Your car is not a sleeping pod
are You still swimming in a Security And SAfety for All ISSUE 9 OCTOBER 2012 pool of debt?
saVE YOuR CHiLD usE THE sEaT
UAE 5.000 AED KSA 5.000 SAR Kuwait 0.500 DK Bahrain 0.500 BD BELT! Qatar 5.000 QAR Oman 0.500 OR IN THIS ISSUE: INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIAN AMBASSADOR, TIGHTENING THE TOBACCO SCREWS, BIKE IT RIGHT
!!999 Final Cover OCT2012.indd 3 9/27/12 3:50 PM IFC AD
editor’s note Security And Safety For All
Crunching the numbers that matter to you n this issue, we reveal statistics that matters to your life and flesh out what these numbers really mean. I For example, 99 per cent of the 1,350 UAE drivers quizzed in the 999 National Driving Survey said they knew about the risks of driving and travelling without using seatbelts. However, it is absolutely incomprehensible why many residents still neglect to do this. On another survey, conducted by the UAE University, it was revealed that only 2 per cent of the population is buckling their children into car seats or strapping them in with a safety belt. Traffic accidents are by far the leading cause of death among infants and responsible for 63 per cent of deaths among children aged 14 and younger in the UAE. This figure is significantly higher than the global average of 22.3 per cent. These fatalities could have been prevented if the kids were properly fastened up! A new and more encompassing seatbelt rule is being mooted but issuing a law is just a first step and will not totally solve the problem. Keeping our children safe is our moral and social responsibility. A new and more Unfortunately, many people still do not wear safety belts in the front seats, encompassing seatbelt despite it being mandatory. rule is being mooted Another set of numbers to crunch – in a 999 survey of 650 residents, but issuing a law is a whopping 91 per cent said they planned to save more this year than in just a first step and previous years. While it was also clear that many would fail to do so, because will not totally solve of factors such as cost of living and stagnant income; it is a paradigm shift in a country where there has so far been no uniform culture of saving. the problem In the survey, 70 per cent said they planned to reduce the number of their credit cards; 65 per cent had already done so; and 87 per cent owned only one or two credit cards, proof that the days of doing juggling acts with credit card debt were over. We also had an opportunity to interview Lokesh Mysore Kapanaiah, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE. In addition to sharing with us his strategy in handling the welfare of the UAE’s largest expat community, he also gave some advice on personal finance. Get yourself updated with the UAE’s latest campaign against smoking, irresponsible biking, pest poisoning, and many more. We wish you an enjoyable read!
OCTOBER 2012 999 Security and Safety for all 1
!!999 Final Cover OCT2012.indd 4 9/27/12 3:50 PM 1-3 editorial & contents.indd 1 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All Contents Security And Safety For All COVER STORY 18
Security And Safety For All CliCk-ClaCk Front and
Ministry of Interior BaCk United Arab Emirates
Consultative Board Traffic accidenTs are The Maj. Gen. Khalil Badran – Chairman mosT common cause of Col. Thani Al Shamsi – Member deaTh among children in The Editor-in-Chief emiraTes. These would have been Lt. Col. Awadh Al Kindi 26 prevenTed if They were wearing OUT OF THE DARK DEBT WELL proper seaTbelTs Managing Editor Four years after the implosion of one of the world’s biggest consumer spending binges, are Gulf Issam Al Sheikh residents careful about splashing their cash? Read on to fi nd out
Contact Us 13 FACTS & FIGURES
Tel: +971 2 4194488 Some of the numbers and quotations in the 51 PEDALLING TO DEATH? 79 GADGETS Without proper education and training, bike Fax: +971 2 4194499 media that have attracted attention Feast your eyes on some of the hottest new P.O. Box: 38999 51 riders may be pedalling their way to fatal high-tech releases around 4 collision with motor vehicles Abu Dhabi – UAE 16 UAE NEWS BULLETIN www.moi.gov.ae Police news, people, numbers and events 82 ENVIRONMENT 56 BEYOND INFERTILITY: PCOS The issues and news that impact the natural [email protected] 34 YOUR CAR IS NOT A Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a world, including an amazing find in the UAE hormonal disorder and the most common Toll Free: 800 9009 SLEEPING POD Sleeping in a car and leaving children cause of female infertility in the UAE 86 BOOKS
