NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

UAE bars pork imports

UAE - APR 30: The Government has banned all imports of pork meat and derivatives, with immediate effect, as a precautionary measure against swine flu.

The ban, announced yesterday in a circular released by the General Secretariat of Municipalities, was imposed despite assurances from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that it is not possible to contract the flu virus from pork meat.

Doctors are concerned that the current outbreak of swine flu, a respiratory virus traced to pigs, may develop into a pandemic affecting millions worldwide. More than 150 people are suspected to have died from the virus so far in Mexico, and a 23-month-old Mexican toddler died yesterday while in the United States.

There are no confirmed cases in the Emirates, according to Dr Ali al Marzouqi, director of public health affairs at the Dubai Health Authority. One person with symptoms had contacted the authorities, but swab tests were negative.

Israel is so far the only country in the Middle East to be affected by the outbreak, with two people falling ill.

Several countries in Europe have confirmed cases.

Dr al Marzouqi, who is also on the committee to create a uniform action plan for the UAE, said airport staff were on alert for any passengers showing flu-like symptoms.

“We have not really had any alarms,” he said. “The airports have a protocol in case there are any suspected cases. But there is no formal screening procedure in place.”

Etihad Airways said it had asked its 3,000 cabin crew to be vigilant, and would follow any instructions from the WHO regarding travel restrictions.

Dr Abdulla Abu Rwaidah, health and environmental consultant for the General Secretariat of Municipalities, said the ban on pork imports would be temporary and was meant to protect consumers, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

“We know that there is nothing, no problems in the UAE,” he said, but added that protection was better than “having to spend thousands of dirhams to heal a sick person”.

The WHO has advised people to regularly wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water and to seek medical attention if they suffer flu-like symptoms. It has repeatedly said there is no risk of swine flu from properly cooked pork meat. Still, Dr Rwaidah said countries needed to look out for themselves.

“Any recommendation from this organisation can be considered,” he said, “but at the moment we have to take our own measures to control this issue and not to have any gaps in this. Then later on, things can be discussed.”

Other Middle Eastern countries have taken strong measures. Egypt’s health ministry has ordered the cull of between 250,000 and 300,000 pigs. The health ministry in Saudi Arabia announced it would install thermal imaging machines similar to those in Asia to try to track the virus at its airports.

According to Leo Seaton, the media relations officer at Etihad Airways, the airline has asked its staff to take “necessary precautions and be vigilant of any passengers exhibiting any signs of flu/fever”.

Staff at all US airports were said to be monitoring passengers for signs of illness at check-in.

The executive committee set up in the UAE will meet other GCC health authorities in Doha next week and also attend another emergency meeting in Riyadh.

The Minister of Health, Humaid Mohammed Obaid al Qattami, tried to prevent any panic on Tuesday by declaring the UAE free of the virus.

Fire ravages market

Mina Zayed fruit and vegetable market after the fire. Jaime Puebla / The National

ABU DHABI - APR 30:Firemen battled for several hours to put out a blaze at a fruit and vegetable market early yesterday.

Several witnesses say the fire broke out in a block of shops at Mina Zayed market about midnight and burnt until the early hours of the morning. A dozen shops were gutted.

Raid Salama, 21, a Palestinian, who was doing a night shift at the market said that he smelt some smoke just after midnight and then saw flames. “I did not actually expect the fire to be that destructive. I thought two or three shops would be burnt but was surprised they were a lot more,” he said.

Muhammad Jahangir, a porter from Bangladesh, was on duty nearby. He said the fire took place around midnight and was “very big”. He left the scene at 1.30am while the fire was still raging.

Hassan Muhammad, an Iranian who was working about 1km away from the fruit and vegetable market, said he saw a massive fire.

Police guarded the burnt-out shops yesterday. An officer at the scene said the premises were not secure and the guards were in place to prevent people from stealing fruit and vegetables.

The cause of the fire had not been established yesterday.

