Agence France-Presse: Some 160 villages in northern Syria were deserted of their residents in 2007 and 2008 because of climate change, according to a study released on Tuesday. The report drawn up by the International Institute for Sustainable Development warns of potential armed conflict for control of water resources in the Middle East. “The 2007/8 drought caused significant hardship in rural areas of Syria. In the northeast of the country, a reported 160 villages have been entirely abandoned and …