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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
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.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
