NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Smoking ban to be in place next year
SHARJAH — March 14: A law to ban smoking and make UAE a tobacco-free country is expected to be in place before February 2008, a senior Health Ministry official has said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times yesterday on the sidelines of the three-day Ministry of Health (MoH) workshop titled ‘Towards a tobacco-free UAE’, being held at Radisson SAS yesterday, Dr Mariam Mattar, Assistant Under Secretary for Public Health and Primary Health Care at the MoH said, “the law is expected to be in place before the MoH submits a report on fulfilling the criteria on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has to be done by 2008.”
She added: “A draft law of the ban is ready. The implementation of the ban will save the MoH billions of dollars which it is spending on diseases caused as a result of smoking,” she explained.
She said a National Committee on Tobacco Control, headed by Dr Jassim Klaib, had been formed four months ago.
Dr Mattar said the ban was already in place in all government offices and schools. “However, once in place, strict enforcement of the ban would be required. This will require more human resources,” she added.
Dr Jassim Klaib, National Coordinator on Tobacco Control with the WHO and GCC region and Head of the National Committee on Tobacco Control admitted the MoH was trying to overcome the strong tobacco lobbying in the country.
“To fulfill the criteria for FCTC, the MoH will require that companies place health warnings on 50 per cent of the cigarette packets, instead of the present 30 per cent. We are also insisting on placement of pictures to warn people,” he explained.
He said that since the year 2000, there had been a 100 per cent tax on cigarettes. The same had also been implemented recently on shisha (hubble-bubble) in the GCC countries.
“We want the income from these taxes to be utilized on health services,” he added.
Dr Klaib recommends a separate department for anti-smoking, with qualified staff, to be set up at the MoH.
The MoH is also pushing the concerned authorities in Sharjah to enforce a ban on smoking in shopping malls in the emirate, a senior MoH official informed yesterday.
“We want Sharjah to pass a law in this regard and become a role model for other emirates because it has always been in the forefront of actively supporting the ban on smoking. It’s the only emirate that has active anti-smoking clinics wherein at least 400 people quit smoking annually,” she said.
She also said that Sharjah was the only emirate to have banned smoking of shisha in public places and had banned sale of cigarettes to those under16.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Dubai airport operations back to normal
DUBAI — March 14: Passengers affected by the aborted take-off of Biman Bangladesh Airlines BG006 flight resumed their trip to Dhaka at 9:30am yesterday, an airline official has confirmed. Likewise, operations at the Dubai International Airport (DIA) have returned to normal following its nearly eight-hour closure on Monday following the Biman incident.
Ali Ahsan, Regional Manager-Dubai and Northern Emirates of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said 218 passengers, including nine infants, had boarded a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft (Biman Air flight BG036).
A source at one of the hotels where some of the passengers stayed on Monday, confirmed the guests checked out at 5am yesterday and headed to Dubai airport.
“We’ve diverted one of our flights, which was originally bound for Jeddah, to Dubai to accommodate the passengers on their re-scheduled trip,” Ahsan told Khaleej Times.
Ahsan added that connecting flights had been arranged for some of the passengers who were scheduled to fly to Silet, located in the northern part of Bangladesh.
“The Insurance Department of our head office in Bangladesh is currently preparing arrangements for the disbursal of compensation to the passengers of the BG006 flight. Passengers will have to file for claims at the Biman office in Bangladesh,” Ahsan pointed out. He, however, did not disclose the amount of compensation to be given to the passengers.
Biman Airlines’ Airbus-310 aircraft had aborted take-off on Monday when it lost its front wheel while at the DIA runway. Passengers had also mentioned of the smell of petrol and the presence of thick smoke while the aircraft was taxiing along the tarmac.
Twenty-seven passengers had sustained minor injuries in the accident and were treated at the Dubai Airport Clinic and the Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre.
Meanwhile, a day after the eight-hour closure of the busiest airport in the region, Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) announced that the DIA had become “100 per cent operational”.
Khaleej Times observed the Airport Terminal 1 filled with the usual passenger queues at the check-in, baggage claim and passport control counters, with practically no evidence of the chaos on Monday.
“The airport is operating normally without any flight diversions or cancellations related to the Biman incident,” said a DCA official.
However, the DCA refused to comment on media queries on the estimated financial loss the DIA suffered due to the disruption.
