NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL/GULF TODAY
Dubai school buses get safety makeover
DUBAI - AUG 28: New rules and regulations governing school buses, their drivers and operators will be introduced next week to improve safety for the 100,000 children who travel to school on public transport.
The legal measures announced today by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), which regulates school buses, include the requirement that drivers must be licensed and hold a special permit, valid for one year and obtainable only on successful completion of a training course. In addition, all school buses will have to be registered.
Bus drivers will not be issued with a permit unless they are free of drugs and alcohol and have no criminal record. They must also disclose any black points they have picked up for traffic violations.
Schools and bus operators will be fined if they are found to be in breach of any of the regulations. Under the new directives, which will come into force on Monday, in time for the new school year, Dubai’s entire fleet of about 1,200 school buses will be painted a distinctive yellow and must be fitted with speed control systems limiting them to 80 kph. The buses must also meet a set of strict safety criteria, which include having a minimum number of emergency exits, fire extinguishers and first aid kits.
The guidelines have been drawn up by the RTA’s Public Transport Agency (PTA) and form part of the new School Transport Control Law, which the Government’s Executive Council will officially implement on Monday. The regulations, which are aimed at schools, drivers and companies manufacturing and operating the buses, have been published in a new Dubai School Transport Manual, which will be distributed to all the relevant bodies.
Announcing the measures, Essa al Dosari, chief executive of the PTA, said the new regulations would help to ensure the safety of children using school buses.
“We are very keen to make sure that our schoolchildren are safe on their journeys to school and to ensure that Dubai’s school buses meet the highest international safety standards,” he said. “The manual covers the responsibilities of school managers, operators, drivers as well as students and their guardians. Other chapters include specifications of school buses, offences and fines, and the procedures for registering buses and their drivers.”
The regulations are the result of a study of school public transport carried out by the PTA in 2006 and 2007. The study found that 17,651 pupils from government-run schools and 83,798 from private schools in Dubai used school buses.
Private schools operate 1,934 buses, while 235 are run by government schools. The survey found that 1,350 drivers had not been specially trained in school transportation and that 613 buses were not fitted with seat belts – a requirement of the new legislation.
Eighty-one school buses have been involved in accidents in Dubai since the start of this year, resulting in one death and six injuries. A key stipulation of the new rules is that schools must provide at least one “guide” on each bus to oversee the safety of passengers. This will come as welcome news to parents who called for such action earlier this year after several school bus accidents, two of which were fatal, which they believe could have been prevented if an adult supervisor had been on board.
In March, Yasmin Ramadan, five, from Egypt, died instantly when she was run over by her school bus as she stopped to pick up her bag, which she had dropped in front of the vehicle.
The girl’s school admitted staff shortages meant it was unable to have supervisors on any of its buses.
A week earlier, two schoolgirls, aged five and 14, who had just stepped off their bus in Ras al Khaimah died after a car hit them.
These and other incidents led to calls by parents and education officials for tighter regulation of school buses, including the requirement for on-board safety officers.
Mr Dosari said schools and operators would be given a six-month grace period, which could be extended to one year, in which to make the necessary technical changes to their existing buses.
The Dubai School Transport Manual includes a list of financial penalties. The fine for operating a school bus without obtaining a permit either for the vehicle or the driver will be Dh500.
Failure to meet the requirements concerning the external appearance of the bus – it must be painted yellow with the words “School bus” on every side – will carry a fine of Dh150.
THE NATIONAL
Expats search suburbs for rent solution
ABU DHABI - AUG 28: Skilled expatriates are searching for affordable accommodation in isolated corners of Abu Dhabi in response to the capital’s housing crisis.
Priced out of a housing market that is experiencing an unprecedented shortage of vacant homes, consultants, architects and teachers from Europe and North America are being squeezed out of Abu Dhabi island and surrounding areas into desolate communities that lack basic services. Suburbs that line the Abu Dhabi to Dubai motorway, such as Shahama and Al Rahba, have become popular among expatriates for their relatively low living costs. But even in these areas rents have soared.
