Over 50 million affected in Muslim world in 2011

AID POLICY: A “new humanitarianism” at play in Syrian crisis

AMMAN, 30 March 2012 (IRIN) - In a trendy coffee shop in the Jordanian capital, Amman, 20- and 30-somethings smoking sheesha pipes are playing the role of international aid agencies from their laptops. full report

Analysis: Syrian Red Crescent fighting perceptions of partiality

DUBAI, 29 March 2012 (IRIN) - As it tries to improve its image and convince donors of its impartiality, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) is calling for more support in order to respond to growing humanitarian needs in Syria. full report

SYRIA: Unrest affecting entire communities

REMTHA/MAFRAQ, 27 March 2012 (IRIN) - As Ramisyah Ali El-Zaabi fled across the Syrian border - scaling a dirt wall, crawling under a fence and dropping to the ground amid gunfire - her eight-month-old daughter slept. full report

SYRIA: UN asks for help in responding to Syrian refugee crisis

REMTHA, 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - At the edge of this busy border town, a set of old, overcrowded buildings has become a transit house for Syrians fleeing to Jordan illegally. full report

SYRIA: Khalil Al Asfar, “I felt it was my duty to do something to help my Syrian brothers”

AMMAN, 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Khalil Al Asfar, from Dera’a in southern Syria, was barely 20 when he left the country in 1990 to try his chances in the USA, where he became the successful manager of a plumbing company in New York. full report

JORDAN-SYRIA: Refugees say it is becoming harder to leave

MAFRAQ, 21 March 2012 (IRIN) - A few hundred metres from the dusty, sleepy crossing that divides Jordan and Syria, Mohammad* waits on the roadside clutching a plastic bag and his blazer. full report

SYRIA: Aid workers give cautious welcome to start of humanitarian assessment

AMMAN, 19 March 2012 (IRIN) - A government-led assessment of Syrian areas affected by unrest began yesterday with a visit to the restive city of Homs, heavily devastated by nearly a month of shelling. full report

Briefing: Why humanitarians wary of “humanitarian corridors”*

AMMAN, 19 March 2012 (IRIN) - The crisis in Syria has left many at a loss as to how best to respond. Several countries have floated the idea of a humanitarian corridor. On 16 March, Turkey’s prime minister said he was considering intervening as far as 10km into Syria to create a “humanitarian buffer zone” to help refugees get out. Anne-Marie Slaughter, until recently the director of policy planning at the US State Department, has also called for a “no-kill zone” inside Syria. full report

MIDDLE EAST: Call for educational reform to create "knowledge society"

DUBAI, 15 March 2012 (IRIN) - If the Arab Spring is to have any lasting impact, education must top the priority list of post-revolutionary reforms in the Arab world, experts said yesterday at the launch of the 2010-2011 Arab Knowledge Report in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). full report