54 Saturday December 18 2021 | the times
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Bootleg alcohol kills
22 people in Istanbul
Turkey At least 22 people have
died and 16 were taken to hospital
after drinking bootleg alcohol in
Istanbul, officials have reported.
The city governor’s office said
that 11 of those who died and five
of the hospital patients were
foreigners. Four people have been
arrested over the deaths as
officials cracked down on bootleg
drinks before New Year
celebrations. The state-run
Anadolu news agency said that
methanol had killed 26 people
across nine provinces in the past
four days. People in the country
are turning to cheaper alcohol
or home brew because the price
of drink has risen with inflation
and higher taxes. (AP)Eight die in flash floods
as long drought breaks
Iraq Flash floods have killed eight
people in Arbil, the capital of the
autonomous Kurdistan region.
Water surged into homes as the
torrential rain broke a severe
drought. Omid Khoshnaw, the
provincial governor, said: “The
floods began at 4am and have left
eight dead, including women and
children.” A civil defence
spokesman said one person was
killed by lightning. (AFP)Typhoon leaves 12
dead on tourist island
Philippines At least 12 people died
on the popular surfing island of
Siargao when Typhoon Rai
brought winds of 120mph and
flooded entire villages. More than
300,000 people fled their homes
as the storm uprooted trees,
hampering rescue efforts. The
provincial disaster office was
among buildings damaged. “It
looks like it’s been hit by a bomb,”
a local reporter said. (AFP)Foreigners face tests
for syphilis and HIV
Russia Business organisations
have condemned a law that forces
foreigners who stay in the
country for more than three
months to have a string of
medical tests. They cover HIV,
syphilis, coronavirus, drugs and
TB, and people will also have to
give fingerprints. Diplomats are
exempt but the rules will affect
hundreds of thousands of migrant
workers from central Asia. (AFP)Fish grilling blamed for
Lahore’s worst smog
Pakistan The worst pollution in
Lahore for four years has been
blamed on a growing trend for
winter barbecues. The Punjab
Provincial Disaster Management
Authority told the city’s high
court that the increase in the
grilling of fish was a major cause
of the smog. Last month Lahore
was rated as the worst polluted
city in the world by the United
States Air Quality Index.Protesters demand
president’s resignation
Tunisia Thousands of opponents
of President Saied took to the
streets of Tunis to demand his
removal five months after he
suspended parliament. A plan was
published on Monday that
extends the suspension for a year
but promises a constitutional
referendum in July to be followed
by elections at the end of next
year. Activists said he had
“abducted the country”. (Reuters)A Qatari women’s rights activist is alle-
gedly being held in a psychiatric hospi-
tal against her will, a family member
claims, raising fears for her safety.
Noof al-Maadeed, 23, fled to Britain
in 2019 after years of domestic violence,
documenting her escape from Qatar on
social media. She returned October 13,
with her silence on social media raising
fears that the activist has either been
detained or killed.
A relative confirmed to The Times
that Maadeed was alive but has been
admitted to hospital in Qatar under a
false name to keep her out of the public
eye.
She is allegedly heavily medicated
and under guard at all times. “We have
been speaking to someone inside the
hospital for updates — the situation
sounds horrific and we want to have her
back safe immediately,” they said, ask-
ing to remain anonymous. The relative
said that many people in the family
were “extremely worried” about Maad-
eed and believed she was in
“imminent danger”.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the former
Israeli prime minister, may have been
forced to step down six months ago but
he and his family aren’t going quietly.
The Netanyahus have attacked the
new government after it decided his
family was no longer entitled to state
bodyguards and drivers. It has also or-
Netanyahu furious as family lose state bodyguards
dered them to return 21 “gifts” received
while he was in office, which are consid-
ered government property. Netanyahu,
72, is convinced that his successor,
Naftali Bennett, is behind the decisions.
