In parts of Middle East, power generators spew toxic fumes 24/7

A new generator is lifted to a roof to replace an old generator in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP)
A new generator is lifted to a roof to replace an old generator in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP)
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Updated 13 September 2022

In parts of Middle East, power generators spew toxic fumes 24/7

A new generator is lifted to a roof to replace an old generator in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — They literally run the country.
In parking lots, on flatbed trucks, hospital courtyards and rooftops, private generators are ubiquitous in parts of the Middle East, spewing hazardous fumes into homes and businesses 24 hours a day.
As the world looks for renewable energy to tackle climate change, millions of people around the region depend almost completely on diesel-powered private generators to keep the lights on because war or mismanagement have gutted electricity infrastructure.
Experts call it national suicide from an environmental and health perspective.




A row of privately-owned diesel generators provide power to homes and businesses in Beirut, Lebanon, March 4, 2022. (AP)

“Air pollution from diesel generators contains more than 40 toxic air contaminants, including many known or suspected cancer-causing substances,” said Samy Kayed, managing director and co-founder of the Environment Academy at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.
Greater exposure to these pollutants likely increases respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular disease, he said. It also causes acid rain that harms plant growth and increases eutrophication — the excess build-up of nutrients in water that ultimately kills aquatic plants.
Since they usually use diesel, generators also produce far more climate change-inducing emissions than, for example, a natural gas power plant does, he said.
The pollutants caused by massive generators add to the many environmental woes of the Middle East, which is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to the impact of climate change. The region already has high temperatures and limited water resources even without the growing impact of global warming.
The reliance on generators results from state failure. In Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere, governments can’t maintain a functioning central power network, whether because of war, conflict or mismanagement and corruption.
Lebanon, for example, has not built a new power plant in decades. Multiple plans for new ones have run aground on politicians’ factionalism and conflicting patronage interests. The country’s few aging, heavy-fuel oil plants long ago became unable to meet demand.
Iraq, meanwhile, sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves. Yet scorching summer-time heat is always accompanied by the roar of neighborhood generators, as residents blast ACs around the clock to keep cool.
Repeated wars over the decades have wrecked Iraq’s electricity networks. Corruption has siphoned away billions of dollars meant to repair and upgrade it. Some 17 billion cubic meters of gas from Iraq’s wells are burned every year as waste, because it hasn’t built the infrastructure to capture it and convert it to electricity to power Iraqi homes.
In Libya, a country prized for its light and sweet crude oil, electricity networks have buckled under years of civil war and the lack of a central government.
“The power cuts last the greater part of the day, when electricity is mostly needed,” said Muataz Shobaik, the owner of a butcher shop in the city of Benghazi, in Libya’s east, who uses a noisy generator to keep his coolers running.
“Every business has to have a backup off-grid solution now,” he said. Diesel fumes from his and neighboring shops’ machines hung thick in the air amid the oppressive heat.
The Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people rely on around 700 neighborhood generators across the territory for their homes. Thousands of private generators keep businesses, government institutions, universities and health centers running. Running on diesel, they churn black smoke in the air, tarring walls around them.
Since Israel bombed the only power plant in the Hamas-ruled territory in 2014, the station has never reached full capacity. Gaza only gets about half the power it needs from the plant and directly from Israel. Cutoffs can last up to 16 hours a day.
WAY OF LIFE
Perhaps nowhere do generators rule people’s lives as much as in Lebanon, where the system is so entrenched and institutionalized that private generator owners have their own business association.
They are crammed into tight streets, parking lots, on roofs and balconies and in garages. Some are as large as storage containers, others small and blaring noise.
Lebanon’s 5 million people have long depended on them. The word “moteur,” French for generator, is one of the most often spoken words among Lebanese.
Reliance has only increased since Lebanon’s economy unraveled in late 2019 and central power cutoffs began lasting longer. At the same time, generator owners have had to ration use because of soaring diesel prices and high temperatures, turning them off several times a day for breaks.
So residents plan their lives around the gaps in electricity.
Those who can’t start the day without coffee set an alarm to make a cup before the generator turns off. The frail or elderly in apartment towers wait for the generator to switch on before leaving home so they don’t have to climb stairs. Hospitals must keep generators humming so life-saving machines can operate without disruption.
“We understand people’s frustration, but if it wasn’t for us, people would be living in darkness,” said Ihab, the Egyptian operator of a generator station north of Beirut.
“They say we are more powerful than the state, but it is the absence of the state that led us to exist,” he said, giving only his first name to avoid trouble with the authorities.
Siham Hanna, a 58-year-old translator in Beirut, said generator fumes exacerbate her elderly father’s lung condition. She wipes soot off her balcony and other surfaces several times a day.
“It’s the 21st century, but we live like in the stone ages. Who lives like this?” said Hanna, who does not recall her country ever having stable electricity in her life.
Some in Lebanon and elsewhere have begun to install solar power systems in their homes. But most use it only to fill in when the generator is off. Cost and space issues in urban areas have also limited solar use.
In Iraq, the typical middle-income household uses generator power for 10 hours a day on average and pays $240 per Megawatt/hour, among the highest rates in the region, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.
The need for generators has become engrained in people's minds. At a recent concert in the capital, famed singer Umm Ali al-Malla made sure to thank not only the audience but also the venue’s technical director “for keeping the generator going” while her admirers danced.
TOXIC CONTAMINANTS
As opposed to power plants outside urban areas, generators are in the heart of neighborhoods, pumping toxins directly to residents.
This is catastrophic, said Najat Saliba, a chemist at the American University of Beirut who recently won a seat in Parliament.
“This is extremely taxing on the environment, especially the amount of black carbon and particles that they emit,” she said. There are almost no regulations and no filtering of particles, she added.
Researchers at AUB found that the level of toxic emissions may have quadrupled since Lebanon’s financial crisis began because of increased reliance on generators.
In Iraq's northern city of Mosul, miles of wires crisscross streets connecting thousands of private generators. Each produces 600 kilograms of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases per 8 hours working time, according to Mohammed al Hazem, an environmental activist.
Similarly, a 2020 study on the environmental impact of using large generators in the University of Technology in Baghdad found very high concentrations of pollutants exceeding limits set by the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization.
That was particularly because Iraqi diesel fuel has a high sulphur content — “one of the worst in the world,” the study said. The emissions include “sulphate, nitrate materials, atoms of soot carbon, ash” and pollutants that are considered carcinogens, it warned.
“The pollutants emitted from these generators exert a remarkable impact on the overall health of students and university staff, it said.

