Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani said on Monday that new measures tackling devastating water scarcity in the country will be introduced soon.
The UN classifies the oil-rich nation as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change.
Its severe water crisis has been gradually worsening for decades, negatively affected by climate change, mismanagement and pollution.
During a TV show that allows people in the streets to talk to the Prime Minister on the phone, a man desperately appealed for water.
“We’ve come here to Baghdad because of the hardships we’ve seen in our areas due to lack of water,” the man, who identified himself as a farmer from Al Musayyab area south of Baghdad, told Mr Al Sudani.
“Even there is no water to drink or to use for washing. We dig wells but they are salty and our children are getting sick. At least, we need water to drink.
“There is no water and we are here to work as construction workers. Finding work here is not easy and we have families to feed.
“What can we do? There is no water, and we can’t find work here. Where should we go? We have no salary and no pension, we depend only on agriculture.”
Mr Al Sudani replied by saying the government had “solutions”.
“You know we have a problem for water,” the Prime Minister said. “The water we had this summer hardly met the demand for drinking.
“Yes, there is a problem and in God's willing we have solutions that we are working on and will announce them soon.”
Iraq’s two main sources of water, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which account for more than 90 per cent of the country’s reserves, have significantly declined over the years.
Construction of dams and diversion of water upstream in Turkey and Iran has exacerbated the crisis.
Decades of war and conflict have damaged or completely destroyed the country's infrastructure, leading to water losses and inefficient distribution.
Desertification affects 39 per cent of the country and 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by historically low water levels in the two rivers, reduced rainfall and the rise in sea levels.
What can we do? There is no water, and we can’t find work here. Where should we go?
Iraqi farmer
Appeal for support
On Saturday, Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab Abdullah warned that “we are going through the worst year in Iraq’s history in terms of both water coming from neighbouring countries or the reserves in the dams”.
“We are in a very hard situation,” Mr Abdullah told Iraqi News Agency.
Over the past few months, Iraqi authorities removed abuses of the rivers, mainly the construction of illegal inland fisheries and the use of large pumps that have deprived many areas of water, mainly those in the south of the country.
Mr Abdullah said they are optimistic that this winter will be a wet one.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Friday, Mr Al Sudani asked the international community for more support to tackle the crisis to guarantee the sustainability of water.
He called for the establishment of an integrated mechanism to manage cross-border water resources and to address the effects of droughts.
Iraq, often referred to as the cradle of civilisation, is experiencing its worst drought in decades, he said, noting it “must not be allowed to die of thirst”.
Known in ancient times as Mesopotamia or the Land Between the Two Rivers, Iraq was at the heart of a region called the Fertile Crescent. It is also said to have been the site of the biblical Garden of Eden.
Mr Al Sudani also called for establishing a regional group comprising Gulf states, including Iraq and Iran, because “these are the states that will be disproportionately subject to temperature rise”.
Section 375
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Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
Fixtures
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
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Spec%20sheet
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Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
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Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
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Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
