Mine ban treaty reaches a critical stage Nov 25, 2008
"Some countries still require huge demining work, others are very behind schedule, some don't have a realistic idea of how badly contaminated their countryside is, while others are far from developing coherent demining plans," he told journalists in Geneva last Monday ... The ICBL argues that Britain and Venezuela should not be accorded an extension but instead be obliged to start demining operations and have to return next year and present a better dossier ... Mine action is an integral part of... (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Mankind's new best friend? Nov 24, 2008
The rats' "noses are far more sensitive than all current mechanical vapor detectors," Havard Bach, a mine-clearing specialist with the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining, wrote in a study. Although rats make almost everyone's short list of horrors - associated with filth, disease, and destruction of food crops - they "are really nice creatures," according to Weetjens. (Boston Globe)
Lebanon demining program running out of money Oct 17, 2008
Demining chief Hussein Alayan watched from a distance this week as his men in orange overalls slowly moved their mine detectors in search of cluster bombs and land mines buried under the sands of this southern Lebanese village. It was the men's last day at work before their demining company, the Britain-based BACTEC, was to shut down on Friday ... BACTEC is one of the largest, with 11 of the 44 demining teams working here. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
* Control Yuan lauds Kinmen demining Oct 4, 2008
Control Yuan lauds Kinmen demining. STATED GOAL: The Army Engineers Corps demining team says that it is on target for getting rid of Kinmens mines by 2013, a task that is now 25 percent complete STAFF WRITER, WITH CNASD Saturday, Oct 04, 2008, Page 4 ... Huang and Liu lauded the Army Engineers Corps for its demining teams progress in clearing the explosives. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Chad: Mines Kill Many Children Aug 31, 2008
com: Chad: Mines And Unexploded Ordnance Taking Heavy Toll On Children, Says UN (Page 1 of 1). Use our pull-down menus to find more stories. (allAfrica.com)
Navy to Keep Guantanamo Base If Prison Closes Jun 29, 2008
"You can hear them cook off in brush fires. Demining will be a huge undertaking if U.S.-Cuban relations are restored.". . (Newsmax)
NGOs attack Angola demining deal Jun 13, 2008
Anti-corruption campaigners have criticised a demining contract between a Swiss government-owned arms firm and Angola linked to the return of alleged embezzled funds ... 8 million) through humanitarian work including a demining project, denies giving the contract to Swiss firm Ruag ... Non-governmental organisations the Berne Declaration, Aktion Finanzplatz Schweiz (AFP) and Global Witness on Tuesday criticised the SDC for awarding the demining contract to Ruag, the largest European manufacturer... (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
The Landmine-Sniffing Rats of Mozambique Jun 4, 2008
More conventional approaches to demining all have their flaws. Armored mine-clearance vehicles only operate on flat terrain; metal detectors are terribly inefficient because they pick up all the non-lethal bits of metal in the ground; dogs can smell the explosive in a land mine, but tend to get bored and run the risk of getting themselves blown up. (Time.com)
Senegal: Lack of Peace Accord Hampers Demining in Casamance May 10, 2008
com: Senegal: Lack of Peace Accord Hampers Demining in Casamance (Page 1 of 2) ... Senegal: Lack of Peace Accord Hampers Demining in Casamance ... A nine-member demining team, led by the government body CNAMS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and non-governmental organisation (NGO) Handicap International (HCI), has begun modest demining efforts near the Casamance capital, Ziguinchor, but Pascal Simon, technical adviser with the UNDP's demining team, estimates scaling it up will require up to... (allAfrica.com)
"Landmine ban risks losing momentum" Apr 5, 2008
He also underlined how urgent it was to maintain funding for demining. "Demining is a very costly affair and some countries will say they can only do it if they get more money. The problem is that today antipersonnel mines are much less in the public eye," he said. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Palestinians' bittersweet homecoming in Lebanon Mar 5, 2008
"[Demining] could take weeks, months; the timeline is impossible," says UNRWA's Henri Disselkoen. Meanwhile, refugees "have been without their clothes, without the documents, without their children's toys for eight months. The fathers are without an income and waiting for handouts by the international community," Mr. Disselkoen adds. (Christian Science Monitor)
A former Cambodian boy soldier defuses his past Jan 8, 2008
