Coming up in this edition: controversy in the Philippines over efforts to rehouse victims of typhoon Haiyan; athletes worldwide take to the web in the run up to the Winter Olympics; and Stormtroopers in a pretty polished dance routine.
PHILIPPINES: TYPHOON HAIYAN VICTIMS COMPLAIN ABOUT SHELTERS
It’s now been over two months since the deadly super typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, and the city of Tacloban is barely beginning to recover. The natural disaster left millions of people homeless and they have yet to find permanent accommodation.
And whilst they wait for new housing to be constructed, something which could take at least two years, victims have been living in temporary shelters built by the government. Shelters that have sparked controversy. They were originally divided up into nine square meter bedrooms but were deemed too small to accommodate an entire family of five, on average, so the authorities have been forced to rethink plans and double the surface area.
Some of these wooden bunkhouses are still empty, and are widely considered to be substandard. These photos that have been doing the rounds on Facebook show a recently constructed temporary shelter that has already been ruined by rain.
Something which has prompted local media to investigate the funding of these emergency shelters. Certain politicians have been accused of inflating the construction costs and taking kickbacks on reconstructions projects.
Victims of the typhoon are naturally concerned by these allegations of government corruption. One group of people living in the Tacloban region has started a petition on Change.org urging international donors to convince Manila to show greater transparency over how the rehabilitation funds are being used.
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