By AFP 16 December 2021 | 1:03 pm At least 25 people died in Turkey this week after drinking a bad batch of bootleg alcohol, as production soars owing to high taxes, local media reported on Thursday. The production of bootleg liquor has risen with the steady increase in taxes, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party disapproving of alcohol consumption. Seven of… Alcohol | Image: Very Well Mind At least 25 people died in Turkey this week after drinking a bad batch of bootleg alcohol, as production soars owing to high taxes, local media reported on Thursday. The production of bootleg liquor has risen with the steady increase in taxes, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party disapproving of alcohol consumption. Seven of the deaths occurred in Istanbul, the HaberTurk channel reported. The national alcoholic drink raki costs around 250 Turkish lira ($16.5) per litre in the supermarket, or nearly a tenth of the monthly net minimum wage. Bootleg alcohol is sometimes mixed with methanol — which is more toxic and used by industry — instead of ethanol, which is usually used for human consumption. The Turkish interior ministry said police seized more than 30,000 litres (8,000 gallons) of counterfeit and bootleg alcohol after raids at 342 locations. Sixty people were detained. More than 40 people died in less than a week in Turkey towards the end of 2020. Latest 3 mins ago The Democratic Republic of Congo said Thursday that the latest Ebola outbreak was officially over, as the country marked 42 days with no new cases. 9 mins ago North Korea has tried to stop leaks to the outside world about its public executions in recent years, suggesting Pyongyang may be responding to international scrutiny of its human rights record, a Seoul-based research group has said. 54 mins ago South Korea said Thursday it will reimpose coronavirus curfews on businesses and limit the size of gatherings again as record infections forced the government to pause its plan to live with Covid. 58 mins ago Cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria remains vital, the United Nations Secretary-General said in an internal report Tuesday, as a UN authorization allowing aid into rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest without approval from Damascus is up for renewal. 1 hour ago Under-fire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday faced a crucial test of his leadership as polls opened in a by-election in a constituency his party has never lost, where defeat would intensify calls for a new leader.
Comments