Lifting the veil on fake news about Saudi TV ‘censoring’ Merkel’s hair

May 9, 2017

Jeddah, May 9: The caption to a picture showing Angela Merkel with her hair pixelated said it was all a joke.

veil

But some social-media users took the idea that Saudi television networks had censored images of the unveiled German chancellor very seriously.

Indeed, the erroneous claim soon became the latest fake news story to spread like wildfire online.

Merkel’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, during which she met King Salman and other officials, was covered widely by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and local TV stations.

None censored the image of her uncovered hair — but that didn’t stop the fake news machine going into overdrive.

The image appeared to originate from a Facebook page for “Khase News.” It showed Merkel standing next to King Salman, with her hair pixelated, and the caption “just for fun.”

But that didn’t stop numerous people on social media falsely drawing the conclusion that the image was a real screengrab from TV.

Sarah Abdallah, who tweets @sahouraxo, wrote on May 4 that authorities had apparently “censored the German chancellor’s hair when she appeared today on Saudi TV.”

Her message attracted more than 33,000 retweets, prompting an exasperated response from those who saw through it.

“It literally says it’s a joke on the pick you posted,” wrote Ahmad Al-Shathry, who tweets @Abunass3r, in response to Sarah Abdallah. “9000+ (!) people didn’t bother with a Google search. Sigh.”

State media did in fact have no issue about showing pictures of Merkel with her hair uncovered, with SPA, for example, publishing several images of the chancellor online.

But this is not the first example of fake news reports about “censorship” of images of female visitors to Saudi Arabia who chose not to wear a veil.

In January 2015, for example, numerous media outlets reported that Saudi TV stations had blurred the image of Michelle Obama on a state visit to Saudi Arabia.

But as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, such reports were “erroneous”. Even the Saudi Embassy in the US stepped in, apparently correcting news outlets that got it wrong.

“Too bad Bloomberg did not have someone monitor Saudi TV as other news outlets did,” the embassy said on Twitter at the time.

Not every visit by a female dignitary who does not cover her hair attracts fake news stories.

But many mainstream news outlets take pains to draw attention to the question of whether visitors choose to cover their hair, often at the expense of the political questions under debate during state visits.

The recent visit of British Prime Minister Theresa May to Saudi Arabia, for example, attracted numerous headlines informing readers that she did not arrive wearing a headscarf.

But such issues are often not even raised before official visits.

Holger G. Ziegeler, the German consul general based in Jeddah, said this was the case with Merkel’s visit to Saudi Arabia last week.

“Both the preparations for the visit as well as the visit of the German Federal Chancellor in Jeddah itself were coined by the spirit of close cooperation and mutual respect with a high level of professionalism,” he said. “Accordingly, the topic of clothing or attire was never raised.”

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Dubai, Jul 14: The UAE-based parents of children under 12 stranded in India are in a tight spot with multiple airlines refusing to accept unaccompanied minors.

Starting July 12, Indians wanting to return to the UAE have been given a 15-day window to travel back on the condition that they have valid residency permits. They also have to produce a negative Covid-19 test result.

But parents of minors said they are feeling helpless as children are unable to avail of the travel opportunity despite having return permits.

"It has been more than three months since my daughter has been stuck in India. We have GDRFA approval for her but the airlines are not accepting her booking, saying she is under 12," Poonam Sapre, a Dubai-based mother, told Khaleej Times.

Her daughter Eva Sapre, 10, is in Hyderabad and is awaiting a reunion with her parents.

"She is just 10 and it has already taken an emotional toll on her. She is eager to come back and is asking me every day about her return. This is so frustrating."

Barring Emirates and Etihad, other airlines including flydubai, Air Arabia and Air India Express are not accepting unaccompanied minors. With India extending the travel freeze till July 31, normal flights are yet to resume and only special flights are allowed between India and UAE under a bilateral agreement.

Sapre said only flydubai is flying the Hyderabad-Dubai route, and the carrier has restrictions on minors travelling alone. "My daughter is too young to fly through indirect routes," claims the mother.

When Khaleej Times reached out to the airlines for comment, they confirmed that such rules on unaccompanied minors were already in place even before Covid-19 travel restrictions came into effect.

Another Dubai-based distressed parent, who did not want to be named, said her eight-year-old son is in Kerala and is unable to fly due to airline policies on unaccompanied minors.

"I called up Air India Express and they said this has been their rule even before the Covid-19 outbreak. I am appealing to them to re-consider and make an exception during these trying times so that our children can come home safely," she said.

Faced with this eventuality, some parents are forced to fly out of the UAE so they can accompany their children on the flight back home.

An Indian mother, who is currently in Mumbai, said she flew out of Dubai on Monday morning solely for the purpose of bringing back her twin daughters, aged 10.

"I had no choice. Ideally, they could have travelled together, but under these circumstances I thought it best to get them with me personally," said the mother.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Dubai, May 7: The holy month of Ramadan is expected to be a 30-day month this year, said Ibrahim Al Jarwan, member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences.

According to Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm, he said that Sunday, May 24, will mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal.

Additionally, he said that the crescent of Shawwal will occur on Friday, May 22, at 9.39pm, after sunset, and will be visible on Sunday, May 24, the beginning of Shawal, which makes Ramadan a 30-day month this year.

He added that the next Ramadan is expected to start on April 13, 2021, and the one after that on April 2, 2022.

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News Network
July 13,2020

Dubai, July 13: An explosion caused by a gas leak damaged a restaurant, and nearby shops at a residential building in Dubai on Monday morning. 

According to Brigadier Abdul Haleem Al Hashemi, Deputy Director of Al Qusais Police Station, the incident took place at 4am when the restaurant was closed.

No injuries were reported, but two nearby shops, a pharmacy, a salon and three cars were severely damaged.

"Dubai Police patrols were immediately dispatched to the scene and worked with Dubai Civil Defense to evacuate residents of the two-storey building as a precautionary measure," Brig Al Hashimi explained.

Preliminary investigations showed that the blast was caused by a gas leak, the officer said. The Crime Scene Department of the General Department of Forensics and Criminology in Dubai is studying the evidence collected from the site and will be preparing the final report on the accident.

Brig Al Hashimi urged restaurant owners to ensure that all safety and security systems at their outlets are in good condition. Regular maintenance checks should also be conducted on all pipes and gas regulators, especially during the summer season.

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