Mayor in standoff with chemical firms in Israel's Haifa The mayor of Haifa, Israel's third largest city, Monday ordered municipal rubbish trucks to block access to a refinery and four petrochemical plants following a scare over high cancer rates. The standoff began Sunday when Mayor Yona Yahav ordered the revocation of the five firms' business licences after warnings linking high cancer rates in the area to air pollution. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES