Amnesty International on Wednesday said Sri Lanka was unable to provide for the basic needs of 300,000 people trapped inside rebel-held areas and accused Tiger guerrillas of using them as human shields.

The London-based rights watchdog said two thirds of people living in the rebel-controlled northern area of Wanni have been driven out of their homes in the ongoing wave of fighting.

Rights group Amnesty International appealed Wednesday to Sri Lankan authorities to allow aid to reach more than 300,000 displaced people in the violence-hit northern Wanni region.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin is making a two-day visit to Georgia to assess the humanitarian and security situation after the brief war with Russia in August, his office said Wednesday.

Martin, who was to leave for Tbilisi Wednesday evening, will have talks with the country`s political leaders and visit a camp for people displaced by the war outside the capital.

The United Nations on Wednesday launched its largest ever aid appeal, saying it will need seven billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) to help 30 million people in 31 countries during 2009.

Oil-rich Angola is in line for a one-billion-dollar credit from a World Bank organ that aims to reduce poverty and create jobs, a bank official said Wednesday.

Senior World Bank economist Ricardo Gazel told AFP that Angola was applying to join the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which serves middle-income and credit-worthy poor countries.

The United Nations on Wednesday launched its largest ever aid appeal, saying it will need sevn billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) to help 30 million people in 31 countries during 2009.

Fiat chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo called on Wednesday on EU governments to support their auto industries to ensure they remain competitive with US automakers.

`If the US government becomes GM`s (General Motors`) principal stockholder, Europe cannot stand idly by,` Montezemolo said in an interview published by the daily La Repubblica.

Fiat chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo called on Wednesday on EU governments to support their auto industries to ensure they remain competitive with US automakers.

`If the US government becomes GM`s (General Motors`) principal stockholder, Europe cannot stand idly by,` Montezemolo said in an interview published by the daily La Repubblica.

The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday it is financing a 29 million dollars road project in Kabul as part of its 250 million dollars aid programme for Afghanistan.

ZURICH, Switzerland, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - A Swiss church charity donated 200,000 Swiss francs (121,000 euros) Saturday to help victims of the Bangladesh cyclone.

The aid will pay for the transportation of food parcels, drinking water, medical and hygiene supplies to those stricken by the cyclone, which had claimed 932 lives according to the latest death toll issued on Saturday.

The donation comes from the EPER -- the aid agency of the Swiss Protestant Churches.