Milk, sugar, toilet paper—what could Venezuela manage to run out of next? How about drinking water. Having created a choice between oil and water, the benevolent socialist republic chose to keep the moneymen happy and the people thirsty.

Laos is starting construction on a set of dams on the Mekong, angering its neighbors and threatening to draw China and the U.S. into another southeast Asian water battleground.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is growing worse, says the World Health Organization. Last month, nearly forty new cases were reported over the course of four days.

When no values are worth fighting for, all that matters is the fight itself, and victory, no matter what the cause. It’s both a understandable and eminently dangerous sentiment that has led to much suffering in the 20th century.

When no values are worth fighting for, all that matters is the fight itself, and victory, no matter what the cause. It’s both a understandable and eminently dangerous sentiment that has led to much suffering in the 20th century.

For years the United States has relied on the Gulf Cooperation Council as a force multiplier and an oasis of stability in a volatile part of the world, but internal disagreements are now threatening the GCC’s unity.

The President’s new emissions rules are as historic as they are contentious, and it’s too early to see whether they can efficiently achieve their intended effect. What is clear, however, is that this breakthrough was made possible in spite of—not thanks to—the environmental movement, and that lasting green progress will come at the expense of the biases and ideals of those who claim they want to save the planet most.

Libya’s oil production has slowed to a trickle in recent months, and now the country’s state-owned oil firm may have to use crude earmarked for export to satisfy domestic demand. Exports may dry up entirely for the first time since the 2011 civil war.

Only 50 climate ministers bothered to show up to this week’s conference in Bonn, down from the 130 who attended last year’s event in Warsaw. The momentum behind the Global Climate Treaty is stalling.

From new fighter jets to drones, China’s air force is quickly gaining on the West.