On Thursday Netanyahu embarked
on a social media campaign under the
slogan “Israeli Democracy is in
Danger” with photos of Bennett clasp-
ing hands with Kim Jong-Un and the
Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan. Netanyahu was referring to laws
being passed by the new government to
limit the terms of prime ministers, allow
police searches without a judge’s orders
and allow judges to order the removal
of abusive posts on social media. Netan-
yahu is clearly worried these laws could
harm him and a potential comeback, as
he is head of the opposition.
The spat began when a ministerial
committee removed protection fromhis wife Sara, 63, and their sons Yair, 30,
and Avner, 27, last Sunday. Netanyahu
retains state protection and a car.
He lambasted the “political, scandal-
ous and irresponsible decision” and be-
lieves “enemies of Israel” and “radical
left-wing” activists were out to get his
wife and sons, and the government was
putting them in harm’s way out of spite.
He has denied possessing any gov-
ernment property.Israel
Anshel Pfeffer Jerusalem
GEDE SUDIKA PRATAMA/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCYPaint job At the Ngerebeg festival in Bali, Indonesia, young men scare off the spirits of bad luck by colouring their skin to resemble supernatural beings and demonsWomen’s rights protester
‘locked in Qatar hospital’
“The government usually puts
women that are abused or unwanted
[by their family] there,” they added. A
source inside the hospital said she bare-
ly eats or speaks and stays in her room
Maadeed made headlines when she
fled Qatar, using her father’s mobile
phone to access the government app
that processes exit permits, climbing
out the window of her family home andmaking her way to the airport. She flew
to Ukraine before heading on to Britain
and claiming asylum.
She appeared on BBC Arabic to raise
awareness not only of her case but the
challenges facing women in Qatar. She
said: “The government refuses to
support women’s rights and stop vio-
lence... violence is everywhere.”
In a tweet, Maadeed said there had
been three attempts on her life, leadingher to report the incidents to the police.
“Sheikh Tamim [bin Hamad al-Thani,
the emir] is the only one who can stop
the danger to my life,” she wrote.
She decided to return to her home-
land after she was reassured by the
authorities said she would be safe.
“The government reassured her that
on her return to Qatar, she would be
protected from the abuse from which
she fled, but instead, she has simply dis-
appeared. Her silence is extremely
alarming,” said Khalid Ibrahim, execu-
tive director of the Gulf Centre for
Human Rights, adding that her family
is one of “great power and influence”.
A Qatari official said Maadeed was
safe and in good health but added that
the affair was a private matter.
Qatari women under 25 cannot trav-
el without various permissions and dec-
larations and must have a male guardi-
an. Wives can travel abroad without a
husband’s permission but husbands can
seek travel bans in the courts.
Women must obtain permission
from their male guardians or husbands
to pursue higher education, work in
government jobs and obtain reproduc-
tive health care.Qatar
Melanie Swan Dubai
Eggs off menu
at schools in
Hindu row
Indian
Penelope Macrae Delhi
A teenage girl has become the public
face of the latest battle against Hindu
nationalists over the serving of eggs in
schools, which they say is a “deviation”
from a strict vegetarian diet.
In a video posted on social media,
Anjali, 14, lashes out at religious leaders
trying to ban eggs, which were recently
introduced in government schools —
with overwhelming parental support
— to help tackle a 35 per cent malnutri-
tion rate among poor children.
The girl from Gangavati in the south-
ern state of Karnataka, said: “You don’t
know the poor’s plight. We need eggs...
It’s a question of survival.”
Hindu seers are preparing to go on
strike, saying that they would “accept
no deviation” from their strict diet in
state schools. The regional government
now says it is looking for other “protein-
rich foods” to replace eggs.
Anjali accused the religious leaders
of hypocrisy, saying that the monaster-
ies accepted donations from egg eaters.
“Why are you eating with our money?”
she said. “Give it to us. We will eat.”Noof al-Maadeed is
said to be under
heavy medication