JEET, WEST BANK, 27 April 2008 (IRIN) - It was difficult for 87-year-old Jamil Khader to discover that nearly all of the 1,400 olive trees his extended family planted in February had suddenly gone missing, having been uprooted and stolen.

BEIRUT, 24 April 2008 (IRIN) - When widow Salam Hassoun and her three children left their home in Beirut's southern suburbs on the third day of the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, she did not know it would be for the last time.

DUBAI, 08 April 2008 (IRIN) - Global demand for humanitarian assistance is likely to grow in the coming decade because of climate change, warned John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

BANGKOK, 07 April 2008 (IRIN) - Countries, mostly in the developing world could spend between US$6 to $18 billion a year by 2030 to manage additional costs to health services as a result of climate change, according to independent research cited by a World Health Organisation (WHO) official, hence the need for rich countries responsible for global warming to help pay towards these additional health costs.

NEW YORK, 06 April 2008 (IRIN) - With soaring food prices expected to continue for the foreseeable future, the World Bank is calling for a “new deal” of long-term measures, ranging from increased investment in African agriculture to genetically engineering fuel-producing plants.