But in the world of official demining and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Aki Ra is unorthodox ... Big demining groups, on the other hand, prioritize location and follow international safety standards ... This fall, an American sponsor helped him attend demining courses in England; now he is applying for a license. (Christian Science Monitor)
* DPP appeals to Kinmen residents with vow to use stolen assets for demining Jan 5, 2008
DPP appeals to Kinmen residents with vow to use stolen assets for demining ... The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) branch in Kinmen County has appealed to local residents to support a DPP-initiated referendum on retrieving the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets, promising that the returned assets can be used for demining operations on the island group ... The DPP officials on Wednesday also sought to clarify accusations by Kinmen Commissioner Lee Chu-feng (l), who... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
KARL F. INDERFURTH: Washington's phobia of global treaties Dec 24, 2007
Karl F. Inderfurth, a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, was the US special representative of the president and the secretary of state for global humanitarian demining from 1997-98. Share this story. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Mauritania: Donor Funds Needed to Clear Landmines Dec 20, 2007
According to mapping conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in conjunction with the newly formed national demining agency, at least 60 communities in Mauritania are affected by mines. The biggest mine fields are around the towns Nouadhibou and Bir Mohgrein, said Jim Sawatsky, a UNDP advisor to the demining project ... "This signature prompted the authorities to put in place a national programme on the subject," said Alioune ould Mohamed el Hacene, coordinator of the UNDP... (allAfrica.com)
Zambia: A Deadly Reminder of the Hospitality of the Past Nov 20, 2007
It seems we now have to wait for the completion of the demining exercise before the project can be fully executed. "Landmines have really affected the pace of implementing our project, especially along the Bottom Road [a 196km route cutting through the project area]. It seems we now have to wait for the completion of the demining exercise before the project can be fully executed," Jumbe Ngoma, a World Bank spokesman in Zambia, told IRIN.. (allAfrica.com)
Amputee cycles against mines Nov 19, 2007
According to the website of the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR), "based on military estimates, there were roughly 305,000 mines laid on Jordanian territory. Of this number, 73,000 were Israeli and 232,000 were Jordanian.". "Between 1993 and 2006, more than 125,000 landmines have been removed.". (Aljazeera.Net)
Manila, rebels allow Swiss group to recover mines Nov 17, 2007
MANILA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Philippines and the country's largest Muslim rebel group have agreed to allow a team of Swiss demining experts to recover tonnes of unexploded ordnance in conflict areas in the south, officials said on Friday ... "Both sides agreed that these unexploded ordnance pose real dangers to civilians in Muslim communities in the south," Garcia said, adding the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would also draft an agreement on the demining activities. (AlertNet)
Burma: Army Attacks Displace Hundreds of Thousands Oct 26, 2007
Thousands of prisoners have been forced to carry army supplies, undertake construction labor, and, in a practice called "atrocity demining," forced to walk ahead of Burmese army soldiers to trigger potential landmines. When convict porters fall behind or get sick, they are often summarily killed, according to information collected by Human Rights Watch. (AlertNet)
* Kinmen deminers show tactics Sep 28, 2007
RISKY BUSINESS: The Army Engineers Corp established a 137-man demining team on April 1 ... The Army's "Demining Team" yesterday vowed to clear up before 2013 the 70,000 mines left on Kinmen ... He said that the demining team's job is extremely dangerous and most of its members spend long hours dealing with explosives that could kill them at anytime. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
A DEMINER'S LIFE Sep 18, 2007
Others are still hidden below the surface, part of an estimated 100,000 landmines still in the ground in Afghanistan, home to the world's largest demining programme and one of the highest landmine injury rates ... "I'm not scared. This is easy. I am faced with this everyday," said Khan, a towering man who switched from tending wheat crops to demining two-and-a-half years ago ... "When I saw lots of people in my village lose their legs and feet and die from landmines, then I decided I should... (AlertNet)
Mozambique: Mine Clearance Far From Completed Aug 9, 2007
