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Hard Numbers: Syria's Displaced Population Swells

1.2 million: Surging jihadist terrorism in Burkina Faso has pushed the country to the brink of humanitarian crisis, as attacks displace people from their homes and destroy critical infrastructure and hospitals. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1.2 million Burkinabeare threatened with famine and malnutrition, and access to healthcare has dwindled. Experts say the violence is a spillover from the scourge of jihadism in neighboring Mali.

43: Russian investigators on Thursday raided the offices of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the homes of some of his supporters in 43 cities across Russia. Navalny's allies say the move is a response to their success in documenting vote rigging in last weekend's country-wide regional and municipal elections.

13 million: Ongoing violence in Syria, now in its ninth year, has displaced 13 million Syrians, according to a new report by a UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria. That's more than the entire population of Belgium.

69: This week, India and Nepal unveiled South Asia's first cross-border oil pipeline, allowing Kathmandu to import crude more easily from its southern neighbor. The two countries have had their differences over ethnic tensions in southern Nepal, but New Delhi is shoring up ties in part because of concerns over China's bid to expand influence in the Himalayas.

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Iran war threatens water access in Middle East
Natalie Johnson, Eileen Zhang

As missiles fly and oil prices soar, the Iran war is exposing another major resource vulnerability in the Middle East: water. Fresh water has been a scarce commodity in a region defined by a dry climate and low rainfall, but attacks on the region’s desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, threaten to open a new front.