
Iraqi Cancer Drug Scandal: Top Libyan health officials jailed
Shafaq News/ Libya's Public Prosecution on Wednesday ordered the detention of the country's health minister and several senior officials over irregularities in the import of cancer medication from Iraq.
In a statement, the Attorney General's Office revealed that in addition to the minister, the detainees include the pharmacy department director, the chair of the general tenders committee, a central procurement officer, and a representative of an importing company.
'Investigators uncovered that the drug was imported without legal and technical approvals or coordination with the National Anti-Cancer Authority,' it added. 'This constitutes a breach of public procurement rules.'
The cancer drug scandal surfaced last week after Iraq's Ministry of Health announced it had delivered the first locally produced shipment of cancer drugs to Libya. However, Libya's National Anti-Cancer Authority—the only body authorized to approve such treatments—denied receiving any shipments from Iraq or any other Arab or Asian country.
In response, Libya's Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour affirmed that the Public Prosecution will take all necessary legal measures against those involved in the violations.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Shafaq News
19 minutes ago
- Shafaq News
Israel systematically targeted Gaza schools and mosques: UN report
Shafaq News/ Israeli forces committed war crimes in Gaza, including killing civilians sheltering in schools, mosques, and churches, a UN commission reported on Tuesday. In a report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory accused Israel of systematically targeting Gaza's educational and cultural sites, warning the destruction may indicate genocidal intent. It documented repeated strikes on schools and places of worship, killing civilians—many children—and classified the attacks as unlawful and deliberate under international law. The report described a collapsing humanitarian situation: starvation, trauma, and what it labeled 'subhuman living conditions' for children. Religious sites used as shelters were also hit, with hundreds reportedly killed. In the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel, the commission reported settler violence against schools and students, often met with official inaction, noting threats and arrests targeting academics and students who supported Gaza. While urging the Security Council to act, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called on Israel to lift its blockade, warning of imminent famine. Israel rejected genocide claims. The commission demanded Israel halt strikes on civilian infrastructure, stop settlement expansion, comply with court rulings, and allow aid access, while pressing Hamas to end military activity in civilian areas. The full report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on June 17. Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel following years of blockade and military pressure, killing around 1,200 and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a broad military campaign that has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children.


Shafaq News
2 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Syria accuses foreign-backed groups of stirring unrest
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Syria's Ministry of Interior accused unnamed foreign-backed groups of seeking to destabilize the country's internal peace. Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Nour Al-Din Al-Baba pointed out that one of the core principles of transitional justice is ensuring fair trials for individuals implicated in war crimes. Addressing the issue of detainees, Al-Baba claimed that during the Deterrence of Aggression campaign (the military offensive launched by Syrian opposition factions, primarily led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in November 2024,) certain army and intelligence officers from the Al-Assad regime collaborated with authorities and surrendered military units and security branches—facilitating the advance of the campaign's forces. 'A new directorate has been established within the Interior Ministry to coordinate with Interpol to pursue individuals accused of committing crimes against Syrians,' Al-Baba revealed. For his part, the Supreme Committee for the Preservation of Civil Peace Hassan Soufan stressed that transitional justice does not equate to prosecuting everyone who served under the previous regime. 'Accountability should be limited to senior perpetrators responsible for major crimes and human rights violations,' Soufan stated, warning that rushing or unilaterally implementing transitional justice could plunge the country into chaos and give the impression that the state is incapable of asserting authority, 'potentially opening the door to foreign intervention.' 'The initial guarantees of safety during the liberation phase played a key role in preventing bloodshed, and the country's reconciliation efforts have yielded widely acknowledged progress,' he noted. Clashes erupted in Syria's coastal provinces in early March after armed groups—allegedly linked to remnants of the former Al-Assad regime—ambushed government forces in Latakia, Tartous, and Jableh, resulting in more than 1,500 casualties.


Shafaq News
4 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Israeli war on Gaza: +20 killed at aid lines amid deportation of Maddalena activists
Shafaq News/ At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday while waiting for aid near the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza, amid escalating Israeli warnings to international activists aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship Maddalena. According to Arab media, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since dawn rose to 36. Among the casualties were three members of the same family in an airstrike on tents sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis, and nine bodies recovered after Israeli raids on homes in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Additional strikes hit residential areas in Deir al-Balah and Baten al-Samin in southern Gaza, while three medics were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza City's al-Tuffah neighborhood. The Gaza Government Media Office said over 130 civilians have been killed in the past two weeks alone while attempting to access aid parcels at what it described as 'checkpoints of humiliation,' with nearly 1,000 others injured. The numbers, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, bring the overall death toll since October 7 to 54,927, with more than 126,615 wounded. A spokesperson for the Gaza Medical Relief Society told Al Jazeera that aid centers have 'turned into death traps.' 'People are collapsing in the streets from hunger,' he added, noting that the rations are barely enough to meet 1% of actual needs. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities intensified measures against activists aboard the Maddalena, a vessel part of the Freedom Flotilla aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry affirmed that the activists were transferred to Ben Gurion Airport for deportation. 'Those refusing to sign repatriation agreements would be brought before a judge,' it warned. Israeli media reported that eight passengers refused to comply and would be forcibly deported. Among them is French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, who was being held at the Givon Prison in Ramla and is set to be flown to Paris. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, also aboard the ship, was deported and flown back to Sweden, according to the Swedish media. The Maddalena, the 36th ship organized by the Freedom Flotilla, set sail from Catania, Italy, in early June carrying 12 activists from multiple nationalities and humanitarian supplies, including baby formula, flour, medical kits, water purification equipment, and prosthetics for children. International reports indicate that 93% of Gaza's population faces severe food shortages as a result of the Israeli siege and systematic destruction of infrastructure, including farmlands and fisheries. The alliance described its mission as an act of 'peaceful civil resistance,' asserting that Palestinians deserve the same dignity and rights as people elsewhere in the world.