NEW DELHI: India’s capital is set for a “deadly cocktail” of pollution in coming weeks, a senior government official said, as air quality in the New Delhi area plummeted on Wednesday, alarming doctors and environmentalists.
The federal government official blamed the deterioration in air quality to a “very poor” level across much of the city on a fall in temperature and lighter wind, as both seasonal changes allow pollution to accumulate.
The official — speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation — said air quality would continue to worsen around Diwali, which falls on Nov. 7.
Pollution levels will be exacerbated as farmers in areas close to Delhi burn crop residue in preparation for new planting and people let off fireworks to mark the Hindu festival.
“We are heading into a deadly cocktail with Diwali and peak stubble burning time,” the official said.
“If we come back into the ‘poor’ category of pollution, it will be a very big achievement.”
On Wednesday, air quality in Delhi hit the “very poor” level at more than half of its monitoring stations, according to the government’s Central Pollution Control Board — the worst set of readings since a dust storm hit the city in June.
Late last year, Delhi and a large part of northern India were covered in a toxic smog from burning crop waste and the countless firecrackers let off for Diwali, forcing authorities to shut power stations, ban construction and clamp down on garbage burning.
Despite pressure from health experts, the government this year held off on a wholesale ban on fireworks and has faced criticism for failing to prevent farmers in states neighboring Delhi from burning stubble.
To curb pollution levels around Diwali, the country’s top court on Tuesday only allowed the use of “green” firecrackers, but it was unclear how the rule will be enforced or whether there was such a thing as an environmentally safe firework.
Despite a government plan to discourage the burning of crop residue by offering to pay up to 80 percent of the cost of certain farm equipment, many farmers are still burning their waste.
’No will’
On Wednesday at two monitoring stations in Delhi, the air quality index, an international standard measure of several kinds of poisonous particulate matter, exceeded 600, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
That is a dozen times more than a healthy level of 50. Several other stations reported readings above 500.
Dr. J.C. Suri, a consultant in respiratory medicine at Mejeedia Hospital, said he was expecting a spike in admissions of patients with pollution-related health issues.
“Right now, the patient load is similar to usual, but as the air quality deteriorates it is going to increase in the coming weeks,” he said.
The World Health Organization said this year India was home to the world’s 14 most polluted cities, with Delhi ranked sixth.
“The government has no political will and year after year we get into a narrative around pollution only in the month of October when the situation is really, really bad,” said Vimlendu Jha, an environmentalist who founded the activist group Swechha.
“Almost 320 days out of the 365, Delhi’s air quality is in poor condition but there is no conversation around it.”
India’s capital braces for ‘deadly cocktail’ of pollution as air quality slides
India’s capital braces for ‘deadly cocktail’ of pollution as air quality slides
- The federal government official blamed the deterioration in air quality to a “very poor” level across much of the city on a fall in temperature and lighter wind
- Pollution levels will be exacerbated as farmers in areas close to Delhi burn crop residue in preparation for new planting
The world begins welcoming 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plungess
- More than a million people gathered at the Sydney Harbor for the celebration
- Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday
From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world began welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.
Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. A light display recognized Indigenous people.
Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.
Conflict muted acknowledgements of the new year in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.
Earliest fireworks
Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd.
The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land’s first people.
Asia prepares for Year of the Snake
Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning.
The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year.
In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or canceled during a period of national mourning following the Sunday crash of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people.
In Thailand’s Bangkok, shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. A fireworks display in Indonesia’s Jakarta featured 800 drones.
China and Russia exchange goodwill
Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.
Xi told Putin their countries will “always move forward hand in hand,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.
China has maintained ties and robust trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.
Seaside celebrations and beyond
In India, thousands of revelers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city’s bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea. In Sri Lanka, people gathered at Buddhist temples to light oil lamps and incense sticks and pray.
In Dubai, thousands are were attending a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.
A Holy Year begins
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate a vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to again appeal for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Jan. 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.
Paris recaptures the Olympic spirit
Paris was capping a momentous 2024 with its traditional countdown and fireworks extravaganza on the Champs-Elysées.
The Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games hosted in the French capital from July to September had transformed the city into a site of joy, fraternity and astonishing sporting achievements.
Frank and Rowena Klar from San Francisco visited the French capital to celebrate 31 years together. “If you start it big, we think we’re going to have a great year,” he said.
Wintry weather, for good and bad
London was due to ring in the New Year with a pyrotechnic display along the River Thames. With a storm bringing bitter weather to other parts of the United Kingdom, however, festivities in Edinburgh, Scotland, were canceled.
But in Switzerland and some other places people embraced the cold, stripping and plunging into the water in freezing temperatures.
Rio expects 2 million revelers
Rio de Janeiro will throw Brazil’s main New Year’s Eve bash on Copacabana Beach, with ferries offshore bearing 12 straight minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists in cruise ships will witness the show up close.
More than 2 million people were expected at the Copacabana, hoping to squeeze into concerts by superstar Brazilian artists such as pop singer Anitta and Grammy-award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions, old and new
In New York City, the organization managing Times Square has tested its famous ball drop and inspected 2025 numerals, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition going back to 1907. This year’s celebration will include musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Las Vegas’ pyrotechnic show will be on the Strip, with 340,000 people anticipated as fireworks are launched from the rooftops of casinos. Nearby, the Sphere venue will display for the first time countdowns to midnight in different time zones.
In Pasadena, Rose Parade spectators were camping out and hoping for prime spots. And some 200,000 people were flocking to a country music party in Nashville, Tennessee.
American Samoa will be among the last to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
Ukraine must fight in 2025 on ‘battlefield’ and ‘negotiating table’: Zelensky
- The Ukrainian leader’s address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country that has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years
KYIV, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that Ukraine would need to fight next year to bolster its position both militarily and ahead of any talks to end Russia’s three-year-long invasion.
The Ukrainian leader’s address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country that has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years.
The country lost seven times more territory to Russia this year than in 2023, according to an AFP analysis, and is facing the possibility of a reduction in US military and political backing when Donald Trump takes over the White House.
“And every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough. Because only such a Ukraine is respected and heard. Both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation.
“May 2025 be our year. The year of Ukraine. We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war. This is what each of us wishes for,” he added.
US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before Trump takes office in January.
The Republican has said he will end the conflict in “24 hours” once in power, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.
“I have no doubt that the new American president is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin’s aggression,” Zelensky said in his address.
In his New Year’s Eve address on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine but praised Russia’s soldiers for their “courage and bravery.”
Panama celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Panama Canal handover as Trump wants to take it back
- “There are no hands involved in the canal other than Panama’s,” Mulino said. “Rest assured, it will be in our hands forever”
PANAMA CITY: Panama on Tuesday celebrated the 25th anniversary of the US handover of the Panama Canal, which president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to take back.
The commemoration was made more poignant by the death on Sunday of former US President Jimmy Carter, who negotiated the 1999 handover deal.
“On this, such a special day ... a mix of happiness for this 25th anniversary of having the canal in Panamanian hands, and the sadness we feel for the death of former president Jimmy Carter,” said Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino.
The ceremony included a moment of silence for Carter, who reached the handover deal with former Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos.
Speaking at the main anniversary celebration in Panama City, Mulino said the two men “had the vision and nobility to take the road of justice.”
Meanwhile, Trump is decrying increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He has said if things don’t change after he takes office in late January, “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”
Trump has asserted that a 1977 treaty “foolishly” gave the canal away. He hasn’t said how he might make good on his threat.
During Tuesday’s ceremony, Mulino did not refer specifically to Trump’s statements. He did, however, try to deflect accusations that China may have too much influence over the waterway.
“There are no hands involved in the canal other than Panama’s,” Mulino said. “Rest assured, it will be in our hands forever.”
The deal involved two treaties. One was for the handover. The other, which continues in perpetuity, gives the US the right to act to ensure the canal remains open and secure. It gives the US the right to act if the canal’s operation is threatened due to military conflict — but not to reassert control.
