BAGHDAD, 23 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Red meat prices have doubled in Iraq as demand has increased, following a ban on imported chickens announced after the death of two Iraqis from the H5N1 avian virus. Full report

BEIRUT, 21 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Beirut’s impressive downtown district reflects much of the wealth and development that Lebanon has enjoyed since the end of the civil war in 1990. But a few minutes' drive to the capital’s southern and northern fringes reveals a vastly different reality, featuring extreme poverty and underdevelopment.Full report

DUBAI, 19 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: EGYPT: Ship disaster compensation inadequate, say...Full report

AMMAN, 15 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Jordanians in 40 out of 101 of the country’s municipalities live below the poverty line despite an overall decline in national poverty levels over the past few years, according to a senior government official. Twenty of these municipalities, meanwhile, are considered extremely poor.Full report

DUBAI, 9 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: EGYPT: Migrant workers face abuse EGYPT: Activists condemn...Full report

AMMAN, 6 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Some 7,000 underprivileged families from Zarqa, one of Jordan’s poorest governorates, located 15 km east from Amman, will now be able to own homes following the recent launch of a major government housing project. Full report

DUBAI, 2 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - CONTENT: EGYPT: Poultry reparations insufficient, say rights groups IRAQ: Urgent action needed to head off civil war, says ICG IRAQ: Government defends use of curfew despite disruptions Full report

BAGHDAD, 19 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Attacks on oil pipelines cost the Iraqi economy an estimated US $6 billion in 2005, severely restricting the funding available for post-war reconstruction, according to the Ministry of Oil. Full report

CAIRO, 13 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The rich-poor divide in Egypt remains significant, especially in rural areas, according to the UN and government ministries.Full report

BAGHDAD, 30 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - In response to a study released last week revealing an increase in poverty levels by 30 percent since the US-led invasion in April 2003, the government said it was developing plans to combat the problem.Full report

EGYPT: Year in Brief 2005 - Chronology of democratic events

EGYPT: Year in Review 2005 - Overview of democratic developments

LEBANON: Beirut’s glittering downtown belies poverty in suburbs

SYRIA: People queue for fuel as subsidies cuts are announced

LEBANON: Poor people in the north continue to suffer without a masterplan

EGYPT: Local focus pays off for NGO helping slum women to earn cash

SYRIA: Educated expatriates resist the call to come home

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