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The approach of winter in Bangladesh has intensified the race against time to provide blankets, food and shelter to thousands of people left destitute by Cyclone Sidr, says a leading Bangladeshi aid worker.

The general secretary of the United Nations has joined leading religious and secular aid agencies in calling for an upsurge in giving by governments and private donors to the victims of the 8 October Kashmiri earthquake, which has killed around 80,000 people and displaced millions more.

The international Action of Churches Together (ACT) alliance of relief and development organisations is continuing to respond to the growing famine in Niger - while in the UK a collective Disasters Emergency Committee appeal has been launched

There has been conflicting reaction among development campaigners to the final communique from the G8 summit, issued on Friday.

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Christian aid agencies have expressed concern at the news that Britain's overseas aid programmes in many Latin American, East European and central Asian countries are likely to be slashed back to pay for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Tony Blair's speech in the House of Commons, widely seen as an attempt to seize the moral high ground over military action in Iraq has triggered several critical responses from religious groups and charities, reports The Times.