“Most of the people just don’t want to pay outrageous money in Abu Dhabi anymore,” said Vera Zikic, 49, a mother of two from the former Yugoslavia who works in the transportation sector in Abu Dhabi.
She and other expatriate professionals have moved out of the capital into Al Falah and Shamkha – housing developments occupied mainly by Emiratis – about 40km beyond Abu Dhabi on the sandblasted motorway to Sweihan.
Located tens of kilometres from hospitals, markets and cinemas, Ms Zikic said services and basic amenities in these cities were seriously lacking. The nearest medical facility was about 20km away in Bani Yas.
Police patrols were scant in areas where she walked alone at night, she said, while an absence of supermarkets that sold basic commodities forced her to drive to the distant Carrefour market on Airport Road in Abu Dhabi.
“I end up having to drive to Abu Dhabi every day for bread and for doing other things, like picking up the kids. And in the almost two years since I’ve been here, I’ve seen two police cars.”
She would, however, rather risk living in a place with meagre police monitoring and spend more on petrol for her drive to work than go bankrupt paying rent in Abu Dhabi, she said. She pays Dh50,000 a year to rent a 125 square metre building, which she shares with her two teenage children. The home was once used as a traditional majlis for the adjacent villa.
In comparison, the annual rent for two-bedroom flats on the Corniche ranges from Dh180,000 to Dh194,400, according to a study published in June by Asteco, a UAE-based property services company. Average rents in the city centre increased by 49 per cent in the year from June 2007 and nearly doubled in some areas, the company said.
Since she had moved to Shamkha from a one-bedroom apartment in Khalidiya, Ms Zikic said several engineers and architects from Abu Dhabi were also in the throes of relocating their families there.
Matt Simmons, a British mechanic at Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, which maintains aircraft at Abu Dhabi International Airport, moved into a majlis in Shamkha with his wife two months ago, paying about Dh60,000 less a year in rent than he had for his shared two-bedroom apartment in the Mina area of the capital.
“We’re out in the sticks,” he said. But, because of the relatively low rents in Shamkha, “at least five of my friends from work started expressing a lot of interest in moving out here since I did”.
There was, he said, “practically zero police presence, but we haven’t felt any problems – we’re comfortable”.
Andrea Menown, the leasing manager of LLJ Property, said she was aware of expatriate families moving into isolated suburbs, but suggested that their tenancies were not negotiated through professional estate agents.
“We are aware that there are houses out there being rented, but sometimes it’s questionable ownership and you’re just not quite sure who you’re renting the property from.”
Nevertheless, despite this and the lack of amenities in Shamkha and Al Falah, expatriates are willing to make the move for low-cost housing.
“When I tell my friends that there’s really nothing out here, like public transportation and supermarkets, they say to me, ‘Abu Dhabi has got out of hand. You pay US$100,000 a year in rent – not dirhams, dollars’,” said Ms Zikic. “They’re insulted by how rents have gone up so much for no logical reason.”
However, even rents in Shamkha were climbing, due to the recent influx of expatriates to the area, Ms Zikic said. “When I got here, it was Dh50,000 to rent. But now some of these places go for as much as Dh100,000.”
But with the city centre’s vacancy rate for rentable property estimated at less than one per cent in some popular areas, many residents have little choice but to seek accommodation in remote suburbs.
“People’s first choices are the Khalidiya and Corniche areas, but there’s next to nothing available there,” said Rebekah Savage, of Foundation Property Management, an Abu Dhabi company.
“If you’re lucky and something gets turned over by the landlord, you’re looking at waiting two or three months.”
Ms Menown said estate agents will go out of the city centre block by block until they find something suitable for their clients.
“People should not be under any illusion that just because you’re paying a lot of money for your home, we don’t have any difficulty getting it. The situation is atrocious.”
THE NATIONAL
‘Price caps will be hard to enforce’
DUBAI - AUG 28: With Ramadan just days away, retailers are sceptical the Government will be able to enforce price caps on basic food items.
There have already been frequent violations to the so-called ceiling agreements signed in recent months, say several retailers, who believe it is beyond the Government’s ability to do anything about it.
