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Iraq Shaken by 'Two Scandals' in Security, Higher Education

An Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad (File Photo- AFP)
An Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad (File Photo- AFP)
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Iraq Shaken by 'Two Scandals' in Security, Higher Education

An Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad (File Photo- AFP)
An Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad (File Photo- AFP)

Two incidents have sparked widespread anger in Iraq and shaken the ministries of Interior and Higher Education.

The first involved a number of Interior Ministry officers, including holders of high military ranks, who created “fake pages” on social media sites to blackmail their colleagues with the aim of obtaining money.

At the same time, pictures of the dean of the College of Computer Science at the University of Basra, showed him in an “intimate position” with a female student inside his office.

The two scandals sparked a wave of resentment on social media, with thousands of bloggers demanding severe punishments against those involved.

Major General Yahya Rasoul, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani, said that the latter ordered the formation of an investigative committee to look into the cases. The committee is headed by the Minister of Interior and includes the head of the National Security Service and the military inspector of the Ministry of Defense.

Investigations led to “identifying members of a network within the security body that uses social media sites (fake pages) to blackmail the institution and insult its symbols, in addition to extorting officers...”

The committee decided, according to Rasoul, “to refer the officers involved in this illegal act to the command, and to continue the necessary legal procedures and complete the investigations.”

In Basra, a security force arrested the Dean of the College of Computer Science, Imad Shaalan Al-Shawi, according to court orders, on charges of blackmail and exploiting his position after pictures spread of him in an intimate relationship with a female student inside his office.

The Minister of Higher Education, Naeem Al-Aboudi, decided on Wednesday to dismiss Al-Shawi from his post.

Activists on social media said that the incident raises urgent questions about whether female students in the Iraqi community are subjected to various forms of blackmail, calling for a serious investigation into cases related to professors exploiting their positions against women.

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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.