Dubai rental index released

DUBAI - APR 30: Dubai’s property regulator has released an updated version of its rental index, which gives landlords and tenants guidance on rent charges.

The Real Estate Regulatory Agency’s (Rera) new system, described as a rental calculator, allows people to select the area they live in, the number of bedrooms, and their current rent. The calculator will give a recommended rental range for that property and inform the user whether an increase in rent is justified.

While the version published in January was criticised for including figures that differed greatly from actual market prices, sometimes as much as 30 per cent higher, the updated index appears to supply data that accurately reflects the substantial fall in Dubai’s average rents since January.

Issuing correct rental information is seen as essential. In the past, landlords were accused of using out of date figures in the index as justification for unfair rent increases.

In an example of how the system works, a tenant renting a two bedroom villa at The Springs for Dh150,000 would be advised that the recommended range of prices of Dh100,000 to Dh130,000 and that a rent increase was not possible.

However, a tenant paying Dh90,000 for a two-bedroom apartment at The Greens falls short of the recommended Dh120,000 to Dh140,000 range. As a result, Rera says the landlords is entitled to raise the rent by 5 per cent of the previous figure (Dh4,550), bringing the rent to Dh94,550.

If the tenant was paying much less than the range published in the index, the landlord would be entitled to raise the rent by percentages of 10 or even 15 per cent of the original figure.

But, crucially, the landlord would not be able to automatically bring a very low rent into the range published in the guideline.

Temporary camps for labourers in employment disputes

DUBAI - APR 30: Temporary accommodation for labourers engaged in disputes with their employers will be set up to ensure they are not left homeless, it was announced yesterday.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Commander General of the Dubai Police, said the camps would be used as temporary homes.

“They are residence camps made from tents which will be set-up in all the emirates,” said the police chief who chaired a recent meeting of the national committee for labour crises management.

“This has been decided to try and help individuals in such difficult situations who will otherwise be homeless,” he said in an interview, after announcing the plans in a statement released by the state news agency, WAM. “We expect that the disputes will resolve in three months and that will give them enough time to resolve their situations and avoid resorting to living in makeshift homes.”

The decision to open the camps was made by the national higher committee for labour crises management, which has representatives of the Ministry of Labour and municipalities from each emirate, WAM reported. It followed a directive from the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed.

Gen Tamim, who chaired the meeting, said the complex would give workers access to decent services and amenities, including medical care and food until disputes were settled. He said it was important to promote an appropriate “security and social culture” and reminded employers of their obligations to protect workers’ rights.

The Ministry of Labour, meanwhile, has launched a new service through which companies will be able to transfer the monthly salaries of labourers to banks or exchange centres at the end of every month.

The service will allow the Ministry of Labour to monitor the salaries of all labourers for late or non-payments.

Currently only 500,000 labourers receive their salaries through a bank transfer. The new service allows the worker to report any delay in receiving salary or deduction from his salary.

The ministry will also run educational campaigns on how to use cash machines and read bank statements.

  
Nursery schools to be given ABC ratings from next year

DUBAI - APR 30: Nursery schools in Dubai will be graded and standardised beginning next year, just as is now being done with schools.

“Nurseries will be put into grades A, B and C,” said Mouza al Shamsi, director of the Ministry of Social Affairs’ child department, speaking at the first national forum for nurseries.

“It is necessary to have good quality nurseries for the sake of the future of our children.”

Plans have yet to be put into motion, Mrs al Shamsi said, but meetings with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) will be held by September on criteria and standards.

“We want to start late 2010, early 2011 with this plan,” she said. “We will be looking at nurseries who hold children from birth until four years old.”

Nurseries will also be rated according to the reviews given by parents. “Grade A nurseries will be those that have not received any complaints by the parents,” Mrs al Shamsi said, adding that those not making even the C grade might be closed.

“We will also offer recommendations for improvement,” she said.

Mrs al Shamsi said nursery schools that excelled would be rewarded and that standardisation would apply to all nurseries across the Emirates.

“Nurseries need to be aware of learning and growth of a child, and we need to ensure the rights of the children are met,” she said.