“Some places do maintain their prices, like Choithram and Lulu, because they know customers will keep coming every day, but others are raising prices because they are afraid of losing money,” said Kishore Ghaudhani, the owner of a small restaurant near Al Awir.
Punit Shrespha, the owner of the Shanghai Chinese Restaurant in Bur Dubai, said price breaks during Ramadan would ease a massive burden. “Of course, I think everyone is hoping for prices to decrease since living expenses have become so high in Dubai, but I find it hard to imagine that the Government can really keep everyone from raising their prices,” he said. “The retailers have to make a living too.”
This week, the Government has taken its message door-to-door, urging retailers not to increase the burden on consumers.
Yesterday, officials from the Emirates Society for Consumer Protection, a division of the Ministry of Economy, visited three major supermarkets in Dubai to get feedback from retailers and vendors about the measures. On Tuesday, the delegation toured the capital, also urging co-operation.
“Our primary goal in this trip is to make an updated assessment on prices in the market and observe whether there is any type of false price gouging currently taking place,” said Dr Hisham Saeed al Nuaimi, the society’s director.
“The case now is that there are market prices and we would like to make sure that those market prices are maintained,” said Dr Nuaimi, “at least through the month of Ramadan so to assist the people”.
Earlier this year, the Government signed agreements with various domestic retailers, including Baniyas Co-operative Society, Carrefour, Union Co-operative Society and Lulu Hypermarkets, for price caps on items such as chicken, rice, flour and eggs to combat rising prices set by suppliers.
Last April, the Government announced it was stockpiling more than a dozen “essential” food items to protect against food shortages that often follow price caps.
One month later, officials with the Ministry of Economy announced that 15 items – including dry and condensed milk, frozen and canned vegetables, baby food, chicken, edible oil, rice, flour, fish, meat and tea – were to be placed on a free import list to contain inflation.
Due to limited water and agricultural land, countries in the GCC are forced to rely heavily on imported food items. The UAE imports almost 85 per cent of its food.
In recent months higher oil prices have manifested themselves locally in the form of higher commodities prices, a burden which is then passed on to consumers. According to the latest price index released Tuesday, a one-kilogram bag of Indian dry onions cost Dh1.55 (US$0.42) at Carrefour, up from Dh1.45 in April. At Lulu hypermarkets in Abu Dhabi the same product cost Dh1.65, up from Dh0.60 in April. One kilogram of Jordanian tomatoes was Dh2.40 at the Abu Dhabi Co-operative Society, up from Dh1.95 in April.
The Federal Government reported a 10.7 per cent jump in inflation last year driven by higher rents, transport and food costs. According to the Emirates Society for Consumer Protection, food inflation could rise as high as 40 per cent this year.
He said several supermarkets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi had already been caught violating the price cap agreements. While he would not name those retailers, he did say the Government will remain vigilant about prices throughout Ramadan.
He added that flouting the designated price caps would bring consequences, including verbal warnings, fines from Dh1,000 to Dh10,000 and possible legal action.
But Mr Ghaudhani, the owner of Al Awir restaurant, did not see those as a deterrent.
“The government people come today and see one price,” he said. “Next week there will be a new price – will they be back here to check?”
Vendors at the Union Co-operative Society’s Fruit and Vegetable Market such as Massoud Boulos added that the higher prices may be worth the risk.
“Everyone here is just trying to survive,” he said. “You would be surprised what a difference it makes to raise prices by just Dh2.”
Ramadan poses risks for diabetics
ABU DHABI - AUG 28: Doctors have warned diabetics to take extra care of their health during Ramadan due to the risks of fasting with the condition.
If done improperly, low blood sugar during the day, followed by a sharp increase at night, can trigger a diabetic attack.
“People with diabetes can fast during Ramadan. It depends whether you are taking insulin or you are taking tablets,” said Dr Abdulrazzaq al Madani, an endocrinologist and head of the Emirates Diabetes Association.
