Farmers innovate to save Iraq’s rice production

Farmers innovate to save Iraq’s rice production
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Sprinklers irrigate a rice field in Mishkhab in Iraq's Najaf province on July 8, 2024. (AFP/File)
Farmers innovate to save Iraq’s rice production
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A man displays different varieties of rice at a plantation in Mishkhab in Iraq's Najaf province on July 8, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 August 2024
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Farmers innovate to save Iraq’s rice production

Farmers innovate to save Iraq’s rice production

NAJAF, Iraq: After seeing his once-lush rice field shrink in recent years due to relentless drought, Iraqi farmer Muntazer Al-Joufi fought back using tougher seeds and water-saving irrigation techniques.

“It’s the first time we’re using modern techniques that consume less water” to cultivate rice, Joufi, 40, said as he surveyed his land in the central province of Najaf.

“There is a huge difference” compared to flooding the field, Joufi added, referring to a traditional method by which the land must stay submerged all summer.

But four consecutive years of drought and declining rainfall have strangled rice production in Iraq, which is still recovering from years of war and chaos, and where rice and bread are a staple of the diet.

The United Nations says Iraq is one of the world’s five most climate-vulnerable nations.

Joufi is among farmers receiving support from the agriculture ministry, whose experts have been developing innovative methods to save Iraq’s rice production.

Their work involves pairing resilient rice seeds with modern irrigation systems to replace the flooding method in a country hit by water scarcity, heatwaves and dwindling rivers.

Under Iraq’s scorching sun, with temperature soaring toward 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), Joufi trudged across the muddy field, pausing to tend malfunctioning sprinklers spread out on his one hectare (2.5 acres) of land.

Iraq’s rice crop usually requires between 10 and 12 billion cubic meters of water during the five-month growing period.

However, experts say new methods using sprinklers and drip irrigation use 70 percent less water than the traditional flooding practice, when workers had to ensure fields were totally covered with water.

Now, Joufi said, it takes just “one person to turn on the sprinklers... and water reaches every patch of the land.”

Agriculture ministry experts say that during the years of drought, the area planted with rice has shrunk from more than 30,000 hectares to just 5,000.

“Because of the drought and water scarcity, we must use modern irrigation techniques and new seeds,” said Abdel Kazem Jawad Moussa, who leads a team of such experts.

They have been experimenting with different types of sprinklers, drip irrigation, and five different kinds of seeds that withstand drought and consume less water in the hope of finding the best combination.

“We want to learn which seed genotypes respond well” to irrigation using sprinklers instead of flooding, Moussa said.

Last year, Al-Ghari — a genotype derived from Iraq’s prized amber rice — and South Asian jasmine seeds yielded good results when cultivated with small sprinklers, so experts offered the combination to farmers like Joufi, hoping for the best.

“At the end of the season, we will come up with recommendations,” Moussa said, adding that he also hoped to introduce three new types of seeds next year with a shorter planting season.

In addition to drought, the authorities blame upstream dams built by Iraq’s powerful neighbors Iran and Turkiye for dramatically lowering water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have irrigated Iraq for millennia.

Water scarcity has forced many farmers to abandon their plots, and authorities have drastically reduced farm activity to ensure sufficient drinking water for Iraq’s 43 million people.

In 2022, authorities limited the rice crop areas to 1,000 hectares in Najaf and the southern province of Diwaniyah, the heartlands of planting amber rice.

Recently, farmers in Diwaniyah protested, urging the government to allow them to farm their lands after a two-year halt.

But despite bountiful rains this winter that helped ease water shortages, authorities have only permitted them to cultivate rice on 30 percent of their lands.

“The last good year was 2020,” said farmer Fayez Al-Yassiri in his field in Diwaniyah where he hopes to forge on growing amber and jasmine rice.

Iraq is the second-largest oil producer in the OPEC cartel, but despite having immense oil and gas reserves, it remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs and faces chronic power outages.

Yassiri urged the authorities to help, specifically by providing farmers with electricity and pesticides.

His cousin Bassem Yassiri was less hopeful. “Water shortages have ended agriculture in this region,” he said.


