1.  The dire state of child health in the country was underscored in a report by UNICEF.

2.  The Soviet move focused attention on the dire state of the Cambodian economy.

3.  Bookstore racks are littered with titles from scholarly Cassandras wringing their hands over the dire state of schools.

4.  But consumers are rightly worried about the dire state of the economy and the safety of their jobs.

5.  Human rights in Tibet remain in a dire state.

6.  Its incredible worldwide success only goes to illustrate the dire state of pop music in the new millennium.

7.  Ansett was placed into voluntary administration two weeks ago and then grounded a few days later when the dire state of its books was revealed.

8.  But surely they are not in such a dire state that they are being forced to share their last bowl of rice with the refugees.

9.  Carrying banners and flags, the students screamed anti-Soeharto slogans and blamed the former president and his corrupt government for the dire state of the nation.

10.  His work in different clinics has left Kasongo well placed to assess the dire state of Zairean medical care.