By Thalif Deen

STOCKHOLM, Aug 14 (IPS) - The world is on the verge of "a new and more serious era of water scarcity" than ever before, is the ominous warning coming out of an international water conference here.

By Riccardo Petrella (*)

LOVAINA, August 2007 (IPS) - It is well known that even in countries where mineral water is public property, it is private companies that are making major and easy profits from selling it. The 'business' of bottled mineral water has become one of the most lucrative and fast-growing sectors around the world, dominated until recently by Nestle and Danone, now closely trailed by two other grande dames of water, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola.

By Richel Langit-Dursin

JAKARTA, Aug 10 (IPS) - On weekends, groups of children and their parents crowd around South Jakarta’s Halimun Pier to go for a joy ride on one of two water taxis, recently introduced by the administration.

By Anil Netto

PENANG, Aug 10 (IPS) - When religious leaders from different faiths sought to jointly affirm the sacredness of water as the source of life but were shooed away by authorities, it was seen as a move to scuttle interfaith harmony as well as support plans to privatise a common resource.

By Irfan Ahmed Chaudhury

ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (IPS) — Faced with acute water shortages, the Pakistan government has launched a 1.3 billion U.S. dollar subsidised drip irrigation programme that could help reduce wastage over the next five years.

By Stephen Leahy

VIENNA, Jul 27 (IPS/IFEJ) - The second smallest nation on Earth hopes to turn itself into an example of sustainable development that others can emulate.

But the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu and its 10,500 people may only have 50 years or less to set that example before it is swept away by rising sea levels due to climate change.

By Zofeen Ebrahim

DADU, Sindh, Jul 24 (IPS) — ''Our stuff is already packed and we’re ready to evacuate," said Allah Rakha, 50, at a mobile medical camp set up on the Main Nara Valley (MNV) embankment which is, miraculously, still standing up to rainy weather and pressure from flood waters.

By Richel Langit-Dursin

JAKARTA, Jul 12 (IPS) - Used plastic bottles and sun rays are all that the impoverished residents of Bintaro, South Jakarta, need for their families to have clean potable water.

By Ali al-Fadhily*

BAGHDAD, Jul 9 (IPS) - Two of the largest rivers of the region run through Iraq, so why are Iraqis desperate for lack of water?

By Soma Basu

TAMIL NADU, India, Jun 22 (IPS/IFEJ) - Small waves gently lap at the 15 by 15 feet white platform here, which used to be the venue for happy occasions ranging from pleasant evening sit-outs, marriage functions and Independence Day celebrations for the 2,000 residents of this coastal village in India.