NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

Dubai schoolteacher falls to death on camping trip

DUBAI - FEB 02:  A schoolteacher fell to her death from a mountain in Oman while on a camping trip with her family.

Sacha Hopkins, a long-time Dubai resident in her mid-40s, is believed to have fallen some 30 metres after wandering from the campsite just across the UAE-Omani border, near Hatta.

A spokesperson for Dubai Police said the accident occurred in Wadi al Gahfi, where her family was camping over the weekend.

Mrs Hopkins is believed to have walked away from the campsite late on Jan 30.

Police said she was killed by the impact of the fall and died at the scene.

When she did not return about 30 minutes after she left for her walk, family members went to look for her.

They found her body at about 1am on Saturday. The family immediately contacted emergency services and Omani police were sent to the site, along with a Dubai Police rescue team.

A mother of two and primary schoolteacher, Mrs Hopkins worked at Kings’ Dubai. Representatives at the school declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London confirmed the victim was a Dubai resident.

“We can confirm that a British national died following a climbing accident in Oman, just over the border from the UAE,” she said.

“Next of kin have been informed and she was in fact with her husband at the time of the accident.”

The spokeswoman said despite initial confusion over whether the accident was in the UAE or Oman, the British embassy in Muscat was now handling the case. A spokeswoman for the British embassy in Dubai confirmed it was aware of the incident and was offering consular assistance to the family, as well as liaising with their counterparts in Muscat.

A Hatta police officer, who declined to be named, urged people to take extra caution when venturing into the mountains, particularly in unfamiliar terrain.

“It is important to go with someone who has a lot of experience and also to be aware of the environment and especially to take maps.”

Chip and pin system to be introduced

UAE - FEB. 02:Soon everybody will have another set of numbers to remember. In a move to thwart widespread credit card fraud, banks will start introducing a “chip-and-pin” system to replace the traditional magnetic security strip.

Chip-and-pin cards rely on a personal number, usually four digits, rather than a signature, and are thought to be harder to defraud. All banks will be required to introduce the new technology, according to a statement from the Central Bank yesterday, although no timetable was given.

“This is in line with global industry trends intended to reduce the risk of debit and credit card fraud. The introduction of such technology has proved to be extremely successful in other parts of the world in reducing card fraud, particularly in Europe,” the Central Bank said.

Chip-and-pin technology has been used widely in Europe for many years, and was introduced in Britain in 2004. There is still some debate about its effectiveness, although according to a British government website, counterfeit and fraud were reduced by nearly £60 million (Dh320.4m) the year after its introduction. Last week, a senior Dubai police officer told The National that its introduction could prevent increasingly sophisticated credit card fraud.

“In 2006, US$700m (Dh2.57 billion) in losses were produced in credit fraud and that has put a huge burden on companies,” said Major Gen Khamis al Mazeina, the deputy chief of Dubai Police.

Last year, security information belonging to bank customers was stolen, enabling criminals to withdraw money from local banks. Banking sources said the fraudulent activity had continued into the new year.

In response, the Central Bank commissioned an international firm to determine if there had been a breach in the electronic system that banks use to share information on cashpoints, called UAESWITCH.

The inquiry concluded that the UAESWITCH security system had not been compromised, the Central Bank said. It did, however, provide evidence that card security systems in the UAE need to be upgraded.

“As a result of this exercise the Central Bank decided to amend some of its protocols and introduce new ones,” the Central Bank said. “The safety and security of transactions through the UAESWITCH is of the highest importance to the Central Bank. The integrity of the system must be trusted by all participants.”

However, the Central Bank did not make it clear how the new technology would help prevent credit card fraud.

In August, the US Embassy warned citizens in the UAE about credit and debit card fraud that had affected an unusually large number of its employees.

One month later, banks sent text messages to thousands of customers warning them to change their PIN numbers. Since last year, there has been an ongoing government investigation into the matter, both in the UAE and abroad.

Tests fail to find Legionella at hotel

DUBAI - FEB. 02: The hotel where the BBC cricket statistician and commentator Bill Frindall was a guest before he died of Legionnaire’s disease has found no evidence of the deadly bacteria.

It is believed that Frindall, 69, who died on Friday, contracted the disease during a tour of the UAE a fortnight ago with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricketing charity.

The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, a five-star resort on the Jumeirah coast, confirmed three guests including Frindall had caught the disease and that it was trying to establish the source of the infection. The identity and condition of the other two guests has not been disclosed.

A spokeswoman for the 294-room hotel said an initial analysis of water samples taken by an independent laboratory found no traces of Legionella on its premises. Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia, is caused by the Legionella bacteria.

She said that “unequivocally no evidence of Legionella has been found” and that the hotel was open and accepting new guests.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) confirmed it was participating in the investigation.

“The Government of Dubai and the Dubai Health Authority takes any claims or allegations of an outbreak of any infectious disease very seriously and there is a due process which is in place to manage and handle these situations,” a spokesman from the DHA said. “However while the current claim is being investigated we cannot add anything further at this stage.”

The municipality said it would release an official statement once the tests had been completed.

Neither the DHA, the municipality or the Westin Hotel would comment on how long the tests were expected to last, which areas of the hotel were being checked and the standard procedure involved in investigating Legionnaires’ disease. The Legionella bacteria is typically found in the plumbing and air conditioning systems of large buildings.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the Westin’s parent company, said the hotel management had informed guests about the situation and that “the safety of our guests and associates is always of paramount priority”.

However, several guests at the hotel said yesterday they were unaware of the investigation.

Bill Eames, who was on a holiday with his wife and was flying to the UK today, stayed at the hotel for the past 10 days.

“It is the first I have heard of it,” said Mr Eames. “The hotel has said nothing about it to us.”

A staff employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said business was slow yesterday after the weekend.

“It was very busy,” he said, “but today it’s very quiet.”