Daily Archives: September 20, 2022

It was the river that is said to have watered the biblical Garden of Eden and helped give birth to civilisation itself.

But today the Tigris is dying.

Human activity and climate change have choked its once mighty flow through Iraq, where with its twin river the Euphrates it made Mesopotamia a cradle of civilisation thousands of years ago.

Iraq may be oil-rich but the country is plagued by poverty after decades of war and by droughts and desertification.

Battered by one natural disaster after another, it is one of the five countries most exposed to climate change, according to the UN.

From April on, temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and intense sandstorms often turn the sky orange, covering the country in a film of dust.

Hellish summers see the mercury top a blistering 50 degrees Celsius near the limit of human endurance with frequent power cuts shutting down air-conditioning for millions.

The Tigris, the lifeline connecting the storied cities of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, has been choked by dams, most of them upstream in Turkey, and falling rainfall.

An AFP video journalist travelled along the rivers 1,500-kilometre (900-mile) course through Iraq, from the rugged Kurdish north to the Gulf in the south, to document the ecological disaster that is forcing people to change their ancient way of life.

The Tigris journey through Iraq begins in the mountains of autonomous Kurdistan, near the borders of Turkey and Syria, where local people raise sheep and grow potatoes.

Our life depends on the Tigris, said farmer Pibo Hassan Dolmassa, 41, wearing a dusty coat, in the town of Faysh Khabur. All our work, our agriculture, depends on it.

Before, the water was pouring in torrents, he said, but over the last two or three years there is less water every day.

Iraqs government and Kurdish farmers accuse Turkey, where the Tigris has its source, of withholding water in its dams, dramatically reducing the flow into Iraq.

According to Iraqi official statistics, the level of the Tigris entering Iraq has dropped to just 35 percent of its average over the past century.

Baghdad regularly asks Ankara to release more water.

But Turkeys ambassador to Iraq, Ali Riza Guney, urged Iraq to use the available water more efficiently, tweeting in July that water is largely wasted in Iraq.

He may have a point, say experts. Iraqi farmers tend to flood their fields, as they have done since ancient Sumerian times, rather than irrigate them, resulting in huge water losses.

All that is left of the River Diyala, a tributary that meets the Tigris near the capital Baghdad in the central plains, are puddles of stagnant water dotting its parched bed.

Drought has dried up the watercourse that is crucial to the regions agriculture.

This year authorities have been forced to reduce Iraqs cultivated areas by half, meaning no crops will be grown in the badly-hit Diyala Governorate.

We will be forced to give up farming and sell our animals, said Abu Mehdi, 42, who wears a white djellaba robe.

We were displaced by the war against Iran in the 1980s, he said, and now we are going to be displaced because of water. Without water, we cant live in these areas at all.

The farmer went into debt to dig a 30-metre (100-foot) well to try to get water. We sold everything, Abu Mehdi said, but it was a failure.

The World Bank warned last year that much of Iraq is likely to face a similar fate.

By 2050 a temperature increase of one degree Celsius and a precipitation decrease of 10 percent would cause a 20 percent reduction of available freshwater, it said.

Under these circumstances, nearly one third of the irrigated land in Iraq will have no water.

Water scarcity hitting farming and food security are already among the main drivers of rural-to-urban migration in Iraq, the UN and several non-government groups said in June.

And the International Organization for Migration said last month that climate factors had displaced more than 3,300 families in Iraqs central and southern areas in the first three months of this year.

Climate migration is already a reality in Iraq, the IOM said.

This summer in Baghdad, the level of the Tigris dropped so low that people played volleyball in the middle of the river, splashing barely waist-deep through its waters.

Iraqs Ministry of Water Resources blame silt because of the rivers reduced flow, with sand and soil once washed downstream now settling to form sandbanks.

Until recently the Baghdad authorities used heavy machinery to dredge the silt, but with cash tight, work has slowed.

Years of war have destroyed much of Iraqs water infrastructure, with many cities, factories, farms and even hospitals left to dump their waste straight into the river.

