TAFTAN, 21 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - In the small, dusty town of Taftan, located in the extreme southwest of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, along the Iranian border, Muhammad Fayyaz, 24, is a long way from home. Full report

ANKARA, 2 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that based on last year’s returns it is budgeting to assist an estimated 150,000 Afghan refugees to voluntarily return to their homeland this year from Iran, host to one of the largest refugee populations in the world. UNHCR Iran adds that should the number of voluntary returns increase, it will adjust its programmes accordingly. Full report

TEHRAN, 15 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The killer strain of avian influenza known as bird flu has been detected in dead wild birds in northwestern Iran, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Full report

ANKARA, 1 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Hundreds of bus drivers in Iran have been arrested without charge or access to counsel, the international rights NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. Full report

KABUL, 26 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - The European Union (EU) has allocated €20 million (US $24 million) in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and areas of neighbouring Pakistan and Iran to boost refugees' conditions.Full report

TEHRAN, 13 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - During 2005, Iran was on a rollercoaster ride of earthquakes, disasters, major political reshuffles and high-profile human rights cases. And all of this overshadowed by an escalating nuclear crisis and a new Islamic fundamentalist president.Full report

TEHRAN, 12 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - 12 January - Hundreds of Afghans have been arrested by Iranian police in a crackdown against illegal migrants, according to press reports. The Iranian daily, Iran Emrooz, said on Sunday that legal Afghan refugees have also been arrested and that the arrests have been taking place in the eastern cities of Zahedan, Zabol, Mashad and Kerman over the last two weeks. The newspaper said those arrested were held in a detention centre for up to four days and that some claim to have been beaten, although the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that so far, they could not confirm these reports.Full report

KABUL, 3 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - Last year saw a significant number of returns to post-conflict Afghanistan, with more than half a million Afghans repatriated, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday in the capital, Kabul. Full report

ANKARA, 26 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - Reconstruction efforts in Iran's southeastern city of Bam were continuing on Monday, following the successful construction of thousands of permanent shelters for survivors of the devastating earthquake that levelled the city exactly two years ago.Full report

BAGHDAD, 18 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The Iraqi government signed a memorandum of understanding with Tehran last week aimed at eliminating landmines planted in the country during its war with Iran in the 1980s.Full report

IRAN: Year in Review 2005

IRAN: Year in_Brief 2005 - Chronology of key events

IRAN-PAKISTAN: Focus on human smuggling

IRAN: Interview with Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari

IRAN: Focus on relief in aftermath of Kerman quake

IRAN: Focus on child labour

AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: Interview with Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

IRAQ: Briefing paper on food security

IRAQ: Briefing paper on power

IRAQ: Briefing paper on water and sanitation

IRAQ: Briefing paper on Education

IRAQ: Briefing paper on health