CAIRO, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Egypt, the country hit hardest by avian flu in the Middle East, is working on preventative measures to stop a potential human influenza pandemic. The government, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have put together a plan to boost rapid containment procedures.

NEW YORK, 13 November 2008 (IRIN) - Humanitarian organisations face tough choices if the global financial crisis affects their income, as some analysts predict. Although it is too soon to predict the full impact of the crisis on funding, some agencies told IRIN they were reviewing possible cutbacks and some have started tightening their belts.

BUJUMBURA, 13 November 2008 (IRIN) - Poverty, selfish political interests and inadequate economic development are the underlying causes of the political crisis gripping Burundi, according to political analysts.

KILIFI, 12 November 2008 (IRIN) - Under normal circumstances, 14-year-old Paul Katana would be in school, but not today. Katana is instead flagging down vehicles along the Mombasa-Malindi highway, hoping to sell sacks of charcoal he is hawking.

KARACHI, 03 November 2008 (IRIN) - Eighteen-year-old Razia Bibi was very pale and virtually blind after enduring the physical and emotional pain of an 18-hour-long obstructed labour leading to the birth of a stillborn baby.