As sewage and rubbish from Greater Baghdad pour into the shrinking Tigris, the pollution creates a concentrated toxic soup that threatens marine life and human health.

Environmental policies have not been a high priority for Iraqi governments struggling with political, security and economic crises.

Ecological awareness also remains low among the general public, said activist Hajer Hadi of the Green Climate group, even if every Iraqi feels climate change through rising temperatures, lower rainfall, falling water levels and dust storms, she said.

You see these palm trees? They are thirsty, said Molla al-Rached, a 65-year-old farmer, pointing to the brown skeletons of what was once a verdant palm grove.

They need water! Should I try to irrigate them with a glass of water? he asked bitterly. Or with a bottle?

There is no fresh water, there is no more life, said the farmer, a beige keffiyeh scarf wrapped around his head.

He lives at Ras al-Bisha where the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates river, the Shatt al-Arab, empties into the Gulf, near the borders with Iran and Kuwait.

In nearby Basra once dubbed the Venice of the Middle East many of the depleted waterways are choked with rubbish.

To the north, much of the once famed Mesopotamian Marshes the vast wetland home to the Marsh Arabs and their unique culture have been reduced to desert since Saddam Hussein drained them in the 1980s to punish its population.

But another threat is impacting the Shatt al-Arab: salt water from the Gulf is pushing ever further upstream as the river flow declines.

The UN and local farmers say rising salination is already hitting farm yields, in a trend set to worsen as global warming raises sea levels.

Al-Rached said he has to buy water from tankers for his livestock, and wildlife is now encroaching into settled areas in search of water.

My government doesnt provide me with water, he said. I want water, I want to live. I want to plant, like my ancestors.

Standing barefoot in his boat like a Venetian gondolier, fisherman Naim Haddad steers it home as the sun sets on the waters of the Shatt al-Arab.

From father to son, we have dedicated our lives to fishing, said the 40-year-old holding up the days catch.

In a country where grilled carp is the national dish, the father-of-eight is proud that he receives no government salary, no allowances.

But salination is taking its toll as it pushes out the most prized freshwater species which are replaced by ocean fish.

In the summer, we have salt water, said Haddad. The sea water rises and comes here.

Last month local authorities reported that salt levels in the river north of Basra reached 6,800 parts per million nearly seven times that of fresh water.

Haddad cant switch to fishing at sea because his small boat is unsuitable for the choppier Gulf waters, where he would also risk run-ins with the Iranian and Kuwaiti coastguards.

And so the fisherman is left at the mercy of Iraqs shrinking rivers, his fate tied to theirs.

If the water goes, he said, the fishing goes. And so does our livelihood.

by Aymen HENNA

Originally posted here:

Twilight of the Tigris: Iraq's mighty river drying up - Macau Business

As flies buzz over his tiny body, two-year-old Sadak Ibrahim barely whimpers, too weak to cry or shoo them away a heartbreaking glimpse of the hunger crisis gripping Somalia.

The Horn of Africa nation is on the brink of a second famine in just over a decade, enduring its worst drought in 40 years after failed rainy seasons since late 2020 wiped out crops and livestock.

With a fifth monsoon forecast to fail, the United Nations warned this month that time was running out to save lives as it urged donors to contribute more to the relief effort.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the situation was worse than the 2011 famine when 260,000 people died in the country, more than half of them children under the age of six.

Aid is slowly making its way to Somalia following delays caused by the war in Ukraine, which also sent the cost of transport and emergency supplies soaring.

But many fear the help will arrive too late for the countrys youngest victims like Sadak, with around 730 children already reported dead in nutrition centres between January and July this year, according to UNICEF.

At De Martino Hospital in the capital Mogadishu, Sadaks anxious mother Fadumo Daud sat vigil by the toddlers bedside, a feeding tube dangling from his face, as she prayed for a miracle.

He is the only child I have, and he is very sick as you can see, the young woman told AFP, recounting the three-day journey that brought her to Mogadishu from Baidoa one of the epicentres of the crisis.

In recent years, climate disasters have increasingly become the main driver of migration in Somalia, which is also grappling with a brutal 15-year Islamist insurgency.