 


US slaps sanctions on Iranian, Chinese targets in action over Tehran’s missile, military programs

US slaps sanctions on Iranian, Chinese targets in action over Tehran’s missile, military programs
Updated 18 sec ago

US slaps sanctions on Iranian, Chinese targets in action over Tehran’s missile, military programs

US slaps sanctions on Iranian, Chinese targets in action over Tehran’s missile, military programs
  • The network conducted transactions and facilitated the procurement of sensitive and critical parts and technology for key actors in Iran’s ballistic missile development

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on over a dozen people and entities in Iran, China and Hong Kong, accusing the procurement network of supporting Iran’s missile and military programs as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran.
The US Treasury Department in a statement said the network conducted transactions and facilitated the procurement of sensitive and critical parts and technology for key actors in Iran’s ballistic missile development, including Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which is under US sanctions.
Among those hit with sanctions was Iran’s defense attache in Beijing, Davoud Damghani, whom the Treasury accused of coordinating military-related procurements from China for Iranian end-users.
“The United States will continue to target illicit transnational procurement networks that covertly support Iran’s ballistic missile production and other military programs,” Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.


Egypt, Israel pledge cooperation after border bloodshed

Egypt, Israel pledge cooperation after border bloodshed
Updated 06 June 2023

Egypt, Israel pledge cooperation after border bloodshed

Egypt, Israel pledge cooperation after border bloodshed
  • Egypt has said the policeman crossed into Israel while chasing drug smugglers

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to boost cooperation Tuesday after an Egyptian policeman shot dead three Israeli soldiers before being killed, officials said.
El-Sisi received a telephone call from Netanyahu about Saturday’s deadly violence on the normally calm border, the spokesman for the Egyptian president said.
During the conversation, the two leaders stressed “the importance of coordination between the two countries to clarify the circumstances,” he said.
Egypt has said the policeman crossed into Israel while chasing drug smugglers, leading to exchanges of fire with Israeli soldiers.
On Saturday, Netanyahu called the Egyptian shooter a “terrorist” although he has since mostly spoken of the shootings as an “incident.”
El-Sisi offered Netanyahu his “deep condolences,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
“The two leaders expressed their commitment to further strengthening peace and security cooperation, which is an essential value for both countries,” it added.
Israel’s border with Egypt has been largely quiet since Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel following the Camp David accords of 1978.
In recent years, there have been exchanges of fire between smugglers and Israeli soldiers stationed along the border.
Questions have been raised about why the Egyptian assailant — reported by Egyptian media to have been a 22-year-old conscript — crossed into Israel and opened fire.
Speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said his government had sent a “clear message” to Egypt: “We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.”
On Tuesday, his office said he had “thanked the Egyptian president for... his commitment to an exhaustive and joint investigation of the incident.”


Iran debates new penalties for veil violations

Iran debates new penalties for veil violations
Updated 06 June 2023

Iran debates new penalties for veil violations

Iran debates new penalties for veil violations
  • Women have been required to cover their hair after the Islamic revolution of 1979
  • But a growing number are defying the law and appearing bareheaded in the streets

