FAW, IRAQ // Since time immemorial, villagers on Iraq's Faw peninsula have fished the waters where the Tigris and Euphrates reach the Gulf. But today, they say violent sea border disputes are forcing them off their boats.
The town of Faw near Iraq's coast has around 40,000 inhabitants, most of them fishermen and their families. Town officials say hundreds of families have left in search of other work, leaving the port in danger of becoming a ghost town.
Fishermen complain of rises in the cost of fuel and oil shortages. But mostly they worry about confrontation with Iranian and Kuwaiti coast guards.
"They jabbed one of our guys with a knife and bound him with ropes and dunked him in and out of the water like torture. His only crime was that he was a fisherman," said Issa Abdul-Wahid, 43, describing a recent incident with a Kuwaiti patrol.
"They tell us 'You do not have waters. Your borders are the mud.' But these are our waters," he said.
Once the owner of his own boat, Mr Abdul-Wahid said Kuwaitis confiscated his vessel and held it for six months before returning it stripped of equipment. Too poor to refurbish it, he has been reduced to working as a labourer on other men's boats.
"We have no other livelihood but fishing, but our suffering is huge. I have a family to feed. What have we done to deserve this, a government that can't protect us?"
Ali al Kanaani, head of the Faw city council, said there were once 2,000 fishing boats operating from the town, but now there are just 400 or 500. Each boat has a pilot and 10 crew. With each fisherman usually supporting a large family, 100 people could depend for their livelihoods on a single boat.
Iraq has only narrow access to the sea. Its Faw peninsula is surrounded by a 50-kilometre stretch of sea coast facing Kuwait on one side, and by the wide Shatt al Arab waterway overlooking the marshes of southern Iran on the other.
The Shatt al Arab is formed where the Tigris and the Euphrates merge at Qurna, a town some believe to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden. It runs 184km to the Gulf. An invisible line down much of its length serves as the border between Iran and Iraq.
Control of the waterway was one of the main reasons for the costly and bitter war between Iran and Iraq that lasted through most of the 1980s. The boundary dispute is still not settled.
Kuwait and Iraq have also yet to define a sea border in settlement talks since Iraq's 1990 invasion. Many at the docks say Iraqis are viewed with hostility by Iranians and Kuwaitis still bitter over Iraq's wars against them.
In January, a Kuwaiti coastguard was killed and five Iraqi fishermen were wounded in a shoot-out with Iraqi sailors. Kuwait says the clash erupted when an Iraqi boat entered Kuwaiti waters and refused orders from a coastguard patrol to stop.
Faw's mayor said the incident took place in Iraqi waters.
In December 2010, Iranian coast guards detained 12 Iraqi fishermen who they say illegally entered Iran's waters. Three of them were later freed.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Khalef Yousif became a fisherman in his teens, learning the old techniques of casting a net from a metal-hulled boat, hauling in catches of silver pomfret, grouper and shrimp.
After nearly two decades at sea, he abandoned the life a year and a half ago and moved with his wife and three children from the port of Faw to a small plot 90km north.
He has become a farmer, planting cucumbers and tomatoes on land he was able to buy for a pittance because so many other families are moving out of the area, going even further north.
"The fishing business is not good anymore. Kuwaitis were harassing us wherever we go," he said, sitting near his shack.
Waleed al Sharifi, Faw's mayor, said the entire fishing industry may soon vanish altogether. Once, fishermen were protected by Iraq's navy, but the force has yet to be fully rebuilt since the US invasion in 2003.
"Unfortunately the Iraqi officials always put the blame on the Iraqi fishermen," he said. "The fishing career is threatened with extinction for many reasons. I would say if the situation stays as it is, the career will become extinct and without it, Faw will be empty of people."
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
RESULTS
Catchweight 63.5kg: Shakriyor Juraev (UZB) beat Bahez Khoshnaw (IRQ). Round 3 TKO (body kick)
Lightweight: Nart Abida (JOR) beat Moussa Salih (MAR). Round 1 by rear naked choke
Catchweight 79kg: Laid Zerhouni (ALG) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ). Round 1 TKO (punches)
Catchweight 58kg: Omar Al Hussaini (UAE) beat Mohamed Sahabdeen (SLA) Round 1 rear naked choke
Flyweight: Lina Fayyad (JOR) beat Sophia Haddouche (ALG) Round 2 TKO (ground and pound)
Catchweight 80kg: Badreddine Diani (MAR) beat Sofiane Aïssaoui (ALG) Round 2 TKO
Flyweight: Sabriye Sengul (TUR) beat Mona Ftouhi (TUN). Unanimous decision
Middleweight: Kher Khalifa Eshoushan (LIB) beat Essa Basem (JOR). Round 1 rear naked choke
Heavyweight: Mohamed Jumaa (SUD) beat Hassen Rahat (MAR). Round 1 TKO (ground and pound)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammad Ali Musalim (UAE beat Omar Emad (EGY). Round 1 triangle choke
Catchweight 62kg: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR). Round 2 KO
Catchweight 88kg: Mohamad Osseili (LEB) beat Samir Zaidi (COM). Unanimous decision
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
Blue%20Beetle
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
