Newsmakers

GENEVA: US actress Anglina Jolie, recently appointed goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is donating one million dollars to ease the suffering of Afghan refugees, the UNHCR said on Thursday.

The contribution of the Academy Award-winning actress was the first private donation since the UNHCR launched an appeal on Wednesday for donors to provide $252 million to deal with the growing Afghan refugee crisis.

UNHCR head Ruud Lubbers praised Jolie's sense of humanitarian responsibility which she exhibited "despite the trauma of recent events in her country."

As fear of US military reprisal for the September 11 terrorist attacks grows, Afghans have been fleeing their country in record numbers, with as many as 1.5 million Afghans expected to seek entry into neighbouring Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Jolie visited Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan in August. At a press conference after the visit, she said, "Pakistan is the worst situation ... and it seems to be worsening. They're living in situations that I don't think anybody in this room could survive in for a few days."

Launching one of the biggest emergency appeals in its history, UNHCR said it needed to raise money to deploy more staff and supplies to the region.