TEHRAN: An Iranian draft law that would set new penalties for women not wearing a headscarf in public has sparked heated debate within the Islamic republic’s leadership as more women flout the country’s strict dress code.
Since the aftermath of the Islamic revolution of 1979, women have been required to cover their hair and neck in public places, with offenders facing fines or prison terms of up to two months.
But a growing number are defying the law and appearing bareheaded in the streets.
The trend accelerated during the nationwide protests sparked by the September death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating the law.
The protests rocked Iran, provoking a crackdown by authorities that claimed the lives of hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, and saw thousands more arrested.
Iran’s conservatives, who dominate the country’s parliament and leadership, have passionately defended the dress code and believe relaxing rules would begin a process leading to profound shifts in “social norms.”
But with many Iranians demanding change, in May the judiciary and the government proposed a “Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity” bill, to “protect society” and “strengthen family life.”
The text proposes increased fines for “any person removing their veil in public places or on the Internet” but withdraws the threat of a prison sentence.
“This bill reduces the removal of the hijab from a felony to a misdemeanour, similar to a traffic violation but with heavier fines,” sociologist Abbas Abdi said.
After Amini’s death and the subsequent protests, society “no longer accepts that we imprison a woman because she does not wear the veil,” he said.
Since the protests, authorities have imposed a series of measures to enforce Iran’s strict dress code, including the closure of businesses whose staff do not conform with the rules and installing cameras in public places to track down offenders.
In recent days, at least three officials have been sacked or arrested for failing to prevent unveiled women from entering historic sites.
Under the proposed law, the text of which has been published in government-affiliated media, offenders will first receive a warning text message from the police.
A second breach will incur fines of between five million and 60 million rials (around $10 to $120), a large sum for many Iranians. The law would also provide for other penalities, including the confiscation of a woman’s vehicle for up to 10 days.
Defending the bill, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stressed the need to avoid polarizing society, saying he understood the “concerns of believers” supportive of the dress code.
As the bill awaits examination by lawmakers, it faces accusations of not being tough enough from ultra-conservatives, an influential bloc in the current parliament.
Relaxing punishments for violations will see “the expansion of a repugnant phenomenon” by “removing legal barriers” for women not wearing a veil, the ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan said.
Those supporting the law “do not know that the enemy” seeks to “destroy the family as an institution and ultimately, to attack the foundations of the Islamic system” by removing headscarves, the newspaper said.
Social networks and foreign media, particularly television channels broadcasting in Persian, are calling for “social disobedience,” according to some ultra-conservatives.
Within Iran’s leadership “there is no consensus on the hijab,” as some favor repression, while others “believe that other means must be tried,” the sociologist Abdi said.
“The bill satisfies neither the supporters of compulsory hijab nor, of course, the supporters of the freedom to cover up or not.”
A similar situation developed in the 1990s with a law prohibiting the use of satellite dishes, he said.
“It was only implemented for a while before it was dropped.”


Kuwaitis turn out to cast vote in parliamentary elections

Kuwaitis turn out to cast vote in parliamentary elections
Updated 06 June 2023

Kuwaitis turn out to cast vote in parliamentary elections

Kuwaitis turn out to cast vote in parliamentary elections

Polling stations opened across Kuwait on Tuesday where the country is electing its third parliament in three years. 

There was a “great turnout” by senior citzens who were casting their vote for the 2023 National Assembly, state news agency KUNA reported. 

Kuna went on to report that Kuwaitis were hoping the election would bring political stability with cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities. 

The general election was called by the Kuwaiti Emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah last month.


Iran unveils Fattah, its first hypersonic ballistic missile

Iran unveils Fattah, its first hypersonic ballistic missile
Updated 06 June 2023

Iran unveils Fattah, its first hypersonic ballistic missile

Iran unveils Fattah, its first hypersonic ballistic missile
  • Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory

DUBAI: Iran claimed on Tuesday that it had created a hypersonic missile capable of traveling at 15 times the speed of sound, adding a new weapon to its arsenal as tensions remain high with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The new missile — called Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi — was unveiled in a tightly choreographed segment on Iranian state television, which apparently sought to show that Tehran’s hard-line government can still deploy arms against its enemies across much of the Middle East.

“Today we feel that the deterrent power has been formed,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said at the event. “This power is an anchor of lasting security and peace for the regional countries.”

Gen. Amir Ali Hajjizadeh, the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace program, unveiled what appeared to be a model of the missile. Hajjizadeh claimed the missile had a range of up to 1,400 kilometers.

That’s about mid-range for Iran’s expansive ballistic missile arsenal, which the Guard has built up over the years as Western sanctions largely prevent it from accessing advanced weaponry.

“There exists no system that can rival or counter this missile,” Hajjizadeh claimed.

That claim, however, depends on how maneuverable the missile is. Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory in which anti-missile systems like the Patriot can anticipate their path and intercept them. Tuesday’s event showed what appeared to be a moveable nozzle for the Fattah, which could allow it to change trajectories in flight. The more irregular the missile’s flight path, the more difficult it becomes to intercept.

Iranian officials also did not release any footage of a successful launch of the Fattah.

Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. Iran described the Fattah as being able to reach Mach 15 — which is 15 times the speed of sound.

China is believed to be pursuing the weapons, as is America. Russia claims to already be fielding the weapons and has said it used them on the battlefield in Ukraine. However, speed and maneuverability isn’t a guarantee the missile will successfully strike a target. Ukraine’s air force in May said it shot down a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile with a Patriot battery.