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Smog chokes Baghdad as oil-fired factories belch out smoke

Iraqi grocery store owner Abu Amjad al-Zubaidi is grappling with asthma, a condition his doctor blames on emissions from a nearby power plant that fills his Baghdad neighbourhood with noxious smoke.In winter, a thick smog frequently envelops the city of nine million people as the fumes belched out by its many oil-fired factories are trapped by a layer of cold air.The stench of sulphur permeates some districts, where brick and asphalt factories run on heavy fuel oil, taking advantage of generous state subsidies in the world’s sixth biggest oil producer.In a bid to tackle the worsening air quality, authorities recently shut down dozens of oil-fired factories and instructed others to phase out their use of heavy fuel oil.”Every time I went to the doctor he told me to stop smoking. But I don’t smoke,” Zubaidi told AFP.When his doctor finally realised that Zubaidi lived just metres from the Dora power plant in south Baghdad, he told him its emissions were the likely cause of his asthma.Power plants and refineries spew thick grey smoke over several areas of Baghdad.”We can’t go up to our roofs because of the fumes,” Zubaidi said.”We appealed to the prime minister, the government and parliament. Lawmakers have come to see us but to no avail,” the 53-year-old complained. He is not the only victim of air pollution. Many of his neighbours suffer from chronic asthma or allergies, he said.Waste incineration and the proliferation of private generators in the face of patchy mains supply also contribute significantly to Baghdad’s air pollution.- Sixth most polluted -In 2023, the air monitoring site IQAir ranked Iraq as the sixth most polluted country in terms of air quality.Levels of the cancer-causing PM2.5 pollutants, microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, are seven to 10 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values. IQAir warned that exposure to PM2.5 “leads to and exacerbates numerous health conditions, including but not limited to asthma, cancer, stroke and lung disease”.It found that air pollution levels in Baghdad were “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.According to the US embassy, air quality in the capital frequently enters the red zone, leading to “health effects”, particularly for vulnerable groups.In October, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a committee to investigate the causes of the “odorous sulphur emissions” so that they can be stopped.Environment ministry spokesperson Amir Ali attributed the pollution to “industrial activities near the capital” — particularly the brickworks and asphalt plants in the Nahrawan industrial zone in southeast Baghdad.There lie “the largest number of factories responsible for the emissions”, he said.Ali also blamed private generators and refineries, including in Dora.The pollution was exacerbated by “weather conditions, shifts in temperature, the direction of the wind, and increased humidity”, his ministry said.- Green belt –In December, authorities announced the closure of 111 brickworks “due to emissions” that breach environmental standards, along with 57 asphalt plants in the Nahrawan industrial zone.The industry ministry has also instructed brickworks to phase out their use of heavy fuel oil within 18 months and replace it with liquefied natural gas.The government has banned waste incineration inside and outside landfills and has said it will improve “fuel quality at Dora refinery and address gas emissions and wastewater discharges”.Iraq is one of the world’s largest oil producers, and sales of crude oil account for 90 percent of state revenues, so its transition to renewable fuels remains a distant goal.Environmental activist Husam Sobhi urged authorities to keep up their efforts to phase out heavy fuel oil.”It is difficult for a country like Iraq to let go of oil but we can use better quality oil than heavy fuel oil,” Sobhi said.He also called on planning authorities to put a stop to the city’s sprawl into the surrounding countryside.”Baghdad is in dire need of a green belt which would serve as a lung for the city to breathe,” he said.

