somalia heads for crisis
12 Mar 2008 15:55:00 GMT
Author: Joanne Tomkinson

Violence has raged in Somalia since U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops entered the country in December 2006, and news organisations are cottoning on to warnings the country is plunging further into chaos.

U.S. magazine Newsweek sounds the alarm with a report that humanitarian conditions are deteriorating dramatically, in part due to difficulties getting aid into the country.

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Keep quiet about atrocities, Ethiopia warns aid workers
27 Feb 2008 16:44:00 GMT
Author: Joanne Tomkinson

Aid workers in Ethiopia's remote Ogaden region are currently facing an impossible dilemma. In order to carry on helping people in the east of the country, the government has warned them that they better keep quiet about allegations of army atrocities in the area.

International humanitarian staff have spoken anonymously to the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor about public executions, rapes, torture, arbitrary detentions and beatings of civilians by government forces in Ogaden, where most people are ethnic Somalis. ...

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War films seek to buck the 'feel-bad' factor
10 Jan 2008 10:35:00 GMT
Author: Megan Rowling

In the United States, at least, 2007 was judged to be a pretty bad year for war films. As Edward Helmore noted in the Observer last month, a clutch of multi-million dollar movies on conflict and terrorism - including Lambs for Lions, Rendition and The Kingdom - got the big thumbs down from moviegoers and critics alike, pretty much bombing at the box office.

But why? One explanation is people have simply had enough of war, and don't want it shoved down their throats in their leisure time too (the liberal view). Or perhaps they don't welcome criticism of the troops when they're still being killed and injured in the field (the conservative view).

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MEDIAWATCH: Where next for Kenya?
06 Jan 2008 12:53:00 GMT
Author: Joanne Tomkinson

If there is one thing that correspondents across Africa agree on, it's that decisive action is needed now to end the bloodshed in Kenya. But, looking at the coverage, it's clear that the causes and likely implications of the violence are still up for debate.

Post-election violence in Kenya, generally seen as a stable country, has left over 300 people dead and displaced around 250,000 others. The crisis has taken many � in Kenya, Africa, and beyond � by surprise.

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