Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi has won more than 80 medals in her career. Photo: Facebook
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi has won more than 80 medals in her career. Photo: Facebook
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi has won more than 80 medals in her career. Photo: Facebook
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi has won more than 80 medals in her career. Photo: Facebook

Iranian climber competes without headscarf at international event


Holly Johnston
  • English
  • Arabic

An Iranian climber went against her country's strict dress code on Sunday, competing in South Korea without wearing a headscarf.

This comes amid weeks of massive protests following the death of a young woman in the custody of the morality police, after she was arrested for violating Iran's hijab rules.

Elnaz Rekabi, 33, is only the second Iranian female athlete to compete in public without wearing a hijab.

In a video that went viral on social media, she scaled a climbing wall with her hair tied back in a ponytail in the International Federation of Sport Climbing Asian Championships final.

The athlete, from Tehran, finished fourth at the event in South Korea's capital Seoul.

She previously won a bronze medal for boulder climbing at last year's competition and records show she has won more than 80 medals over the course of her career.

Protests continue across Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in the custody of the morality police on September 16.

She had been held three days earlier for wearing her hijab “improperly”.

Human rights groups estimate at least 230 people have been killed in the subsequent unrest, including 32 minors.

While Rekabi was widely praised online, concern was also raised over the repercussions she will likely face at home.

“Very powerful statement,” Iranian journalist Sima Sabet said on Twitter.

“She might not be allowed to be part of the national team again, or be punished, but she showed the world how an Iranian woman looks like.”

Some commentators said she will face prosecution in Iran.

In 2019, boxer Sadaf Khadem became both the first Iranian woman to win a boxing match and the first to compete without a headscarf.

She cancelled her return flight to Tehran after a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Iran had only recently opened up sport to women, on condition that they were coached by a woman and compete wearing a hijab.

US tops drug cost charts

The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.

Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.

In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.

Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol. 

The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.

High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.

Profile of MoneyFellows

Founder: Ahmed Wadi

Launched: 2016

Employees: 76

Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)

Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre

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The specs: 2019 Audi A8

Price From Dh390,000

Engine 3.0L V6 turbo

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm

Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km

Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

RESULTS

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi

6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

Updated: October 19, 2022, 7:36 AM