The latest issue of the UNESCO journal, A World of Science, is focused on the human face of water politics. Researchers have found that conflict is no more likely in arid nations than in humid nations, and that water conflicts, when they do arise, are not more or less frequent in a nation based on their wealth or political structure. The report is released in anticipation of the beginning of the 2013 UN International Year of Water Cooperation.

Jakarta sits at a standstill after the heaviest monsoon rains in five years caused widespread severe flooding. Four people were killed and 20,000 evacuated, The Guardian reported, and more rain is forecast for the next few days.