“If you are taking tablets and maintaining your diet, you can fast without any problem provided that you have controlled your blood sugar properly before the month of Ramadan. For this reason, diabetes sufferers must seek the advice of their doctor, prior to fasting, to help them adjust their medication and diet.”
The UAE has the second-highest incidence of diabetes in the world, more than three times the global average. According to a study from UAE University, diabetes affects 24.5 per cent of the population, while another 10 per cent are not aware they have the condition.
There are stark differences between the needs of a patient with Type 1 diabetes and a patient with Type 2. Dr Maha Barakat, the medical and research director of the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi, says patients with Type 1 diabetes “always need enough insulin in their body throughout the day and night”. They should “never be tempted to stop their insulin and must liaise with their doctor regarding how to adjust their doses and regimes for Ramadan”.
Dr Madani suggested that people with Type 1 diabetes should not fast during Ramadan, but said people with Type 2 could fast if they managed their blood sugar appropriately.
“All patients with diabetes should avoid eating high-sugary food and food where the carbohydrate component is in the fast-release form, otherwise known as high-glycaemic index,” said Dr Barakat. “High-glycaemic index starchy food includes potatoes and white bread. Patients should also avoid getting dehydrated and should try to drink enough water – never sugar-containing drink – from the time of Iftar to just before Fajr.”
Both doctors stressed the importance of hydration, especially in the summer heat. People with diabetes should take care to avoid sugary drinks, even the naturally occurring sugar in juice, and should rely only on water.
“If untreated, dehydration from not drinking water during the day and then breaking fast on sugary food or drink will result in a state of high blood glucose levels that may require hospital treatment,” said Dr Barakat. “The same applies to undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, but the presentation tends to be more acute.”
One of the dangers during Ramadan is people who are diabetic but do not know it, which is about one in 10. A lack of food during the day followed by a feast at night can produce a spike in blood sugar, which could lead to a hospital visit or even a diabetic coma. “All people who experience symptoms of diabetes – increased thirst, frequent passing of urine and fatigue – should have a blood test to rule out diabetes,” said Dr Barakat. “Furthermore, people should be especially vigilant for these symptoms if they have risk factors for diabetes.”
These include a family history of the disease, lack of exercise and being overweight.
THE NATIONAL
NYPD sends officer to Abu Dhabi as part of intelligence agreement
ABU DHABI - AUG 28: One of New York City’s finest will be walking a new beat this autumn in the halls of the UAE’s Critical National Infrastructure Authority.
The liaison officer from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) will be embedded full-time at the CNIA headquarters in the capital as early as October, according to The New York Sun newspaper, as part of a co-operation agreement on anti-terrorism training and intelligence sharing, signed last week between the NYPD and the CNIA.
The arrangement is one element in the NYPD’s post-September 11 strategy of expanding its overseas investigation and intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Since the attacks, New York law enforcement officials have redeployed about 1,000 counter-terrorism officers to domestic and foreign locations.
According to The Associated Press, the Abu Dhabi posting will be the 11th international assignment, following similar deployments in London, Madrid, Paris, Lyon, Singapore, Montreal, Toronto, Santo Domingo, Tel Aviv and Amman.
The CNIA, which was formed in May 2007, is charged with co-ordinating protection of vital UAE infrastructure, such as oil and natural gas installations, transportation facilities and water desalination plants.
The posting underscores the perception among American security officials that the UAE is a target for terrorists.
The New York Sun noted comments by Raymond Kelly, commissioner of the NYPD, that UAE law enforcement officials needed additional security training “given how much of a target [Abu Dhabi] is”.
“The United Arab Emirates is becoming a crossroads of the Middle East and Asia, and we think it’s important for us to have a presence there,” the Sun quoted Mr Kelly as saying.
“Clearly, Abu Dhabi is a central location. There’s so much construction going on there,” the commissioner added.
The article went on to quote the US State Department’s website for the Emirates, which advises Americans to “exercise a high level of security awareness” while travelling here.
But Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at UAE University in Al Ain and an expert in international security, said the deal between the NYPD and the CNIA should be seen as nothing more than a routine meeting of minds meant to prevent future threats in both the UAE and the US.
