Baghdad / AP Backed by paramilitary forces and aerial support, Iraqi troops on Tuesday launched a new push to retake a key area north of the capital, Baghdad, and dislodge IS militants from there, officials said. According to a statement by the Joint Operations Command, the “new offensive” began at dawn in a swath agricultural area northeast of the city …

Narobi / AFP Vietnam is suffering its worst drought in nearly a century with salinisation hitting farmers especially hard in the crucial southern Mekong delta, experts said Monday. “The water level of the Mekong River has gone down to its lowest level since 1926, leading to the worst drought and salinisation there,” Nguyen Van Tinh, deputy head of the hydraulics …

Calais / AFP French authorities razed parts of the “Jungle” migrant camp for a second day on Tuesday while thousands of refugees were blocked in Greece as Europe strained to contain the flood of desperate people at its borders. Tensions were high in the northern French port city of Calais as workers continued dismantling the southern half of the notorious …