UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (APP)::Air pollution claims seven million lives a year, UN health experts said Wednesday, amid new data showing that the problem affects nine out of ten people worldwide.
In a call for member states to take action urgently, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, warned that air pollution “threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden.”
According to WHO’s ambient air quality database, despite some improvements, pollution levels are “still dangerously high” in most parts of the world.
This includes “many of the world’s mega cities”, according to Dr Maria Neira, WHO’s Director of the Department of Public Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health, who added that air quality levels in those urban centres, exceed WHO guidelines by more than five times.
Covering more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries, the data points to an estimated 4.2 million deaths each year caused by outdoor air pollution, with 3.8 million fatalities overall, owing to household pollutants, linked to cooking.
More than 90 per cent of victims come from low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa, followed by others in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.
The threat to human health comes from exposure to near-invisible toxins that are present in polluted air as fine particles.
These pollutants “some of the most dangerous being sulfates, nitrates and black carbon“ penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and cause a range of diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and other respiratory infections.
According to WHO, global air pollution is linked to inefficient energy use in every sector of human activity: coal-fired power plants, industry, agriculture and transport.
Waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution, as are sand and desert dust, the agency says.
Inside people’s houses, the main source of air pollution stems from lack of access to clean cooking fuels.
It’s a problem that affects more than 40 per cent of the world’s population “some three billion people” a situation that the WHO Director-General described as “unacceptable”.
Although there are major gaps on air pollution data from regions including the Western Pacific and Africa – where information was available in only eight out of 47 countries on the continent – the WHO chief noted that the international community was “starting to pay attention and take action” on air pollution, recognizing it as a threat to sustainable development.
“The good news is that we are seeing more and more governments increasing commitments to monitor and reduce air pollution as well as more global action from the health sector and other sectors like transport, housing and energy,” he said.
WHO’s Dr Neira echoed that message, highlighting “an acceleration of political interest in this global public health challenge”. But she noted that the increased commitment to recording air pollution data to date, had come mostly from high-income countries.
Countries that are taking measures to reduce air pollution include India, WHO says, where one new scheme has provided free gas connections for more than 37 million women, to help them make the switch to clean energy use in the home.
The publication of WHO’s findings comes ahead of the first Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, which is due to run from 30 October to 1 November in Geneva, where the UN agency aims to push for improved air quality and combat the harmful effects of climate change.

UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (APP)::The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has “no credible” evidence that Iran was working on developing a nuclear “explosive device” after 2009 and that the UN’s nuclear watchdog considered the issue “closed” after it was presented in a report in December 2015.
The 2015 report “stated that the agency had no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. Based on the director-general’s report, the board of governors declared that its consideration of this issue was closed,” the IAEA said in a statement Tuesday.
“In line with standard IAEA practice, the IAEA evaluates all safeguards-relevant information available to it. However, it is not the practice of the IAEA to publicly discuss issues related to any such information,” it added.
The IAEA statement comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on April 30 that Israel had documents that showed new “proof” of an Iranian nuclear-weapons plan that could be activated at any time.
Under an agreement in 2015 with world leaders, Iran curbed its enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel to ease concerns it could be put to use in developing bomb material. In return, Tehran won relief from most international sanctions.
Since then, UN nuclear inspectors have repeatedly reported that Iran is heeding the terms of the deal.
Iran has accused Netanyahu of being an “infamous liar” over the allegations, which come as the United States is considering whether to pull out of an atomic accord with Tehran, which has always rejected allegations that it sought a nuclear weapon, insisting its atomic programme was solely for civilian purposes.
“The documents (referred by Netanyahu) show that Iran had a secret nuclear-weapons program for years” while it was denying it was pursuing such weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late on April 30 as he returned to Washington from a trip to Europe and the Middle East.
“What this means is [Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers] was not constructed on a foundation of good faith or transparency. It was built on Iran’s lies,” Pompeo said, adding that the trove of documents Israel said it obtained on Iran’s so-called Project Amad to develop nuclear weapons before 2004 contain “new information.”
“The Iranians have consistently taken the position that they’ve never had a programme like this. This will belie any notion that there wasn’t a programme,” Pompeo said.
Netanyahu made his dramatic announcement less than two weeks before the May 12 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to decide whether he will withdraw from the deal, which requires Iran to curb some of its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
The White House on May 1, said the United States “certainly supported” efforts by Netanyahu to release intelligence about Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a May 1, interview with CNN, Netanyahu said he did not seek war with Iran, but it was Tehran “that’s changing the rules in the region.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a statement on May 1, that the accusations Tehran lied about its nuclear ambitions were “worn-out, useless, and shameful” and came from a “broke and infamous liar who has had nothing to offer except lies and deceits.”
“How convenient. Coordinated timing of alleged intelligence revelations,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter, adding that the Israeli claims were “ridiculous” and “a rehash of old allegations.”

BEIJING, May 2 (APP)::China on Wednesday said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the only international organization that has the authority to monitor and verify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reach a conclusion on the nature of Iranian nuclear programme.
“We have noted relevant reports as well as responses made by the relevant parties,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hua Chunying said during her regular briefing while commenting on Israeli Prime Minister’s accusation against Iran’s nuclear programme.
The spokesperson said the JCPOA was agreed by Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (the P5+1) which was endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to ensure the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme.
“We have noted that the IAEA has verified Iran’s full compliance with the JCPOA obligations for ten times,” she added.
She said the JCPOA put in place the strictest monitoring and verification measures on the Iranian nuclear programme, adding, “What is imperative for all relevant parties to bear in mind the general and long-term picture and continue to earnestly implement and safeguard the JCPOA.”