Independent Morning News

  Fed by rain and snowmelt from mountains, this valley nestled among northwestern Afghanistan’s jagged peaks was once fertile SANG-E-ATASH, Afghanistan -- Fed by rain and snowmelt from mountains, this valley nestled among northwestern Afghanistan’s jagged peaks was once fertile. But the climate has changed in the last few decades, locals say, leaving the earth barren and its people struggling to survive. Many have fled, heading to neighboring Iran or living in abject poverty in camps for the displaced within Afghanistan as repeated droughts parch the land and shrivel pastures. “I remember from my childhood ... there was a lot of snow in the winters, in spring we had a lot of rain," said 53-year-old Abdul Ghani, a local community leader in the village of Sang-e-Atash, in the hard-struck province of Badghis. "But since a few years ago there has been drought, there is no snow, there is much less rain. It is not even possible to get one bowl of water from drainpipes to use,” he s...

  Iranian media say Iraq’s foreign minister has called for direct negotiations between Iran and the United States TEHRAN, Iran -- Iraq's foreign minister on Thursday called for direct negotiations between Iran and the United States, Iranian media reported, a rare appeal just days before world powers are set to resume talks over the tattered nuclear accord in Vienna. Fuad Hussein spoke at a news conference after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Tehran, stressing that heightened tension between Iran and the U.S. — Baghdad's two powerful allies — directly affects his country's stability. While Iraq remains a pillar of Washington's security policy in the region, Iranian-backed militias wield extensive power in the country. “Any opening in Tehran-Washington relations will positively impact Iraq’s internal situation from political, economic and security perspectives,” Hussein said. "We think it's time for direct talks between Tehran and Washington so that the two c...