"On Jan. 21, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraq's prime minister in Davos, Switzerland, and handed him a personal note from President Barack Obama pleading for urgent action."
"The United States is monitoring Iraq's largest dam for signs of further deterioration that could point to an impending catastrophic collapse, US army officers said on Thursday."
"More than 16 months after Iraqi and Kurdish forces reclaimed Mosul Dam from Islamic State fighters, the structure faces a new threat: the danger that it may collapse because of insufficient maintenance, overwhelming major communities downstream with floodwaters."
"Kemal Ali ran a successful well-digging business for farmers in northern Syria for 30 years. He had everything he needed for the job ... Then things changed. In the winter of 2006–2007, the water table began sinking like never before."
"Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, plans to diversify its economy to help combat climate change in a move that could reduce expected carbon emissions by up to 130 million tonnes a year by 2030, the government said on Tuesday."
"Aid flights rushed food and tents to the Yemeni island of Socotra, local officials said on Wednesday, after it was hit by a rare cyclone the United Nations said has displaced 40,000 people there and on the mainland."
"A cyclone with hurricane-force winds made landfall on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast on Tuesday, flooding the country's fifth-largest city Mukalla and sending thousands of people fleeing for shelter."
"A rare tropical cyclone packing hurricane-force winds lashed the Yemeni island of Socotra on Monday, killing three people and injuring dozens, residents and officials said, as it headed for an Al Qaeda-controlled town on the mainland."
"By the end of this century, areas of the Persian Gulf could be hit by waves of heat and humidity so severe that simply being outside for several hours could threaten human life, according to a study published Monday. Because of humanity’s contribution to climate change, the authors wrote, some population centers in the Middle East 'are likely to experience temperature levels that are intolerable to humans.'"
