Detention camps in Sri Lanka lack basic facilities and may be a 'collective punishment' that is exacerbating a humanitarian disaster, say Amnesty International and the United Nations.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the North American development and peace agency, is working with local partners to provide a 10-day supply of food for 5,050 families caught up in the post-flood crisis in Bangladesh.

The UK-based international development agency Christian Aid is launching an appeal to help more than 20 million people in India and Bangladesh who have been affected by the worst flooding there in living memory.

Fairtrade Fortnight which began yesterday (Monday) has been given a boost with the announcement of record fairtrade sales figures - but organisers are warning that change is not happening quickly enough for some of the world's poorest people.