A statement from the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) noted that an “investigating team from the GCAA, Airbus, French Aviation Accident Office, and the Bangladesh Civil Aviation will analyse the flight data recorder and the aircraft to determine the cause of the accident.”
Without providing much details, the GCAA has also mentioned that a final report will be sent to “all concerned parties” and the International Civil Aviation Organisation once the investigation has been completed.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Man on musical high rams car into hospital
DUBAI — March 14: In a freak accident, a young Pakistani man rammed his car right into the Emergency Centre of Belhoul Speciality Hospital yesterday morning.
Describing the accident, Dr Mohanand Ghazi, Executive, Marketing and Corporate Relations at the hospital, said the 20-year-old Pakistani man who is on a visit visa, was listening to music in the car when he accidentally pushed the gear.
When the car started moving forward, he panicked, and instead of applying the brake, he pressed his feet on the accelerator, causing the car to ram into the front door of the emergency entrance of the hospital. Dr Ghazi said the man had “stolen” the car keys from one of the guests he was staying with, as he wanted to enjoy music in the car with the air-conditioner switched on.
“Thank God, nobody was injured in the accident, including the Pakistani man,” Dr Ghazi said.
However, the glass damaged in the accident was worth between Dh15,000 and Dh20,000, he added.
Dr Ghazi said the hospital had not registered any case against the man, though he remained in police custody till late evening.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Deportation of 250 workers in two days
DUBAI — March 14: Formalities for the deportation of about 250 workers of a leading local contracting company, who are accused of instigating a violent protest early this week, will be completed in the next couple of days, according to sources.
A top Ministry of Labour (MoL) official said the workers will face the penalty as their action was totally “unacceptable” for the authorities.
These 250 workers were part of a large group of 8,000 workers who staged demonstrations for two days beginning on Saturday, demanding a pay hike and return air tickets annually.
However, on Sunday morning, the protest turned violent forcing the Dubai Police to arrest some workers on the charge of instigating violence. This was followed by the MoL’s order for deportation.
Humeid bin Deemas, MoL’s Assistant Under-Secretary, told Khaleej Times, “Currently, we are working on cancelling the work permits of these workers.”
“We have collected all their documents from the company and within next two days, all of these workers will be deported,” he said.
Further, the company, he added, will be issued work permits for new workers without any fees.
A spokesperson of the Indian Consulate said the mission was in touch with the authorities as well as the company for gathering information on the Indian workers facing deportation. “We have little to do about it as the matter is being dealt in accordance with the law of the country.”
Meanwhile, a top official of the company told Khaleej Times the company will pay end of service benefits to all the workers facing deportation on humanitarian grounds. “Even though the MoL has suggested that we need not pay anything, we have decided to pay the workers their end of service benefits only on humanitarian grounds,” said Abad Al Hakim Albannay, General Manager, HR and Corporate Affairs of the company.
“We will give the Dh60 pay hike per month for the workers effective from this month. Besides, we will look into a further hike in salaries, depending on conditions in the labour market,” said Albannay.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Kidnappers get 10-year jail term
DUBAI — March 14: The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced four men to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and torturing an Indian businessman, identified as GB.
The court acquitted their accomplice, a Russian, of the charges.
According to court records, the gang abducted the 52-year-old businessman from his house located in Bur Dubai’s Al Mankhool area. They started torturing him in front of his family to extort money from him. They later robbed the family of jewellery and Dh 21,000 in cash.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Drug abuse: Accident insurance claim cut
ABU DHABI — March 14: The Federal Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay Dh420,000, instead of Dh600,000, to the heirs of a man who was killed in an accident while he was driving under the influence of drugs.
According to court records, the heirs of the deceased filed a civil lawsuit in the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance against the insurance company claiming Dh1.2 million as compensation for the deceased.
The court ordered the company to pay Dh800,000 to the heirs. the company petitioned against the verdict before the court of appeal which reduced the compensation amount to Dh600,000.
The insurer moved the Federal Supreme Court arguing that the man died while he was running away from policemen because he was involved in some drug dealings. The apex court ruled that the insured person’s compensation claim would be reduced by 30 per cent because he was under the influence of drugs.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Etisalat covers cricket cup live
ABU DHABI — March 14: Etisalat becomes the first operator in Asia to offer complete coverage of the Cricket World Cup, taking place in the West Indies from March 11 to April 28.