“I think the UAE is a safe country and has been all the way through,” said Mr Abdulla.
“I think that our guys have handled the security issue pretty well so far.
“They have done it that way because on many levels they have used the best technology available, but they have also sought co-operation from their allies. This co-operation falls in that domain.”
But one pitfall of such bilateral co-operation agreements, said Mr Abdulla, was that any strengthening of ties between the Emirates and the US could provoke attacks from violent radicals, despite the UAE’s record of political neutrality.
“I think terrorists all over the place know that the UAE and the GCC states have close co-operation with the United States and with Britain and France. This is not a secret any more,” he said.
“There is plenty of information around and there is a high level and high degree of co-operation that goes on between Washington and Abu Dhabi and all the other capitals in the Gulf.
“However, in these things, wisdom dictates that you need to be careful. You don’t need to float it in front of people, you don’t need to speak about it, you don’t need to go public with it. The United States, they have enemies all over the place.”
THE NATIONAL
Car wash product saves gallons of water
UAE - AUG 28: BIO-WASH, an environment-friendly car wash product, can save billions of gallons of water every year otherwise being wasted and polluted by washing vehicles, its Mid-east agents claimed.
"Bio-Wash is an alternative to water and protects your vehicles and keeps them looking new. It encapsulates and emulsifies the dirt particles, lifting them off the surface and hence there is no scratching. It also prepares the dust for removal by the simple swipe of a micro fibre. This also prevents premature aging of your customer's vehicle due to the harmful effects of the sun," President of Al Barg General Trading (BGT) LLC Abdulla Saleh Al Sayed said.
BGT, Dubai, is the general agents for the French products introduced in the GCC by its parent company based in Saudi Arabia.
One bottle of Biowash can be used to wash three or four cars and it is a biodegradable product. It causes no harm to humans even if it is sprayed on the body of the users, Sayed said.
A press conference to introduce Biowash to the corporate as well as ordinary clients was held at Burj Al Arab Hotel on Monday where Sayed and his marketing manager Padmakumar demonstrated the product on how it saves the valuable water in the arid Middle East region.
"We would like to introduce ourselves as an organisation with a mission to deal only with environment-friendly products to help the ensuing generations to live a peaceful file without pollution and contamination. Our aim is to change the concept of existing car wash methods. Our vision is to become the most respected eco-friendly company in the Middle East," Sayed said.
"Biowash is formulated to give your valuable vehicles a clean wash, shine and protection against air-borne contaminants such as acid residue, catalytic converter emissions, bug tar, road grime, salt and bird droppings without using a single drop of water," he assured.
In Dubai alone, there are more than 850,000 registered cars. They use around 170-200 million litres of water for every wash. It is a waste of sweet water obtained from costly desalination process. This water, if not wasted, can be used for other life-saving purposes, he said.
"We, after having introduced Biowash in the country, have already saved around one million litres of water," Sayed claimed.
The product has been appreciated by the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water for its role in providing a pollution-free environment.
"We consider water to be precious. And the water used in our traditional car wash also seeps into ground water supply, causing potential contamination with gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes, harsh detergents, harmful abrasives and petroleum distillate of the ground water supply. It poisons the aquatic life and wreaks the eco system," Sayed said.
Biowash uses only bio-degradable ingredients. It uses no soap, no water, no mess and no harsh chemicals. It has been titled as one of the best available practical; solutions to protect our environment by not wasting valuable water, he added.
There are more than 7.85 million vehicles on the road in the GCC countries and Dubai, with 850,000 registered vehicles, has the highest vehicle per capita in the world.
A typical, traditional car wash needs between 20-45 gallons of water. This means the GCC requests 255.1 million gallons of water to wash these vehicles one time on an average where thousands of children are loosing health and life due to lack of water around the world, Sayed added.
Biowash comes as Biowash Exterior and Biowash Interior that cleans the dash board, fabric seats, rubber, plastic, vinyl surfaces, door pads, door mats ceiling and tyres without using water.
The micro fibre uses a brizzles thinner than human hair that never scratches the car surface, Padmakukar said.
GULF TODAY