Every day, dozens of people stream into camps set up for displaced families in Mogadishu.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) non-profit runs seven health and nutrition centres in and around the capital, but their resources are sharply stretched with the crisis showing no signs of abating.

The number of new arrivals has increased dramatically starting from June this year, IRC nutrition officer Faisa Ali told AFP.

Most of the children turn up malnourished, she said, with their numbers trebling from a maximum of 13 a day in May to 40 now.

A mother of 10, Nuunay Adan Durow fled her home and travelled 300 kilometres (200 miles) to find medical help for her three-year-old son Hassan Mohamed, his limbs swollen due to severe malnutrition.

For the last three years, we have not harvested anything due to lack of rain, Durow told AFP, describing how she was forced to trek for two hours daily to find water for her family.

We faced a terrible situation, the 35-year-old said, cradling Hassan in her arms as they awaited medical attention at an IRC centre on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

The drought has also affected parts of Kenya and Ethiopia but the risks for Somalia are particularly grave, with 200,000 people in danger of starvation and around 1.5 million children facing acute malnutrition by next month, the UN says.

The crisis has not spared even traditionally fertile regions such as Lower Shabelle, where drought-stricken communities would seek refuge in the past, hoping to find sustenance there.

We used to farm and get vegetables to feed our children before the drought affected us, Fadumo Ibrahim Hassan, 35, told AFP.

Now we live on whatever God gives us, the widowed mother-of-six said.

A recent arrival in Mogadishu, her two-year-old daughter Yusros condition had deteriorated to the point that the IRC staff could no longer care for her.

Weighing just 5.8 kilogrammes (12.8 pounds) half that of a healthy girl the same age Yusro was dangerously malnourished, according to the IRC medical team, who told AFP she urgently needed to be admitted to a hospital.

At De Martino Hospital, doctor Fahmo Ali told AFP that each day brought more sick, malnourished children into her care.

The ones we are receiving here are the worst cases with complications, she said.

Sometimes those we have treated come back to the hospital after getting sick again.

by Mustafa HAJI ABDINUR

Read more:

Too weak to cry: famine looms over Somalia's children - Macau Business

The Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau (ISAF) is conducting research and working on a draft bill for a new regulatory regime for small-scale medical devices and cosmetic products suited to Macaus situation, to support the development of the Big Health industry, the ISAF president, Choi Peng Cheong, said during a meeting of ISAF officials with a delegation of the Macau International Big Health Industry Association.

Addressing the theme of the promotion and continuous development of the Big Health industry, Choi noted that is necessary to update the rules in such fields as well as to continue to improve the existing drug management regime, promoting the sustainable development of the pharmaceutical sector under the premise of equal emphasis on traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

The development of the Big Health Industry was a topic started by the government, which is said to have the goal of promoting the sector until 2025, according to the plan drafted in the Second Five-Year Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the Macau Special Administrative Region (2021-2025).

According to the same official, this work includes efforts towards the promotion of the development of economic diversification and cultivating emerging industries, as well as improving the legal regime closely related to socio-economic development and the life of the population.

It is not currently clear which amendments the ISAF proposes to make, but they are related to the use of medical devices most commonly in use in beauty centers and alternative medicine clinics, among others. Likely, such a regime could also include regulations concerning the application and use of traditional Chinese treatments as well as alternative medicine such as acupuncture, cupping therapy, and others, that are very popular in Macau and Asia in general.

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MACAU DAILY TIMES ISAF working on a new regime for small-scale medical devices and cosmetics - Macau Daily Times

President Joe Biden issued forceful warnings to China and Russia on Sunday and expressed optimism over the US economic rebound, but surprised many by hedging on whether hell seek reelection.

In a rare, wide-ranging interview with the CBS 60 Minutes program, Biden went back on repeated assertions by the White House that he is sure to run in 2024.

Biden, who turns 80 in November, told interviewer Scott Pelley that reelection is his intention.

But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen, he said.

Its much too early, Biden said, calling himself a great respecter of fate.

Surveying the state of the worlds largest economy, Biden was optimistic.

