The World Bank has released a report which shows the negative effects of limited and erratic water availability and what can be done to address the issue in a sustainable way, writes Laura Tuck

Armed forces storm into heart of militant stronghold city of Ramadi

Hollywood blockbuster tackles a story that always intrigues, writes Dan Buckley.

Wars of the future are likely to be fought over water as climate change, the needs of growing populations, and the greed of politicians collide, writes Dan Buckley

A heavy sandstorm has blanketed Iraq’s capital, closing Baghdad airport and sending dozens of people to the hospital with respiratory problems.

Damien Enright on a rural paradise outside London

US TROOPS killed 11 members of a Mahdi army splinter group yesterday, US officials said. The military also announced that it had detained two more suspects in the capture of three US soldiers earlier this year.

Insurgents attacked several US bases and government offices with mortars and rockets today before dispersing in Ramadi, the capital of western Iraq’s Anbar province.

US and Iraqi forces swept through most of an insurgent stronghold near the Syrian border today, encountering pockets of fierce resistance, destroying five unexploded car bombs and killing at least 30 guerrilla fighters, the US command reported.

US and Iraqi troops battled insurgents house-to-house yesterday, the third day of an assault against al-Qaida-led militants in a town near the Syrian border as the US command reported the first American death in the operation.

BOMB blasts killed six US Marines in western Iraq yesterday and US forces killed 29 militants in offensives aimed at uprooting al-Qaida insurgents ahead of the country’s vote on a new constitution.

A leading Sunni cleric called for religious and ethnic groups to take a stand against violence as Iraq endured a third consecutive day of sectarian killings - the worst, a suicide car bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed at least 12 worshippers.

A suicide car bomber struck worshippers leaving a Shiite mosque in Tuz Khormato in northern Iraq today, killing at least 10 people and wounding 21 others.

YESTERDAY’s events came as a statement posted on an Islamic website in the name of an al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s failed attacks.

A statement posted today on an Islamic website in the name of an al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for latest blasts targeting London’s transport system.

AN al-Qaida-linked group that claimed responsibility for the London bombings threatened yesterday to launch “a bloody war” on the capitals of European countries that do not remove their troops from Iraq within a month.

An al-Qaida-linked group that claimed responsibility for the London bombings threatened today to launch “a bloody war” on the capitals of European countries that do not remove their troops from Iraq within a month.

WHEN George W Bush and Tony Blair ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, they promised to bring peace and stability to the country.

A SUICIDE car bomber ploughed into policemen waiting to collect their salary at a police station west of Ramadi yesterday, killing 12 people in the latest insurgent attack on Iraq’s beleaguered security forces.

US army and marine units roared into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah through a breach near the railroad station at dawn today, facing lighter-than-expected resistance as they began house-to-house searches in the second day of their drive to retake the city from Islamic militants.

The skies over Fallujah lit up from the flashes of air and artillery barrages as US troops launched an offensive to seize key insurgent strongholds in a city that became the major sanctuary for Islamic extremists who fought Marines to a standstill last April.

THOUSANDS of American troops, backed by armour and a heavy air barrage, punched their way into Fallujah last night, kicking off a massive assault dubbed Operation Phantom Fury that seeks to put an end to six months of insurgent control of the Iraqi city.

Backed by a barrage from warplanes and artillery, US and Iraqi troops fought their way into the western outskirts of Fallujah today, seizing a hospital and two bridges over the Euphrates River.

Ten Iraqis were killed and 11 others injured during last night's of fighting in Fallujah, according to doctors.

GUNMEN fired on a minibus yesterday, killing two Iraqi women who worked for the US-led coalition, and assailants in a southern city killed a coalition translator and critically injured another, police and witnesses said.

IRAQ’S US-picked leaders approved a new flag for the country, making a dramatic change that drops the Saddam Hussein-era slogan God is great, changes the colours and introduces symbols of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Iraq’s US-picked leaders approved a new flag for the country, making a dramatic change that drops the Saddam Hussein-era slogan God is great, changes the colours and introduces symbols of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Jubilant Iraqis yanked the bodies of four American contractors from their burning jeeps yesterday, dragged the charred corpses through the streets, and hung two of them from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River.

Jubilant Iraqis yanked the bodies of four foreign contractors – at least one an American – out of their burning cars today, dragged the charred corpses through the streets, and hung two of them from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River.

A VOICE purported to be Osama bin Laden has vowed suicide attacks “inside and outside” the United States and threatened nations that are helping the US occupation of Iraq.

A voice purported to be Osama bin Laden saluted resistance groups fighting the US occupation in Iraq and warned Iraqis not to work with the Americans, in a new audiotape broadcast by Al-Jazeera.

AN American soldier was killed and three wounded yesterday in separate roadside bombings which prompted a fierce eight-hour firefight where US attack aircraft, tanks and helicopters battled Iraqi resistance fighters.

Baghdad

US military officials investigated nearly 1,500 unmarked graves near the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, and a half-brother of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured in a US commando raid in Baghdad.

A massive convoy of US Marines swept down the main road to Baghdad today amid reports that Iraq’s Republican Guard was moving reinforcements south for a showdown.

American troops were today searching for more US prisoners of war in Iraq after the daring rescue of a 19-year-old army supply clerk held for nine days in central city of Nasiriyah.

Allied soldiers inched towards Baghdad today, capturing or killing paramilitary and Republican Guard defenders while new waves of US bombs set off blazes in the Iraqi capital.

Trading fire with Iraqis hidden behind brick walls and hedges, US troops spearheading the drive on Baghdad battled their way into Hindiyah today, capturing dozens of members of Saddam Hussein’s elite Republican Guard.

American troops fighting in central Iraq today captured several enemy fighters who said they were members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard.