World Cup organisers in Qatar have been hit with claims of ‘total hypocrisy’ after banning fans from drinking beer in and around the country’s stadiums over the course of the tournament. The sale of alcohol is strictly controlled in Qatar, who had to relax their regulations to allow FIFA sponsors Budweiser to sell beer outside stadiums and in fan zones.
This measure was partially overturned on Friday with just two days until the World Cup gets underway and many fans having already travelled to the country under the impression they would be allowed to drink. Qatari officials have since come under fire after video footage taken byThe Mirrorshowed FIFA delegates and guests indulging in expensive champagne at a lavish party after the World Cup draw earlier this year.
England boss Gareth Southgate was among the revellers at the post-draw gathering, with attendees enjoying a selection of alcoholic beverages despite regular fans being unable to drink beer at World Cup stadiums. A number of drunken delegates were said to have invaded the stage to burst into a chorus of: “Ole, ole, ole, Qatar, Qatar,” while a waitress is quoted as saying: “It’s expensive French champagne and they are all drinking it like water. They just don’t care.”
The footage has sparked fury among supporters on their way to the World Cup, with England fan Neal Weekes one of several Qatar-bound fans with a hardline view on the matter. He said: “They are threatening us with no beer before the games, it’s outrageous. It’s one rule for them and one for us. It’s always the diehard fans who miss out. Total hypocrisy, it’s a disgrace.”
Ethiopia Bans Street Begging By Syrians In Growing Numbers
Ethiopia is banning street begging by Syrian nationals who have startled people by showing up in growing numbers in recent months in major cities around hotels and mosques.
“We are now coordinating our security services to effectively ban Syrian citizens from begging. We have tolerated them for some time but we have now decided to ban the illegal practice. … They are becoming a burden,” the deputy head of Ethiopia’s immigration office told The Associated Press on Friday.
Some 560 Syrians entered between mid-August and mid-December and the majority leave when their tourist visas expire, said the deputy, Yemane Gebremeskel. While street begging is not illegal in Ethiopia – there is a large presence of children – the act of entering the country as a tourist and begging is, he said.
Nearly 120 other Syrians have applied for refugee status in the East African nation that hosts one of the world’s largest refugee populations, and they were provided with support equaling around $73.
“We gave them what we could afford but they are still begging,” Yemane said.
Many Ethiopians were baffled when the Syrians began appearing on the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, displaying signs written in the local Amharic language appealing for help.
One Syrian told the AP his family fled the war at home and has moved from place to place as life in other countries became too expensive.
Khalid Youssef said he, his wife and three children first sought refuge in Lebanon then a year ago moved to Sudan, which neighbors Ethiopia, with the help of the United Nations. They finally moved to Ethiopia.
“We don’t have any money,” he said. “Besides, there was no work in Sudan even though people were generous. Here, people are even more generous and they help us a lot.”
To survive, he said, the family asks for charity during the day. “At night we go to sleep at the mosque.”
The U.N. refugee agency told the AP in December it was supporting Ethiopia’s government in caring for close to 80 “Syrian refugees and asylum seekers” whom it said started arriving in the country in 2014.
After several interviews the Syrians on the streets, the agency “was able to establish that these were new arrivals,” it said. Over the previous month three Syrian families composed of 20 people had applied for asylum, it added.
Ethiopia currently hosts 900,000 refugees mainly from neighboring Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea and Sudan. Earlier this month the U.N. praised the government for a new law that will allow refugees to obtain work permits, go to primary schools, open bank accounts and more.
Ethiopia’s refugee law is now “one of the most progressive refugee policies in Africa,” the agency said.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on December 4, 2017
KEBAB =ከ “እባብ”
The European Union’s legislature moving to ban the phosphates used meat slabs
Citing health concerns based on studies that linked phosphates to heart disease
But takeaway owners say there is ‘doner discrimination’ against Turkish business
A change in European Union rules could see doner kebabs banned across the continent, infuriating takeaways and fast-food lovers.
The European Union’s legislature is moving to ban the phosphates used in the slabs of meat at the heart of the popular street snack that originated in Turkey.
Up-in-arms kebab vendors in Germany have skewered the idea.
EU lawmakers are citing health concerns based on studies that linked phosphates to cardiovascular disease.
Owners of takeaway restaurants and industry groups claim the additives are needed to keep seasoned kebab meat juicy and flavorful, both during transport and on the vertical retail rotisseries where it is cooked.
Fueling the brouhaha is that some sausages containing phosphates are allowed to be sold in EU countries and would not be affected by any move involving kebab meat.
The disparity has some vendors alleging that ‘doner discrimination’ was cooked up deliberately to disadvantage Turkish-owned businesses.
‘If the European Parliament gets its way, this would be the death sentence for the entire doner kebab industry in the European Union,’ Kenan Koyuncu of the German Association of Doner Kebab Producers told Germany’s Bild daily newspaper.
Renate Sommer, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party in the European Parliament, wrote on Facebook that ‘a ban of the phosphate addition would be the end of doner production and would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.’
Selected Comments:
Good it’s disgusting foreign junk anyway
Kebabs are truly awful, but then again, so is the majority of fast food
For once I agree with the eu. kebab meat is not fit for animals never mind humans.
It’s disgusting, vile and not fit for human consumption. I would not give my dog kebab meat!!!!
If you watched what went into a Kebab you would never eat one YUK
It’s all halal–i do not eat halal knowingly
They should ban the halal meat that goes into them
I’d have thought the biggest threat to health is the unhygienic way the meat is prepared, stored and handled.
Funny how people like the Turks always quote persecution over tiny matters when in their “liberal” country people actually disappear and are never seen again. Why don’t you go back if you don’t like it here.?
Good idea..Close all the a Kebab shops down, you never see a Turk eat a Donor Kebab do you? They have more sense, the donor Kebab is 90% fat and gristle and only served and purchased by British Drunks coss any sane person wouldn’t touch one with a bargepole. 5-7years ago health and safety raided 20 Kebab shops up and down the country to test how much Lamb % was in their Donors. 15 had less than 5% 4 hadn’t any Lamb at all and used substitute meats like chicken which was cheaper and 1 shop after testing didn’t have Lamb, Chicken, Beef, Pork or any meats whatsoever, even being tested for Dog and Cat and after DNA testing coudn’t work out what was actually in the Kebab whatsoever!!.