An epic Middle East heat wave could be global warming’s hellish curtain-raiser – The Washington Post

Record temperatures scorch countries from Morocco to Iraq, causing major disruptions. BAGHDAD — Record-shattering temperatures this summer have scorched countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as climate experts warn that the severe weather could be a harbinger of worse to come. In coming decades, U.N. officials and climate …

Infertile Crescent | The Economist

More than war, climate change is making the region hard to live in “UNTIL the 1970s Basra’s climate was like southern Europe’s,” recalls Shukri al-Hassan, an ecology professor in the Iraqi port city. Basra, he remembers, had so many canals that Iraqis dubbed it the Venice of the Middle East. …

Miles to go | The Economist

The new government unveils promising but vague economic plans, as the armed forces loom in the background IN AN open-plan office in a nondescript building in central Yangon, women sort through piles of brown folders. Three men try, with little success, to fix a photocopier; others organise piles of kyat, …

UPI Almanac for Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016

On Aug. 11, 1984, in an off-air radio voice check, President Ronald Reagan joked, “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes.” Today is Thursday, Aug. 11, the 224th day of 2016 with 142 …