Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

ITALY: A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck north-eastern Italy on Sunday, killing at least seven people, injuring 50 and toppling several buildings. In the early hours of dawn, the Red Cross branches in Ferrara, Modena, Reggio Emilia and Bologna were mobilized with 177 volunteers and 27 vehicles. The Italian Red Cross quickly established nine shelters with a total capacity of 620 beds, which provided direct support to at least 300 affected people.

BANGLADESH: This week the Border Guards of Bangladesh, the largest security force in Bangladesh, are taking part in an ICRC training course on international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Fifty officers are attending the course, which covers the international standards governing arrest and detention, restoring family links, the management of dead bodies during disasters, as well as the use of force and of firearms.

FRANCE: At the 24th Visa pour l’image international photojournalism festival, which will be held in the French city of Perpignan in September, the ICRC will award the second Humanitarian Visa d’or photojournalism prize. The award honors the best work of photojournalism focusing on the issue of violence committed against the wounded or sick or against health-care workers and facilities.

ARMENIA: Families recently gathered in Armenia to plant trees as a reminder of relatives missing since the 1988-1994 Nagorny Karabakh conflict. The event also helped raise awareness of the problems that these families are facing. The tree-planting was organized by the Armenian Red Cross Society with support from the ICRC, which is also helping people discover what has happened to their missing relatives and deal with the legal, social and economic problems they face.
 
 
GLOSSARY:

ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

PHOTO:
Volunteers from the Italian Red Cross working to ensure families displaced by the May 20th earthquake are comfortable and safe. (Italian Red Cross)