Bahrain successfully administers first CRISPR-based sickle cell treatment outside the US

Bahrain successfully administers first CRISPR-based sickle cell treatment outside the US
Updated 51 min 16 sec ago
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Bahrain successfully administers first CRISPR-based sickle cell treatment outside the US

Bahrain successfully administers first CRISPR-based sickle cell treatment outside the US
  • Bahrain approved Casgevy for use on Dec. 2, 2023, becoming the second country globally and the first in the Middle East to do so

MANAMA: The Bahrain Oncology Centre announced on Sunday it had successfully treated a sickle cell disease patient using CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel), marking the first time the treatment had been administered outside the US.

Casgevy, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, is the first licensed therapy to utilize CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology.

It is designed as a potential treatment for SCD and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, two inherited blood disorders that affect patients’ health and life expectancy.

Bahrain approved Casgevy for use on Dec. 2, 2023, becoming the second country globally and the first in the Middle East to do so. The approval followed an assessment of the therapy’s safety, quality, and effectiveness.

The treatment involves a multi-step process. Firstly, stem cells are collected from the patient’s bone marrow. Then, they are genetically edited to enable the production of functional hemoglobin. Lastly, the modified cells are reinfused into the patient after thorough safety testing.

Bahrain’s Minister of Health Dr. Jaleela bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hasan said the successful administration of the treatment highlighted the kingdom’s commitment to integrating advanced medical innovations.

“We are delivering on our mandate to provide access to life-changing therapies for all beneficiaries and positioning Bahrain as a hub for innovative medical care, in line with the directives of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa,” she said.

Dr. Shaikh Fahad bin Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, commander of the Royal Medical Services, added: “Bahrain is proud to be at the forefront of cutting-edge healthcare advancements in the region. This achievement provides new hope for patients with complex blood disorders and underscores Bahrain’s growing role in medical innovation.”

Dr. Edward Rowland, CEO of the Bahrain Oncology Centre, described the development as a reflection of the institution’s focus on advanced technology and global partnerships.

The initiative is part of Bahrain’s national healthcare strategy, which prioritizes medical innovation and collaboration, and has been supported by the Ministry of Health, the Royal Medical Services, government hospitals, and the National Health Regulatory Authority.


Lebanon official media say Israeli gunfire kills woman in border town

A photo taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun, shows smoke rising from buildings in a southern Lebanese village
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun, shows smoke rising from buildings in a southern Lebanese village
Updated 16 February 2025
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Lebanon official media say Israeli gunfire kills woman in border town

A photo taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun, shows smoke rising from buildings in a southern Lebanese village
  • Lebanon’s army shortly later urged residents against heading to border areas where its forces had not completed deployment
  • NNA said Israeli “occupation forces shot in the direction of Hula neighborhoods after residents entered, leading to the death of a woman and the wounding of other people”

BEIRUT: Lebanese official media said Israeli forces killed a woman in a southern border town on Sunday as residents sought to return home, two days ahead of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deadline.
Lebanon’s army shortly later urged residents against heading to border areas where its forces had not completed deployment.
The official National News Agency (NNA) said that Israeli “occupation forces shot in the direction of Hula neighborhoods after residents entered, leading to the death of a woman and the wounding of other people.”
“Three citizens were kidnapped by Israeli forces in the town,” the NNA added, after earlier reporting that residents had entered by passing a Lebanese army checkpoint and “dirt barriers set up by the Israeli army.”
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah came into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period.
Hezbollah was also to pull back north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
The withdrawal period was extended to February 18, after Israel missed the initial deadline.
Both sides have accused each other of violations.
When the initial ceasefire deadline expired in late January, Lebanese authorities said Israeli fire killed 26 people in two days as residents tried to return to border villages.
Lebanon’s army on X emphasized “the need for citizens not to head toward southern areas where the (Lebanese military) deployment has not been completed... in order to preserve their safety and avoid the death of innocent people.”
It pointed to “the danger of unexploded ordnance left by the Israeli enemy, as well as the possibility of the presence of enemy forces in those areas.”
This week, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on X again warned people against heading south, noting that the Israeli army “is still deployed on the ground.”
On Saturday, the NNA said an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the south’s Lebanon’s Iqlim Al-Tuffah area killed two people. The Israeli army said it targeted a senior militant from Hezbollah’s aerial unit.
On Thursday, a senior Israeli security official said the military was prepared to withdraw from Lebanese territory “within the timeline” set by the US-French-mediated ceasefire agreement.
The same day, Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said the United States had informed him that, while Israel would withdraw on February 18, “it will remain in five locations.”
Lebanese officials have rejected the demand.


Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder (2L) on Sunday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder (2L) on Sunday.
Updated 16 February 2025
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Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder (2L) on Sunday.
  • During his meeting with Lauder in Cairo on Sunday, El-Sisi called for starting the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing its residents from their land”

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder on Sunday that the establishment of a Palestinian state is “the only guarantee” for lasting peace in the Middle East.
During his meeting with Lauder in Cairo on Sunday, El-Sisi called for starting the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza “without displacing its residents from their land,” according to a statement from his office.
The Egyptian leader’s remarks come as Arab countries are scrambling to come up with an alternative to a controversial plan floated by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza, redevelop the coastal territory and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump’s proposal envisages permanently resettling Gaza’s Palestinian residents elsewhere, including Egypt and Jordan, drawing widespread condemnation from Arab and world leaders.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state... is the only guarantee to achieve lasting peace,” El-Sisi told Lauder on Sunday.
According to the Egyptian presidency statement, Lauder praised Egypt’s “wise efforts” to restore stability in the region.
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are set to met in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss Trump’s proposal, ahead of an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo a week later to discuss the same issue.
 


Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel

Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel
Updated 16 February 2025
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Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel

Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel
  • Development takes place as US secretary of state discusses Gaza truce with Israel PM 
  • Israel, Hamas complete sixth swap of nearly month-old ceasefire after 15-month war

TEL AVIV:  Israel’s defense ministry said Sunday that a shipment of “heavy” US-made bombs arrived overnight in Israel, as Marco Rubio began his first visit to the country as Washington’s top diplomat.
“A shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the US government was received and unloaded overnight in Israel,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to MK-84 munitions recently authorized by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Rubio landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and is due to hold talks with Israeli officials on Sunday when he will highlight Trump’s controversial proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel.
Coming from Munich, where he took part in a security conference dominated by the Ukraine war, the top US diplomat is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Netanyahu, who recently visited Washington where he met Donald Trump, expressed his appreciation for the US president’s “full support” for Israel’s next moves in Gaza.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday.
“The United States will back the decision they make!” he added.
Rubio arrived in Israel hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the sixth swap of a nearly month-old ceasefire.
The ceasefire came close to collapse earlier this week and Netanyahu credited “President Trump’s firm stance” with ensuring Saturday’s releases went ahead.
In his meetings, the US top diplomat is expected to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, which should see the release of remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the war but which has yet to be agreed in detail.
A source close to the negotiations said mediators hope to begin talks on the second phase “next week in Doha.”
Washington has expressed openness to alternative proposals from Arab governments but has stressed that currently, “the only plan is Trump’s.”
Trump has proposed taking control of the Palestinian territory and displacing its residents to Egypt or Jordan, both of which strongly oppose the proposal.
Trump has warned of repercussions for Egypt and Jordan if they do not allow in the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.
“Right now the only plan — they don’t like it — but the only plan is the Trump plan. So if they’ve got a better plan, now’s the time to present it,” Rubio said on Thursday.

 


Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza

Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza
Updated 31 min 53 sec ago
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Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza

Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza
  • Israeli military said in a statement that its air force struck “several armed individuals moving toward troops in the southern Gaza Strip”

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said an Israeli strike on Sunday killed three police officers near the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a day after Israel and militants carried out a hostage-prisoner swap.

The Hamas-run interior ministry initially reported that two officers were killed and a third was critically wounded in a strike while they were deployed in the Al-Shouka area, east of Rafah, to secure aid.

The third officer later succumbed to his wounds, the ministry said in an updated statement.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its air force struck “several armed individuals moving toward troops in the southern Gaza Strip.”

A fragile ceasefire that came into effect on January 19 between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has largely brought a pause to more than 15 months of fighting in the coastal Palestinian territory.

Since then, Israel has conducted at least one other air strike in Gaza. On February 2, it said one of its aircraft fired toward a “suspicious vehicle” in central Gaza.

The ceasefire was more recently put to test when Hamas said it would not release Israeli hostages on Saturday, accusing Israel of violating terms of the agreement, particularly on the topic of aid entry.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza unless Hamas returns the hostages by noon on Saturday.

Following intense mediation by Qatar and Egypt the latest hostage-prisoner swap was carried out on Saturday.