Iraqis on Monday protested for the third consecutive day against power cuts, water shortages and poor water quality in the south as temperatures soared above 50°C across the country.
The blackout was caused by the failure of a power line and a fire at a power plant, which affected southern provinces and the oil-rich city of Basra. Groups of young Iraqis set fire to tyres to block roads as they demanded the return of electricity to the city.
Power was reportedly restored in some districts of the port city by Monday afternoon.
Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani said the third power cut in a short space of time was "due to a fire at Khor Al Zubayr station".
Khor Al Zubayr produces up to 500 megawatts of Basra's 3,000MW electricity demand.
Mr Al Eidani said the fire was put out and the damage repaired.
The country's Electricity Ministry last week announced a state of "general alert" in the face of rising temperatures, as it predicted an increase in demand for services.
Basra was not the only governorate to be affected, but it has the highest concentration of residents and some of the worst access to services in the south of the country.
In Najaf, the local authorities said on Monday that electricity shortages had caused problems pumping water for domestic supply, a long-term issue in many Iraqi cities where water and sewage treatment systems rely on power from the national grid.
At the weekend, protesters tried to storm one of Basra's largest power plants after the blackout and similar protests were reported near power stations in nearby Maysan province.
The ministry said the power cuts were due to "unprecedented high temperatures".
Blackouts in Iraq often happen at the height of summer when demand increases by up to 10 gigawatts.
Iraq produces about 23 gigawatts of power, but demand in the summer is thought to exceed 30 gigawatts.
The harsh environment affects equipment running at maximum capacity, which can also contribute to power cuts.
Defects in the transmission and distribution network can also contribute to blackouts, while less power reaches homes owing to Iraq's ageing electricity grid.
Anger over power cuts has previously resulted in mass demonstrations that at times turned deadly as protesters clashed with security forces.
For years, Basra has been the site of violent protests.
In late 2019, more than 500 people were killed during months of anti-government demonstrations that erupted under former prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, affecting Baghdad and southern towns including Basra.
The previous year, protests erupted in Basra after 100,000 people fell ill after heavily polluted saline water was distributed for domestic use.
Protesters were mostly young Iraqis who were unarmed.
Since the US-led invasion in 2003, the country has faced regular summer power cuts, a situation exacerbated by years of conflict that followed the invasion.
On Monday, Shiite cleric and political leader Moqtada Al Sadr called on Iraqi protesters to unite to support reform and improve services. This call included secular demonstrators who suffered in the 2019 crackdowns — known as the Tishreen, or "October" movement after the month they took to the streets — to his own devout followers.
Both the Sadrists and Tishreen protesters had been aligned before, but the cleric's loyalists later attacked protest camps in Najaf in February 2020, killing seven people.
The compounding, linked crises Iraq faces in summer show no sign of abating amid a 10-month political standoff that has delayed the formation of a new national government.
Iraq is ranked as one of the world’s five most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change.
In recent months, a series of sandstorms swept across the country and thousands of people were taken to hospital with respiratory problems.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Internet
Hive Mind
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia