Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up -

Welcome to the Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the major (and sometimes small, but interesting) international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of nice little bite-sized links for you…

PHILIPPINES: Local Red Cross chairperson was able to meet face-to-face with the three kidnapped ICRC workers.

SRI LANKA: Approximately a quarter million people in northern Sri Lanka are caught in the midst of intensified fighting. The ICRC is urgently appealing to both sides of the conflict to allow and facilitate the safe and voluntary movement of civilians out of the combat zone.

Elsewhere in Sri Lanka, thousands of people are still rebuilding their lives after the devastating 2004 tsunami.

GAZA: Hospitals are still treating victims of the recent conflict. The ICRC is assisting with medical supplies, building materials and finding missing persons.

COLUMBIA: The ICRC confirms that Brazil is ready to provide logistics support to facilitate the release of Sigifredo López, Alan Jara and four members of the Colombian police currently being held by the FARC.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The ICRC is calling on all parties of the conflict in North Kivu to respect civilians and people wounded or captured during the fighting.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Talk about cold! This month temperatures reached 25 degrees below zero in some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With nearly half the population unemployed or impoverished, many people lack the resources to heat their homes. The IFRC is distributing firewood, stoves, blankets and food parcels.