Dubai’s royal family on Friday said that Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was being “cared for at home” after the UN demanded proof that she was still alive following “disturbing” footage aired this week.
The UN Human Rights Office said it had asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for evidence after the BBC published video shot by the daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum saying she was being held captive and feared for her life.
Sheikh Mohammed is the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, of which Dubai is one of the seven emirates.
Photo: FREE LATIFA CAMPAIGN / EPA-EFE
His 35-year-old daughter has not been seen in public since a foiled attempt to escape from the emirate in March 2018.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had spoken to the UAE’s diplomatic mission in Geneva on Thursday.
“We did raise the case yesterday with the permanent mission here in Geneva,” office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters.
“We did ask for proof of life,” she added.
The BBC said the clips it broadcast on Tuesday were filmed about a year after Latifa was captured and returned to Dubai, showing her crouched in a corner of what she says is a bathroom.
The undated videos were aired as Latifa’s friends voiced concern that they are no longer receiving secret messages from her, the BBC reported.
In a statement issued by the UAE’s embassy in London, the Dubai royal family said: “We want to thank those who have expressed concern for her well-being, despite the coverage which certainly is not reflective of the actual position.”
“Her family has confirmed that her highness is being cared for at home, supported by her family and medical professionals,” it said.
The embassy did not provide any accompanying footage or images.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television. Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken hostage of the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis. "I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
LAOS: The bars of bustling Vang Vieng remain open, but information on the investigation into the deaths of six backpackers from suspected methanol poisoning is scarce The music is still playing and the alcohol is still flowing at the bars along one of the party streets in Vang Vieng. Inside a popular venue, a voice over the speaker announces a special offer on beers, as disco lights flicker on the floor. Small paper flags from nations across the world — from the UK to Gabon — hang from the ceiling. Young people travel from all corners of the globe to party in the small town nestled in the Laos countryside, but Vang Vieng is under a global spotlight, following a suspected mass methanol poisoning that killed six
RSS