Gaza hostage families conflicted over those not on release list

The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are trapped in limbo, two days before the second prisoner exchange of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, with many having relatives both on the list to be freed and those who aren’t. Among them is Silvia Cunio, an Argentine-Israeli from the Nir Oz kibbutz community. She has two sons in captivity, one of whom was taken along with his partner Arbel Yehud.She is on the list — but the Cunio brothers, David and Ariel, are not. They are among the 91 hostages taken captive during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and still held in the Gaza Strip. Of that number, 34 are dead according to the Israeli military. The ceasefire’s 42-day first phase began on Sunday with the release of three women hostages. A total of 33 captives are to be exchanged during the initial phase in return for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.Standing in front of the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Cunio demanded that the ceasefire deal continue beyond the first phase to completion so she could see her sons again.  “I came here to say that I continue to fight for my children… to demand that they stop the war and don’t stop fighting for my children”, she said, wearing a T-shirt with their image on it. Cunio presented herself as an untrammelled optimist, saying that her sons “will come back in good health. That is my hope and it is what keeps me going”.Whenever she appears on TV, Cunio addresses her sons directly, just in case they might hear her. – ‘Waiting for you’ -“David, my darling, Ariel… I am here, I am fighting, I am doing everything I can. We love you. Be strong. We are here waiting for you.”Another hostage relative, Sharon Sharabi, has two brothers Eli and Yossi in Gaza. Eli is presumed alive. The Israeli military said early last year that Yossi was dead.As a man over 50, Eli Sharabi is on the list of 33 to be freed, alongside women, children and hostages who are ill or injured. The release of the remaining 61 people taken by Palestinian militants is dependent on further negotiations.”As far as we know, Eli is alive. We have not received any statement from the security forces or the (military) confirming that Eli is no longer alive. So we want to maintain this optimism and pray that we will see him on his feet very soon,” said Sharabi.Moved by the possibility, he allowed himself to imagine a reunion between his nearly octogenarian mother and his brother.Yet, within moments, anxiety intruded. If his brother Eli returns, Sharon Sharabi will have to tell him that his wife and two daughters were killed on October 7, 2023, and that their brother Yossi died in captivity. Yossi and Eli were taken captive from Beeri, a kibbutz community where Eli’s wife and teenage daughters were found dead in their home.- ‘They cut me in half’ -Itzik Horn, 72, also an Argentine-Israeli, has similar contrasting emotions. He hopes for the release of his son Yair, 46, who is on the list of 33 because of his diabetes.But there is also the pain of his other son, Eitan, 38, remaining in Gaza.”They cut me in half. This is an impossible situation. One son might be released, and the other one isn’t,” Horn said. Eitan was visiting his older brother in Nir Oz on October 7, when militants took the two of them hostage. The kibbutz, less than three kilometres (two miles) from the Gaza border, was hit extremely hard during the Hamas attack. More than 30 people were killed in Nir Oz and 70 taken hostage, with 25 still in the Gaza Strip. Horn was angry, insisting that “everyone has to return, including the bodies”.He admitted that dark humour helped him cope with the pain. “Yair inherited his diabetes from me and he was always mad at me (for it). Now, if he’s freed first because of his illness, he’ll be able to thank me,” he joked. Asked what he would do if, after the first phase of the ceasefire the war resumed, Horn said: “I’m going to burn the country down… because that’s like signing their death sentence.”