Cricket enthusiasts who may not have the chance to fly out to the Islands or watch it on television can still catch their teams battling it live on their 3G handsets using Etisalat’s Mobile TV service.
Etisalat’s Weyak World Cup coverage also offers video highlights of the matches and SMS alerts of important moments from the matches as they happen. Also available for download are video clips of great moments from the World Cup.
The mobile coverage includes Live streaming of the matches, and highlights via Video clips, SMS news and score alerts. The complete live package is priced at Dh10 per day, and just Dh1.25 per day for SMS alerts for any team of the subscriber’s choice.
If a customer wants to receive alerts for all teams, then the cost is dh2.99 per day. Video downloads, available for free on http://mobile.weyak.ae, can be downloaded with the subscriber paying just 1 fils per KB as traffic charges.
For customers to subscribe to the video service, they need to send the text ‘S CricTV’ to 1110 and to receive SMS alerts, customers will have to send the text ‘S Cric’ to 1110.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Drug abuse: Accident insurance claim cut
ABU DHABI — March 14: The Federal Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay Dh420,000, instead of Dh600,000, to the heirs of a man who was killed in an accident while he was driving under the influence of drugs.
According to court records, the heirs of the deceased filed a civil lawsuit in the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance against the insurance company claiming Dh1.2 million as compensation for the deceased.
The court ordered the company to pay Dh800,000 to the heirs. the company petitioned against the verdict before the court of appeal which reduced the compensation amount to Dh600,000.
The insurer moved the Federal Supreme Court arguing that the man died while he was running away from policemen because he was involved in some drug dealings. The apex court ruled that the insured person’s compensation claim would be reduced by 30 per cent because he was under the influence of drugs.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Dubai - Murderers locked up
Dubai - March 14: Three men who suffocated a guard to death to steal machinery worth just dhs2,000, were sentenced to ten years each in jail and deportation. The body of Arokyaswamy, 32, from Tamil Nadu in India, was found last July in his room at Ascon Construction behind the Mazaya Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Police arrested the three Iranian men shortly after the murder. Police said the men approached their victim before midnight on July 27 and pretend they were company inspectors. The accused tied his legs and feet, and they killed him by putting his own vest in his mouth, causing him to suffocate.
The men escaped with just a piece of machinery used to measure road distances. A fourth man is currently being hunted by Interpol in connection with the raid.
SEVEN DAYS
ACCESS DENIED
Dubai - March 14: A Dubai bar has issued a letter of apology to an Indian businessman who says he was left “demoralised” and “humiliated” when staff reportedly told him they operated a “No Indians” door policy. The man, who does not wish to be named, told 7DAYS he was livid when, on a trip to Waxy O’Connors’ popular Friday brunch last week, he was told by staff it was bar policy not to allow Indian customers to enter.
But the bar has insisted it does not have a racist door policy and, following a meeting between the manager and the man involved, a written letter of apology for any upset caused has been sent to him. The Indian expat, who has lived in Dubai for more than 30 years, told 7DAYS: “My friend, an India-born Canadian national, had recently come to Dubai on a business trip and on his last day at the Royal Ascot Hotel he had reserved us a table for three for brunch at Waxy O’Connors.
“I was late arriving so he had ordered a drink before coming to meet me. We both re-entered the bar together but were repeatedly questioned by the security guard after sitting down - first asking if we had made reservations, before returning to ask if there were any more of us to come.” Upset by the amount of questions, the man claims his friend called an attendant to ask what the problem was, to which he was allegedly told, ‘Sir, actually it is bar policy not to allow Indian guests into this place’.
The group then left the bar in disgust, but after filing a complaint with Waxy’s about the incident manager Daniel Yantin requested a meeting with the man to try and resolve the matter. Now, at the man’s request, the bar has sent a letter to him apologising formally for the incident. Yantin confirmed: “A letter has been posted to the gentleman concerned which says we are sorry for any upset, inconvenience or distress caused.
“Our staff are certainly not told to turn away people of certain races and we do not operate a racist door policy. “We would welcome him and his friends back into the bar with pleasure.” While happy with the speed of the response, the Indian expat said: “My only interest is ensuring this sort of thing never happens again to anyone, of any nationality, at any of Dubai’s bars.”
SEVEN DAYS