Though a lot has already been done, the head of the Demining Department of the National Demining Institute (IND), Aurelio Mavie, says that the prevalence of land mines in different areas in the country leads one to believe that 'Mozambique is too late to meet the terms of the convention ... Angelo Miquidade, director of operations of the Mine Kills, said that the contract signed between his company and the IND was for the demining of 7,047 square metres but, because of the social character of... (allAfrica.com)
Honey bees hunt for landmines Aug 7, 2007
Although still in testing phase, experts place high hopes in the project, as it would significantly decrease demining costs ... Since the end of the war, some 450 people have been killed by landmines and 1800 have been injured, according to national demining body, the Croatian Mine Action Centre ... "The biggest problem we are facing in the process of demining the country is meagre financial means," Pavkovic said. (iAfrica.com)
Guinea Bissau: Drug Trafficking Might Overshadow De-Mining Efforts, Say Organizations Jul 27, 2007
com: Guinea Bissau: International Attention On Drug Trafficking Could Help Demining Efforts (Page 1 of 1) ... Guinea Bissau: International Attention On Drug Trafficking Could Help Demining Efforts ... Demining organisations are not sure that growing attention on the drug trade in Guinea Bissau will aid their efforts, but are hopeful that the issue will raise awareness in general. (allAfrica.com)
FEATURE-Decade after Diana campaign, few use landmines Jul 16, 2007
"Landmine warfare is not over," said one British demining specialist. "They are very effective weapons. They are not as easy to get hold of as they used to be but they are very cheap to produce.". (AlertNet)
In picturesClearing the leftover munitions still claiming victims in Lebanon Jul 8, 2007
Shadi knew the risks but says he could not afford to lose his crops by waiting for a demining team. He tried clearing the land himself, but was injured in an explosion. (BBC News -- Africa)
Israeli police, soldiers stage exercise Mar 20, 2007
In addition, 27 people were killed and 167 wounded by exploding land mines or Israeli cluster bombs scattered around southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's National Demining Office. SHOP BAKERSFIELD. (Bakersfield Californian -- World)
Villagers fear expulsion Feb 14, 2007
While demining and explosive clearance has been underway for weeks, there is concern, particularly in Zhari district, that in the haste to get people back into their homes not all of unexploded munitions and leftover Taliban booby traps have been removed. Those charges could still be out there waiting for a NATO soldier to step on, said Rahim. (Edmonton Sun)
UNIFIL says Israeli-Lebanon border incident was serious Feb 8, 2007
The source added that the Lebanese army did not receive any information from UNIFIL prior to the incident that Israel was conducting a demining operation in the area. UN sources in southern Lebanon told dpa that there will be a meeting between the Lebanese-Israeli and UN security committee later Thursday to discuss the 'serious incident. (Monsters and Critics.com)
UN boosts border presence after Israeli-Lebanese clash Feb 8, 2007
Two Israeli demining vehicles accompanied by Merkava tanks were seen approaching the border near Yaroun, south of the town of Bint Jbeil, prompting the army to deploy reinforcements, the sources said. Clearing mines. (ABC News Online, Australia -- Just In)
Most Popular In Sri Lanka's eastern battlefield Jan 30, 2007
About one week after capturing Vakarai from Tamil Tiger rebels, government troops are busy in consolidating their triumph by chasing fleeing rebels, demining the field and repairing damaged infrastructure. Artillery guns, rifles, hand grenades, claymore mines and other weapons which were captured from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were displayed to the media along the A15 road in Vakarai, some 220 km northeast of the capital Colombo. (People's Daily Online, China)
US: Israel 'probably' violated cluster bomb agreement Jan 30, 2007
Two Belgian soldiers were wounded while on demining operations in Southern Lebanon, according to news reports Monday. Neither was in critical condition. (Jerusalem Post)
Angola: Country Completes Destruction of Stockpiled Landmines Jan 26, 2007
It was managed by the National Intersectoral Commission for Demining and Humanitarian Assistance for Mine Victims in cooperation with FAA and the National De-mining Institute. The destruction of all known stockpiles of landmines is an important step in ridding Angola of mines. (allAfrica.com)
Somalia: TFG Setting Up in Mogadishu Jan 18, 2007
Demining as well as clearing of roads closed by anti-human and anti-vehicle mines would also be carried out jointly by the TFG and other partners with a view to facilitating development in the country, he added. 2006 The Ethiopian Herald. (allAfrica.com)
