Newsline 18 November 2009: Aid agency Oxfam paints a bleak picture of war-torn Afghanistan;  homelessness in the US is on the rise, and the Dutch government proposes ministry cutbacks to beat the recession.

Listen to today’s edition:

Afghanistan in crisis after 30 years of conflict:
A day before Hamid Karzai is sworn in as president of Afghanistan for a second term, aid agency Oxfam has released a report that gives voice to the very serious problems faced by the country's people after 30 years of intermittent conflict.

Listen to Oxfam’s Ashley Jackson

Homelessness on the rise in the US:
UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik has travelled through the US to collect information on homeless Americans - a figure estimated to be between 2.3 and 3.5 million. She tells RNW why the situation is so critical.

Dutch foreign ministry to cut embassies abroad:
Due to the recession the Dutch government is having to make cutbacks like everybody else - and that includes savings in the foreign affairs ministry. Next year, four hundred jobs will be cut from the ministry both in The Hague and abroad.

Listen to RNW’s political editor John Tyler