In Dubai in June, the heavy, hot Middle Eastern sun has reached its zenith.

BBC: Cool down in a Dubai ski chalet

When he isn't picking flowers in Nimla garden, a green oasis in the dry hills of eastern Afghanistan, he works in a hot, dusty parking lot in the city of Jalalabad.

NPR: Promoting Perfume, Not Poppies, in Afghanistan

In recent weeks, he has been powerless to stop Serb commandos, claiming they are in hot pursuit of the separatists of the Kosovo Liberation Army, from entering north-eastern Albania.

ECONOMIST: Why Albania feels lonely