BEIRUT, 18 July 2007 (IRIN) - It is illegal for children under the age of 14 to work in Lebanon, as it is for unsupervised children to beg or sell on the streets. Yet the Ministry of Social Affairs estimates that there are around 100,000 under-14s doing manual labour in the country, while some 20,000 Lebanese children live in alternative care because their families are too poor to support them. See slideshow

BAGHDAD, 18 July 2007 (IRIN) - Iraq's continuing violence, however, especially with threats against men, has forced some women to take on more family responsibilities - a phenomenon called "gender role swap" by some specialists.

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BEERSHEBA/NEGEV DESERT, 17 July 2007 (IRIN) - The Bedouin in Israel's southern Negev desert have historically been averse to central government, and for hundreds of years tried to maintain a lifestyle of self-governance based on tribal traditions. However, in the 60 years since Israel's foundation, they have undergone a rapid urbanisation process directed by the state, and their lifestyle has changed dramatically - some say for the worse.

BAGHDAD, 16 July 2007 (IRIN) - The UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) said in its update last week on the plight of Iraqi children that the number of war orphans was rising because of the high civilian death toll. UNICEF is increasingly concerned that the number of vulnerable children in Iraq has outstripped the country’s capacity to care for them.

BAGHDAD, 09 July 2007 (IRIN) - According to an Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) report, 142,260 families - about 1,037,615 individuals - have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) since 22 February 2006, when a revered Shia shrine in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, was bombed by what many believe was a Sunni extremist group.

DAMASCUS, 05 July 2007 (IRIN) - Drought and floods have hit Syria’s farmers hard this year, leaving the harvest in disarray and threatening up to a fifth of annual production in an agriculture sector that accounts for a quarter of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to government figures.

BAGHDAD, 04 July 2007 (IRIN) - As a result of escalating sectarian violence in Iraq since February 2006, a new phenomenon has emerged: Sunni and Shia families are swapping houses. Estate agents are providing lists of available properties, facilitating swap arrangements.

BEIRUT, 04 July 2007 (IRIN) - The demining agency tasked with neutralising unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the six-week conflict between militants and the Lebanese army in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp has said the removal of immediate UXO threats will take at least a month.