He declared the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States over and predicted that his administration would tame inflation the main reason for his weak approval ratings and the reason Republicans believe they can take control of Congress in the upcoming November midterms.

Were going to get control of inflation, he said.

In another surprise moment, Biden once again appeared to challenge decades of US policy on Taiwan with a vow that he would send troops to defend the self-ruled island if China tried to invade.

Yes, he said, adding that this would happen if there was an unprecedented attack possibly referring to something beyond the frequent saber rattling conducted by Chinese military forces around Taiwan.

Under the US policy known as strategic ambiguity, Washington recognizes Chinese sovereignty but opposes any forceful attempt to end Taiwans de facto self-rule. While Washington does arm Taiwan, there is no clear promise of direct US military support.

The White House said that Bidens latest remarks do not indicate a change.

After the interview, Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its sincere gratitude for Bidens support.

In the face of Chinas military expansion and provocative actions, our government will continue to strengthen self-defense capabilities to firmly resist the expansion and aggression of authoritarianism, and at the same time deepen the close Taiwan-US security partnership, the ministry said in a statement.

In another tough message to the United States biggest economic and geopolitical rival, Biden said he had warned President Xi Jinping not to support Russia militarily in its invasion of Ukraine.

He said he told Xi that US and other foreign investment in China would be disrupted and to think otherwise would be a gigantic mistake.

He also said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin uses nuclear or other non-conventional weapons against Ukraine the US response will be consequential.

When asked what he would tell Putin if the Russian leader was mulling such a move, he said: Dont. Dont. Dont.

Biden praised the Ukrainians for their gritty fight against the huge Russian invasion and said theyre defeating Russia.

Asked how to define victory for Kyiv, he said winning the war in Ukraine is to get Russia out of Ukraine completely.

But given the scale of human suffering and destruction inflicted in resisting the Russian onslaught, its awful hard to count that as winning, he added.

Despite his poor ratings and polls showing Democrats likely to lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, Biden said he is upbeat.

Noting that employment is booming and the economy is strong, Biden said we hope we can have, as they say, a soft landing.

On whether at his age he is physically and mentally able to continue in the grueling job, Biden said: watch me.

Its a matter of, you know, that old expression the proof of the pudding is in the eating.'

When asked his source of inspiration when times get tough, Biden mentioned his son Beau who died in 2015 but also his parents exhortation to just get up.

Biden said he had a lot more to give.

Originally posted here:

Biden warns China and Russia, hedges on seeking reelection - Macau Business

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday, after a state funeral attended by leaders from around the world and a historic lastceremonial journeythrough the packed streets of London.

After queueing all night, the final members of the public filed through parliaments cavernous Westminster Hall to see the queens coffin lying in state before the doors closed at 6:30 am (0530 GMT).

Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force who joined the marathon queue twice, was the last person through the doors and described the experience as amazing.

When they came to me and said, right, youre the last person, I said, really?! she told AFP, before heading off to join the crowds for the coffins procession through central London.

A long day but very well worth it. Its nothing compared to what the queen has done for the country.

The longest-serving monarch in British history died aged 96 at Balmoral, her Scottish Highland retreat, on September 8 after a year of declining health.

She was succeeded by her 73-year-old eldest son, King Charles III, who late Sunday said he and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, had been deeply touched by the publics flood of messages.

As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you, he said.

Britain last held a state funeral in 1965 for the countrys wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.

Then, the cranes that once unloaded the spoils of Britains vast empire that Elizabeth inherited were lowered in respect as his coffin was borne up the River Thames by barge.

In the six decades since, Britains global reach has been much diminished and its place in the modern world has become less certain.

But the country will still dig deep into its centuries of tradition to honour the only monarch that most Britons have ever known.

Many people have camped out for days to witness the elaborate spectacle of pageantry and to pay their final respects.

Auto engineer Jamie Page, a 41-year-old former soldier, stood on Whitehall to observe the procession after the funeral, wearing his military medals from service in the Iraq war.

Sixteen years old, I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen. Shes been my boss. She means everything, she was like a gift from God, he said.