Saudi FM says confident of reform under new Lebanon leaders

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, on his country’s first high-level visit to Beirut after years of strained ties, said Thursday that he believed crisis-hit Lebanon’s new leaders could spearhead long-sought reforms.Reeling from years of economic collapse and a destructive Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese leaders have pinned hopes on wealthy Gulf states for desperately needed reconstruction funds.The international community has long demanded Lebanon enact reforms to unlock billions of dollars to boost the economy after a financial crisis took hold in 2019 — widely blamed on rampant corruption and mismanagement.”We are greatly confident in the ability of… the president and the prime minister to initiate reforms necessary to bolster Lebanon’s security, stability and unity,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said after meeting President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.Lebanon’s parliament elected Aoun earlier this month, ending a more than two-year vacancy in the post caused by political deadlock. The former military chief is widely believed to have been the preferred choice of Riyadh and the United States.During the meeting, Aoun thanked Saudi Arabia “for the efforts deployed to help Lebanon, especially by bringing an end to the presidential vacuum”, an official statement said.Aoun also said the visit had “brought hope”.Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest economy, was a major investor in Lebanon, but ties between the two countries soured for roughly a decade over the growing influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.- ‘Real action’ -With Hezbollah weakened after its war with Israel and the toppling of its ally, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Prince Faisal’s visit comes with Lebanon seeking a fresh start.Aoun has named former International Court of Justice presiding judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate. Salam has been tasked with forming a government capable of boosting Lebanon’s faltering economy and rebuilding areas devastated by war.Aoun has said his first official overseas trip would be to Saudi Arabia, after de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited him to visit.In his first speech as president, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on bearing weapons, in a country where Hezbollah was the only group to keep its arsenal following the 1975-1990 civil war.Prior to his visit, Prince Faisal called Aoun’s election “extremely positive”, but said the kingdom was waiting for concrete change before engaging further with Beirut.”We will need to see real action. We will need to see real reform. We will need to see a commitment to a Lebanon that is looking to the future, not to the past, in order for us to raise our engagement,” he said.His visit aims to “inform the kingdom’s approach”, he said.In 2021, many Gulf states including Saudi Arabia had recalled diplomats from Beirut over a Lebanese minister’s criticism of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.Riyadh had also suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon in April that year, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.In 2017, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced in a televised address from Riyadh that he was stepping down, citing Iran’s “grip” on his country through Hezbollah, amid suspicions he had been placed under house arrest.He later withdrew his resignation.Adding to the tensions, in 2016 Riyadh said it had halted a $3 billion programme for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hezbollah.Prince Faisal’s visit comes ahead of a January 26 deadline to fully implement the fragile truce that ended the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Saudi crown prince promises Trump $600 bn trade, investment boost

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised on Thursday to pile $600 billion into US trade and investments as he congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House.Prince Mohammed, de facto leader of the world’s biggest oil exporter, made the pledge in a phone call following Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Saudi state media said.Trump forged close relations with Riyadh in his first term and is now expected to push Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest sites, towards normalising ties with Israel as a major foreign policy objective.”The crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.It did not give details of the source of the funds, which represent more than half of Saudi GDP, or how they are expected to be used.Prince Mohammed, 39, also passed on congratulations from his father, King Salman, during the call.The White House said it was Trump’s first phone call with a foreign leader since his return to office.”The two leaders discussed efforts to bring stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security, and combat terrorism,” a statement said. “Additionally, they discussed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the (two countries’) mutual prosperity.” Trump’s first visit as president in 2017 was to Saudi Arabia, and this week he joked that a major financial commitment could persuade him to do the same again.”I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our product,” he said.Trump quipped he would repeat the visit “if Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another 450 or 500 (billion dollars) — we’ll up it for all the inflation”.During Trump’s first term, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco broke with longstanding Arab policy to recognise Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords.The new Trump administration is expected to try to repeat the process with Saudi Arabia, following similar efforts under president Joe Biden.- Iran threats -Saudi Arabia broke off talks with US officials about ties with Israel early in the Gaza war, and has repeatedly insisted it will not recognise Israel without the existence of a Palestinian state.However, a long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza and a possible easing in regional tensions could pave the way for a resumption of dialogue.In exchange for recognising Israel, the Arab world’s richest country hopes to secure a US defence pact and Washington’s help with a civil nuclear programme.In his own call with the crown prince on Thursday, new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and “the threats posed by Iran and its proxies”, according to a statement.”They also discussed the benefits of the US-Saudi economic partnership and the opportunities to grow their economies in a variety of fields including AI,” a spokesperson for Rubio said. Trump actively courted Saudi Arabia, long an important energy and security partner for Washington, during his first term.When he arrived in Riyadh in 2017, he was treated to an elaborate welcome involving a sword dance and a fly-past of air force jets.Relations later cooled with Prince Mohammed faulting Trump for failing to respond more aggressively after a 2019 attack widely blamed on Iran halved the Gulf kingdom’s crude output.Riyadh and Trump’s team nevertheless sought to boost ties after his departure from the White House, in particular through investments and construction deals for his privately owned conglomerate the Trump Organization. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has defended receiving a Saudi investment in his private equity firm that reports put at $2 billion.