BEIRUT // The United Nations' top human rights official has called on Bahraini authorities to retract a statement published by the state news agency that "grossly misrepresented" her, according to her office.
The state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said on Saturday that Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), had recognised that "misinformation" had been spread about the crisis in the kingdom.
However, in a statement released yesterday, Ms Pillay's spokesperson described the BNA account of a meeting held with Bahraini officials as a "distortion of her words".
"The Bahrain News Agency, which was not present at the meeting, stated that the High Commissioner had 'recognised misinformation' about the Kingdom of Bahrain, and quoted her as saying 'Certain information which we received about the developments in Bahrain are untrue'," Rupert Colville said in the statement. "She will formally request the government officials who attended the meeting to issue a correction."
The meeting took place in Geneva on Friday and was held to discuss a proposed UNHCHR visit to Bahrain, which has been rocked by anti-government protests since February. The uprisings were, however, quashed by security forces.
King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa last week announced plans for a national dialogue with members of the opposition due to take place early next month. The announcement came a day before the country's state of emergency, in place since March, was lifted.
Despite outward conciliatory moves, opposition groups say that peaceful protests have once again been met with violence by security forces. Opposition activists also said police broke up Shiite religious processions held in various locations around the country on Sunday, using tear gas, rubber bullets, sound grenades and birdshot.
"The targeting of processions is a flagrant violation of freedom to practice religious rites," said a statement by five senior Shiite clerics, including Sheikh Issa Qassim.
Brigadier Tariq bin Dayna, Bahrain's head of public security, said "action" was taken against "small groups [that] broke the law to conduct rallies in which violating political slogans were chanted", BNA reported yesterday.
Meanwhile, some of the 48 doctors, nurses and paramedics on trial in a military court for their alleged role in the uprising in February and March, have not had access to their lawyers, according to relatives and legal counsel.
They are facing charges ranging from incitement against the government to seizing control of Salmaniya Medical Complex, the island's main hospital, where some are also accused of storing weapons. A government official said that the lawyers would be allowed to see their clients before a hearing next Monday.
Relatives of some of those being held said some detainees have complained of torture. Authorities have previously denied allegations of abuse and said that such claims would be investigated.
In Washington, Barack Obama, the US president, was scheduled to meet Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa of Bahrain yesterday at the White House.
The meeting, which was also due to be attended by Tom Donilon, the national security adviser, was kept off the official White House schedule in a sign of the sensitivity surrounding US diplomacy on Bahrain.
Crown Prince Salman is seen as a reformer in Washington. His visit comes after the lifting of the state of emergency in the kingdom, which was seen as a positive step in Washington.
[ zconstantine@thenational.ae ]
* Omar Karmi contributed to this report from Washington
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
The Witcher - season three
Director: Various
Stars: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra
Rating: 3/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Fast X
Director: Louis Leterrier
Stars: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jason Momoa, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Brie Larson, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron
Rating: 3/5
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Company profile
Company: Splintr
Started: May 2019
Founders: Mohammad AlMheiri and Badr AlBadr
Based: Dubai and Riyadh
Sector: payments / FinTech
Size: 10 employees
Initial investment: undisclosed seven-figure sum / pre-seed
Stage: seed
Investors: angel investors
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Director: Peyton Reed
Stars: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
HOW TO ACTIVATE THE GEMINI SHORTCUT ON CHROME CANARY
1. Go to chrome://flags
2. Find and enable Expansion pack for the Site Search starter pack
3. Restart Chrome Canary
4. Go to chrome://settings/searchEngines in the address bar and find the Chat with Gemini shortcut under Site Search
5. Open a new tab and type @ to see the Chat with Gemini shortcut along with other Omnibox shortcuts to search tabs, history and bookmarks
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
The Little Mermaid
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem
Rating: 2/5
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India