But on Charles, the oldest person yet to ascend the British throne, Page added: Who knows, time will tell.

Royal Navy sailors will haul the flag-draped coffin, topped with the majestic Imperial State Crown, on a gun carriage from Westminster Hall to the adjacent abbey.

The funeral starts at 1000 GMT. After just under an hour, a bugler will play The Last Post, before two minutes of silence and the reworded national anthem, God Save the King.

Former Archbishop of York John Sentamu said the queen, who headed the Protestant Church of England founded by king Henry VIII in the 16th century, did not want a boring send-off.

Youre going to be lifted to glory as you hear the service, he told BBC television.

Afterwards, the coffin will be taken west by road to Windsor Castle, with many thousands expected to line the route.

She will be buried alongside her father king George VI, her mother queen Elizabeth the queen mother and sister princess Margaret, reuniting in death the family who once called themselves us four.

The coffin of her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, will also be transferred to lie alongside her.

Elizabeths funeral could not be more different from Philips at St Georges Chapel, Windsor, in April last year.

Coronavirus restrictions limited mourners to just 30, led by the queen, a solitary figure in mourning black and a matching facemask.

But now, more than 2,000 people, including heads of state from US President Joe Biden to Japans reclusive Emperor Naruhito, will pack Westminster Abbey, the imposing location for royal coronations, marriages and funerals for more than 1,000 years.

All the people of the United Kingdom: our hearts go out to you, and you were fortunate to have had her for 70 years; we all were. The world is better for her, Biden said after signing a book of condolence.

Charles will lead mourners, alongside his three siblings and his heir, Prince William.

In the abbey pews will also be Liz Truss, whom the queen appointed as the 15th British prime minister of her reign just two days before her death.

All of Trusss living predecessors will be there too, plus her counterparts and representatives from the 14 Commonwealth countries outside Britain where Charles is also head of state.

Whether they remain constitutional monarchies or become republics is likely to be the defining feature of Charless reign.

The queens death has prompted deep reflection about the Britain she reigned over, the legacy of its past, its present state and what the future might hold, as well as the values of lifelong service and duty she came to represent during her 70-year reign.

Select members of the public won invitations to the abbey for the funeral after outstanding service to the community.

Among them was lawyer Pranav Bhanot, 34, who gave free legal advice and delivered meals during the Covid pandemic.

I feel completely out of place because all the headlines are saying there are going to be world leaders and presidents, he said, having first dismissed the call from a government official as a hoax.

But it will give me a really nice opportunity to pay my respects to someone I hugely admired.

Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have queued, sometimes for up to 25 hours and overnight, to file past the queens coffin since it was taken to liein state last Wednesday.

Some 6,000 military personnel have been drafted in to take part in the solemn procession to and from the abbey, on the route to Windsor and the committal service at St Georges Chapel.

After the abbey service, Charles and other senior royals will again follow in procession past hushed crowds to a waiting hearse and the final journey to Windsor.

Throughout, Big Ben, the giant bell atop the Elizabeth Tower at one end of the Houses of Parliament, will toll and guns will fire at one-minute intervals.

A vast television audience is expected to watch the funeral worldwide and live online, in a sign of the enduring fascination with the woman once described as the last global monarch.

But those lining the streets of London already jammed at sunrise on Monday said they had to bear witness.

I want to take part in history, said Jack Davies, 14, camped out for the procession with his parents at Hyde Park Corner, where the coffin will be transferred from the gun carriage for the drive to Windsor.

I will talk about this moment to my children. Ill say: I was there!'

At Windsor, the queens crown, orb and sceptre will be removed and placed on the altar.

The most senior officer of the royal household, the lord chamberlain, breaks his wand of office and places it on the coffin, symbolising the end of her reign.

The lead-lined oak casket, draped with the queens colours, will then be lowered into the Royal Vault as a lone bagpiper plays a lament.

A private interment ceremony will take place at the adjoining King George VI Memorial Chapel at 1830 GMT.

by Jitendra JOSHI / Phil HAZLEWOOD

Original post:

Britain and the world say farewell to Queen Elizabeth II - Macau Business