Israeli politician's 'Fascism' perfume campaign ad draws criticism

Agencies
March 20, 2019

Occupied Jerusalem, Mar 20: A new ad with an elegantly dressed minister using "fascist" perfume drew online outrage on Tuesday, the latest in a social media war ahead of an Israeli election that has also featured a flatulent hippo.

Israeli law prevents political ads from being aired on television until two weeks before the April 9 election, so parties have flooded social media with clips instead.

The elections are expected to be close and social media is playing a part in the campaign as never before.

Messaging tool WhatsApp is particularly popular among Israelis and makes sharing clips easy, though Facebook and Twitter are also unavoidable in the self-proclaimed "start-up nation," known for its high-tech prowess.

"There's very heavy use of the internet in campaigning, but it's a wild west," said Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank. "There's no regulation."

In keeping with Israel's seldom subtle political scene, many clips have been over the top, and the one released late on Monday featuring Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked pushed lots of buttons.

The ad, viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media, tries to play on accusations from her critics that Shaked has pursued a fascist-like agenda and argues that her policies are in fact more democratic.

Supporters registered approval, but many comments judged the ad, which mimics an advert for a pricey perfume, as a failure that could be mistaken for an endorsement of fascism. "For anyone who doesn't know that the left often accuses Shaked of fascism, this ad will sound like she's endorsing fascism and calling it democracy," Eylon Levy of Israel's i24 news channel posted on Twitter.

Opinion polls show Shaked's far-right New Right party not performing as well in the election as had earlier been projected, and the aim seemed to be to recapture the public's attention. It certainly succeeded in doing so, though it perhaps backfired.

As dramatic piano music plays, Shaked saunters and poses while a narrator lists the virtues of a perfume called "Fascism". The qualities listed include Shaked's stated goals such as reducing what she calls judges' activism.

After spraying herself with "Fascism," Shaked turns her gaze to the camera and says: "Smells like democracy to me."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud have been among them, creating an online television channel and churning out regular videos denouncing his main opponent, former military chief Benny Gantz. Gantz's Blue and White alliance has responded in kind.

Smaller parties have sought to differentiate themselves.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's centre-right Kulanu, which is struggling in opinion polls, last week released a video designed as a trailer for a movie.

It featured a fish climbing a tree and a flatulent hippopotamus, with the message being that only Kahlon, the "sane right", cares about social issues.

The animals were meant to symbolise all the distractions from real issues Israeli voters are facing in the campaign.

The extreme-right Jewish Power party, which many Israelis view as racist, has distributed a video showing a soldier hesitating to shoot a Palestinian attacker out of fear of prosecution.

One of the party's leaders, Itamar Ben-Gvir, emerges and tells the soldier to "shoot him, it's self-defence!"

The head of the party, Michael Ben-Ari, has since been disqualified from the election by the supreme court for statements that the attorney general called incitement to racism.
Netanyahu and Gantz have been duking it out over who is best-suited to guarantee Israel's security.

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Monali Saha Ch…
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Jul 2019

Wonderful article. Very insightful. Go a lot of information

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Dubai, Jan 4: Three UAE airlines have made it to lists of the safest carriers in 2020, reinforcing the value these companies provide passengers in the increasingly competitive aviation scene.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates are in the list of the top 20 safest airlines, while Sharjah-based Air Arabia is in the list of the top 10 low-cost carriers, safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com reported on Thursday.

It named Qantas as the safest airline for 2020 out of the 405 carriers it monitors.

The top 20, in order, are Qantas, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Alaska Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Australia, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, TAP Portugal, SAS, Royal Jordanian, Swiss, Finnair, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus and KLM.

"These airlines are clear standouts in the airline industry and are at the forefront of safety," said AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas.

"For instance, Australia's Qantas has been recognised by the British Advertising Standards Association in a test case in 2008 as the world's most experienced airline."

"Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the pure-jet era," said Thomas.

AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their top 10 safest low-cost airlines; they are, in alphabetical order, Air Arabia, Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, IndiGo, Jetblue, Volaris, Vueling, Westjet and Wizz.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in London, says that it isn't a surprise that UAE carriers are on those lists.

"UAE airlines almost always feature in the top rankings for safety because they value the equipment that they fly their passengers on each and every day," he told Khaleej Times on Thursday.

"All airlines do; but for the UAE, where airlines have expanded rapidly in the last couple of decades, it's an amazing feat that they rank so highly while inducting so many new aeroplanes."

There's little benefit to adding luxurious cabins if maintenance, security and safety protocols as well as routine engineering schedules are not adhered to, he stressed.

"And with the UAE itself sporting MRO activities as well as through companies like Strata, which supply components to Airbus and Boeing directly, airlines here have harnessed that tech-change to ensure that their fleets have the highest redundancy and safety checks at every possible chance," Ahmad added. "That translates into passenger confidence - and we can see the brand and loyalty strength across Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia and Etihad; it's no surprise that each year, they all fly more and more passengers across their network."

In making its selections, AirlineRatings.com editors and its industry advisors take into account numerous critical factors that include: Audits from aviation's governing bodies and lead associations, government audits, airline's crash and serious incident record, fleet age, financial position and pilot training and culture.

"All airlines have incidents every day and many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues instead of airline operational problems. And it is the way the flight crew handles incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one. So just lumping all incidents together is very misleading," said Thomas.

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Khaleej Times
May 27,2020

Dubai, May 27: As the authorities have taken steps to ease the Covid-19 restrictions to allow the people of Dubai to resume sporting activities from Wednesday, May 27, the Dubai Sports Council has answered your key questions.

Q&A

What are the age groups allowed to practice sports during this period?

From 12 years old to 60 years old.

Is it required to do the Coronavirus (Covid 19) medical test certificate before resuming physical activity?

Returning to the activity does not require a Coronavirus (Covid 19) test certificate.

Is it allowed for the elderly with chronic diseases to return to sports activities in fitness and yoga centers?

No, it is not allowed.

Is it allowed to use the shower cabins and bathrooms in fitness and yoga centers?

Shower cabins, saunas and jacuzzis are not allowed, while bathrooms are allowed, with sterilisation being emphasised after each use.

What sports can resume its activities?

All sports except water sports/swimming and that are practiced indoors and swimming pools.

What is the approved operational percentage within the sports facility?

A maximum 50% capacity

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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