Last year, all primary and secondary schools in Dubai were inspected by the KHDA to improve teaching standards.

The first results were released earlier this month, and the authority will issue its final report on May 17. Educators working in nurseries who were attending the conference responded positively to the plan.

“There is a huge difference in standards within Dubai,” said Birgit Ertl, director of early learning at The Children’s Garden based in the Green Community in Dubai, adding that there needed to be clear categories of what qualified as a nursery and what qualified as a pre-school.

“There are some nurseries that show their curriculum to parents, saying they teach certain things, when in reality they only cover it half an hour a week.”

She added: “What is also important, is how they carry out the inspections. To really understand how a nursery works, they need to spend all their time there for four or five months, not just come in for a couple of days.”

Zee Gilmore, head of communications at The Children’s Garden, emphasised the need to standardise and categorise nurseries.

“Some just offer ‘babysitting’ for children while the parents are at work, whereas others offer a full curriculum with early learning development,” she said. “Parents need to be aware of the differences and understand.”

Lynn Nolan, the head of nurseries at Raffles International School, said: “There has to be standards set in place to make sure nurseries are offering the best care and abiding by the best international practices. “Most of the private nurseries here already offer high quality care, but there may be room to bring the government nurseries up to the same level.”

Parents breathe a little easier now

ABU DHABI - APR 30: The influx of expatriates that sent Abu Dhabi property prices soaring a year ago made finding school places just as difficult as finding somewhere to live.

But with new schools set to open in the capital this autumn, the scramble for places has become noticeably less frenzied.

“Our clients are finding it easier to place their kids in schools and that is in large part due to viable supply,” said Paul Retchless, the sales and marketing manager for the Abu Dhabi office of Crown Relocations, which specialises in international moves.

Daphne Harris, a partner at Exiles Real Estate and Relocations in Abu Dhabi, agreed: “It was very hard to get children into Grade 1 and 2 in particular a year ago, but it is easier now.”

Demand for places, however, remains healthy.

At this time last year, private schools in Abu Dhabi were turning away scores of children and parents were forced to put their names on long waiting lists, settle for their second or third choices, or postpone relocation to the UAE entirely. When Aldar Academies, a wing of the property developer, opened registration last year for the two schools it runs in the capital, more than 500 parents queued up on the first day.

But the addition of two new British schools has created more than 1,000 new places, while a handful of existing establishments have expanded in response to the demand of the past several years.

Administrators say demand has remained strong despite the softening economy.

In September, Aldar Academies will open Al Muna school, its third in Abu Dhabi. “Enrolment has been healthy,” said Ronnie O’Connor, management adviser at Aldar. Jim Harvey, the head of educational development at the company, said: “We have had a massive number of applications. As far as I could see, there are more people coming in [to Abu Dhabi] than going out.”

A total of 750 additional places will open at the three Aldar schools – Al Muna, Al Yasmina and The Pearl – and Mr Harvey said he was not worried about filling them. Aldar has already closed applications for some year groups. “In addition to families moving into Abu Dhabi there are still quite a large number that want to transfer across to us.”

“I think part of the reason for that is last year The Pearl was new, Al Yasmina was new, but now there is a lot of confidence so we’re getting even more applications. We are particularly delighted by the number of applications received from UAE nationals.”

Nord Anglia, a privately owned British education firm that owns nine schools in China, South Korea and eastern Europe, and manages a number of local state schools, is opening its own campus this year in Abu Dhabi, its first in the Gulf. Raza Khan, the director for Middle East operations at Nord Anglia, said he was confident about opening a school despite the current economic climate; he expected to start with 500 pupils and eventually reach 2,000.

A number of existing schools have made new places available. Raha International School, which opened in 2006, will take another 200 children next year.

More established institutions, such as the British School - Al Khubairat and the American Community School, confirm that demand remains strong: ACS has waiting lists for nearly every grade in the school, while Al Khubairat will add another 70 school places next year, bringing the total to almost 1,800.