Gas prices overwhelming oil-rich Iraq

Abu Mohammed is a slight man without prospects of beefing up. His 8-year-old son is barely tall enough to lean his skinny frame against the rear of their old car. But two or three times a week, they push the rusty vehicle up a hill to buy gasoline they can scarcely afford.

Mohammed drives a gypsy cab around the capital. If he makes $20 in a day, $18 of that – 23,000 Iraqi dinars – will go for gas. “If God provides,” he said, “I might have some petrol left for my generator.”

Newsday