Analysis by Kimia Sanati

TEHRAN, Feb 11 (IPS) - The unresolved issue of dividing the Caspian Sea among its five littoral states has become a sensitive one for many Iranians who allege a concession to Russia may be in the making by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government, in return for supporting Iran’s nuclear policies.

By Bharat Dogra

NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (IPS) - Recent official irrigation statistics have revealed a curious situation in which, after spending 25 billion U.S. dollars on various irrigation projects during 1990-2004, the actual area under irrigation declined from 17.4 million hectares to 14.3 million hectares in the period.

By Nergui Manalsuren

India is poised to meet its sanitation and hygiene challenges with a 48 percent coverage in 2007, a marked improvement from merely 1 percent in 1981. 

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 (IPS) - Practical solutions to the global sanitation crisis will require greater knowledge-sharing among developing nations, and also even more support for those efforts by multilateral institutions like the World Bank and United Nations, experts say.

By Tahir Qadiry

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Feb 2 (IPS) - An unprecedented cold wave sweeping parts of Asia has been especially tragic in Afghanistan where emergency services have failed completely.