Jorge Luis Quijano, who served as the canal’s administrator from 2014 to 2019, has said that “there’s no clause of any kind in the neutrality agreement that allows for the taking back of the canal.”
“There’s very little wiggle room, absent a second US invasion of Panama, to retake control of the Panama Canal in practical terms,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
Traffic on the canal increased 17 percent between fiscal years 1999 and 2004. Panama’s voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger, modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion.
Shipping prices have increased because of droughts last year affecting the canal locks, forcing Panama to drastically cut shipping traffic and raise usage rates. Though the rains have mostly returned, Panama has said future fee increases might be necessary as it undertakes improvements to accommodate modern shipping needs.
Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez has said the canal “has demonstrated that Panamanians are people who can face challenges” including the effects of climate change, world economic cycles and international conflicts.
Patients brave mental health desert in Mauritania
The 1970s is the decade when Dr. Dia Al Housseynou first brought mental healthcare to Mauritania, an arid, predominantly Muslim country deeply attached to the Sahara, both geographically and culturally.
As a young man, he studied abroad in Senegal, completed internships in several European countries and wrote his thesis on family therapy before returning to Mauritania in 1975 and convincing authorities of the importance of mental healthcare.
He set up the traditional desert tents known as “khaimas” in the courtyard of the national hospital, where families could bring their loved ones for doctor’s appointments.
Three years later, the hospital opened a dedicated psychiatric service. The Center for Specialized Medicine was inaugurated in 1990.
But Housseynou said he was nostalgic for the days of tents.
“Architecture is key in caring for the ill. When we build closed wards, everyone in their own room, it becomes a prison,” he said, adding that Mauritania did not need “Western-style psychiatry.”
Inside the psychiatric ward, many patients deemed violent are chained to their beds.
“It’s not hospital policy, but it’s up to families whether to restrain their loved one or not,” said chief security officer Ramadan Mohamed.
How questions of sovereignty and security are fueling instability in the Sahel
- Chad ended military cooperation with France in November, marking another major shift in the regional power balance
- Withdrawal of Western forces could lead to greater sovereignty, but might also leave states vulnerable to insurgencies
LONDON: As a piece of geopolitical theater, the timing was hard to beat. Chad’s foreign minister announced the end of military cooperation with France just hours after his French counterpart left the country.
That it took place on Nov. 28, as Chad celebrated its Republic Day—a key date in its move away from French colonial rule—only added to the symbolism.
On the same day, Senegal also suggested French troops should leave.
It was a seminal moment in post-colonial relations between France and the Sahel—the belt of nations south of the Sahara that stretches across Africa.
The departure of French troops from Chad and Senegal means France will no longer have a military presence in a region where it has long held sway.
The political dynamics of the Sahel have been rapidly shifting in recent years, and 2024 was no exception.
Chad’s decision to end its defense pact with France was one of the most significant events in a year that saw a continuation of the shift away from Western influence.
In the past three years, France has withdrawn troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as a wave of coups brought military regimes hostile to French influence into power.
These governments have looked elsewhere—to Russia, China, and Turkiye—for defense cooperation, dealing a major blow to Western hopes of maintaining a security presence in a region that has become a melting pot for extremist groups.
The year began with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announcing they would leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)—a regional bloc established to help maintain financial and political security.
There is widespread concern that the shrinking of this influential bloc of nations will lead to further instability.
Indeed, the backdrop for the past year of turmoil has been an ever-deteriorating security situation across the Sahel, with a growing number of civilians maimed and killed amid extremist insurgencies.
Chad’s decision to end its defense cooperation with France came in stark contrast to the ambitious Sahel security policy it enacted more than 10 years earlier.
In 2012, northern Mali was overrun by militants allied to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. As they expanded south toward the capital, Mali appealed to its former colonizer for help. In early 2013, France deployed 1,700 troops as part of Operation Serval.
The initial mission appeared to work as the militants fled northern towns. But the insurgency soon spread to neighboring countries.
In response, France expanded the operation in 2014 to include five states—Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. It deployed more than 5,000 soldiers and rebranded it Operation Barkhane.
