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UNITED NATIONS

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink! This could very soon turn into a global reality according to the UN. Some 80 countries and 40 per cent of the world's population are already in the throes of a 'water stress'. Said Wally N'Dow, secretary general of the forthcoming Istanbul conference to be held in June, that "If massive improvement does not happen in providing water, managing it and saving it, we are going to have a monumental crisis." In fact, the June conference is aimed at directing the world's attention to the crucial water crisis. Dow adds that in the next So years, water will sweep aside oil to become the cause of great conflicts between nations and peoples.

After five years of international sanctions, Iraq is wallowing in a devastated health care system. Sanctions have set back health care in Iraq by So years, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement released on March 25. Since the 1991 Gulf war, Iraqis have been forced to subsist on a semi-starvation diet. Further, diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera have risen to epidemic levels. The WHO is calling for a reconsideration of the financial and trade embargo against Iraq.

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