Iraqi farmers wash and water recently planted palm trees in the outskirts of the holy city of Karbala, southern Iraq, 19 May 2022.  The administration of the Shiite holy shrines in the city of Karbala have launched a campaign, to plant thousands of trees and various agricultural crops such as wheat, barley, palm trees, olives, grapes and potatoes in the desert surrounding the city, in order to support the local Iraqi market.  The campaign also aims reclamation the vast desert lands around the city in order to represent a benefit in preserving the environment and reducing the effects of desertification and dust storms  EPA / AHMED JALIL  ATTENTION: This Image is part of a PHOTO SET

Iraq's tree-planting campaign – in pictures



More from The National:

Iraq's 'green belt' project stands as a wilted failure - in pictures

Abandoned hotels and dead fish: climate change in Iraq – in pictures

Experts and officials warn of bleak outlook for drought-hit Iraq

Iraq sprays farms and cattle in race to stop deadly Crimean-Congo fever - in pictures

Awar Qalb

Director: Jamal Salem

Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman

Two stars

Where to buy and try:

Nutritional yeast

DesertCart

Organic Foods & Café

Bulletproof coffee

Wild & The Moon

Amasake

Comptoir 102

DesertCart

Organic Foods & Café

Charcoal drinks and dishes

Various juice bars, including Comptoir 102

Bridgewater Tavern

3 Fils

Jackfruit

Supermarkets across the UAE

Who are the Sacklers?

The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.

Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. 

It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.

Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".

The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.

Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.

Updated: May 20, 2022, 12:07 PM

Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today