Meanwhile, the insurgency grew, with militant factions aligning into two main groups: the Al-Qaeda offshoot Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Sahel branch of Daesh.
The failure to suppress the militants in Mali in the long term was one of the reasons for the 2020 coup that led to a deterioration in relations with France. In 2022, President Emmanuel Macron withdrew French troops from Mali as Russian mercenaries increased their presence.
A similar pattern followed in Burkina Faso and Niger, where populations turned against the French presence, military coups ensued, and France had to withdraw its troops.
FASTFACTS
• Chad ended military cooperation with France in November 2024, marking a major shift in the Sahel’s geopolitical landscape.
• Post-colonial resentment and France’s neo-colonial policies fueled public opposition, forcing troop withdrawals from Sahel nations.
• With Western powers withdrawing, Russia expanded its role in the Sahel, providing military advisers and forming alliances.
While Chad’s decision to evict French troops was not driven by a military coup, it came amid increasing hostility toward the French across the region.
“After 66 years since the independence of the Republic of Chad, it is time for Chad to assert its full sovereignty and redefine its strategic partnerships according to national priorities,” Abderaman Koulamallah, Chad’s foreign minister, said.
“This decision, taken after in-depth analysis, marks a historic turning point.”
Many analysts feel this was a turning point of France’s own making, stemming from its neo-colonial policies that limited the sovereignty of Sahel nations.
“Since independence, France has intervened in Chad and other former colonies, providing regime survival packages and interfering in domestic politics,” Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told Arab News.
There has been increasing hostility toward the region’s monetary system, which many view as a relic from the colonial era that allows France to maintain excessive control over their economies.
The African Financial Community (CFA) franc monetary zone applies across 14 countries in West and Central Africa and is pegged to the euro. Critics say it strips those countries of an independent national monetary policy.
This has fed growing resentment of the French presence in the region.
“The continued French interference in domestic affairs has created substantial anti-French sentiment in its former colonies,” said Laessing.
“No ruler in Africa can be seen close to France as they would face a public backlash. This was one of the reasons why Chad decided to end the military partnership with France.”
The deteriorating security situation has added to that resentment. An attack by the extremist group Boko Haram near the border with Nigeria in October killed at least 40 Chadian soldiers. Opposition parties said the French presence had failed to prevent the attack.
Reports preceding the French foreign minister’s visit in November suggested France was already planning a major troop reduction in African countries, including cutting numbers in Chad from 1,000 to 300.
However, the full withdrawal from Chad means that the last operational French base in Africa will be in Djibouti on the Red Sea coast, which Macron visited on Dec. 20.
For Chad, losing French military support is a significant concern for the multinational force battling Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin—an area that includes parts of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria.
“The withdrawal is good news for Boko Haram,” said Laessing. “I don’t think that the US and Britain will be able to contribute to the Lake Chad force without French logistical support.”
In 2019, French jets stopped a rebel column approaching the capital to topple then-President Idriss Deby. He was killed in 2021 in further clashes with militants and replaced by his son, Mahamat Deby Itno.
“Chad’s decision to expel French troops is a dangerous move for President Mahamat Deby because the main function of the French jets based in the Chadian capital is to protect the government against rebel attacks, which are frequent in this fragile country,” said Laessing.
The two Mirage 2000-D fighter jets left Chad for France on Dec. 10.
It was not just France that saw its position in the Sahel eroded in 2024. In March, Niger announced it would end military cooperation with the US.
By mid-September, the withdrawal of 1,100 American troops was complete, ending an extensive counter-terrorism operation run out of two air bases.
As the Americans left, the Russians moved in, with military advisers arriving from Moscow in May.
In 2024, the growing alliance of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger represented a seismic shift in the region’s balance of power.
As violence surged, a record 7,620 people were killed in the Sahel in the first six months of 2024—a 9 percent increase from 2023 and a staggering 190 percent rise from 2021.
Many fear the geopolitical changes in the region will make Sahel nations even more unstable.
With little hope of political or military solutions, the conflicts are likely to persist, leaving vulnerable populations in greater peril in the year ahead.