unattended in a vehicle not only increases the Choose a page-turner from our riveting 46 QUIT SMOKING risks of accidents and health problems; they The UAE is tightening the screws on lighting 60 CRIME & PUNISHMENT selection of bestsellers More shocking real life criminal cases are also punishable by the UAE laws up in public places, in a two-pronged move to
discourage tobacco users and protect passive 4 NEWS 88 MOVIES 66 HISTORY 38 MAN WITH A MISSION smokers A round-up of MoI and Abu Dhabi Police news Popcorn and hotdog at the ready for these top Read on how Imam Saif bin Sultan Al Yaarabi Subscriptions HE Lokesh Mysore Kapanaiah, the Indian stories and important events upcoming flicks Dh100 – Individuals Ambassador to the UAE, tells 999 how he led the Omani navy to big victories over the Dutch and Portuguese in India and East Africa Dh200 – Companies & government handles the welfare of the UAE’s largest expat 90 TIPS & TRIVIA departments community while enhancing the rich economic 999 shares some interesting Formula 1 and and cultural relations between the 70 CRIME MYSTERIES car facts as the 2012 F1 Etihad Airways Abu two countries 56 999 looks at the most unusual celebrity Published on behalf of deaths in the world Dhabi Grand Prix enters its fourth year Ministry of Interior by
74 HEALTH NEWS 95 PUZZLES The latest news, issues and advice from the world of health and well-being 96 HOROSCOPE
po box 77910 twofour54 abu dhabi, uae Tel: 02-4012835 46
[email protected] 44 FATAL FUMES www.newperspectivemedia.com Mishandled pesticides have caused deaths
Distributed by Tawzea in the UAE. 999 tells you all about how it 15 25 33 63 65 78 Tel. 02-6411440 fax 02-6424842 happens and how to cut out the risks 44 Maj Gen Nasser Maysa Rashed Ali Obaid Tim Maycock Iain Chalmers Steven Shapin Disclaimer: Lakhreibani Al Nuaimi Former Member of the Head of the News Centre at Director of international founder of the Cochrane Professor of the History
Published articles express the writer’s opinions and do not necessarily represent the COLUMNISTS Sec Gen of the Office of HH Federal National Council Dubai Media Incorporated consultancy firm, Maycock Collaboration, and the of Science at Harvard official views or policy of the UAE Ministry of Interior. Copyrights for all the articles, Stay connected. Follow us on: twitter.com/999english facebook.com/999english the Deputy Prime Minister (FNC), and UAE writer Training coordinator of the James Lind University features, photos and topics published are reserved for 999. and Minister of Interior Initiative
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1-3 editorial & contents.indd 2 9/27/12 3:42 PM 1-3 editorial & contents.indd 3 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All news Security And Safety For All UAE PrEsidEnt lAUds PArAlymPic mohAmmEd APProvEs holding of first winnErs govErnmEntAl sUmmit and expressed his best wishes for them. His HigHness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Alaryani scored a total of 694.8 Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler for the competition, beating Spanish of Dubai announced the launch of the first Government silver medalist Juan Antonio Saavedra Summit to be held on February 11-12, 2013. Reinaldo. The summit, which will see the participation of leaders The medal brings the UAE’s total from both the federal and local sectors; representatives from to two, with Mohammed Hammadi a range of international organisations, as well as international winning silver in the 200m athletics experts, will be held under the theme, “Towards Excellent competition. Government Services.” The UAE team dedicated the shooting Sheikh Mohammed said that the development and achievement to President HH Sheikh upgrading of government services to achieve full excellence Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Vice in all aspects of government work comes on top of the federal President and Prime Minister of the government’s priorities. To achieve this, he said, it requires UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh concerted efforts, exchange of expertise and establishment of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; rules in order to provide excellent government services that their Highnesses the Supreme Council lead to the welfare of UAE society. members and rulers of the Emirates; More than 1,000 personalities from federal and local HH Gen Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed government sectors will meet to discuss best practices, Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi experiences and modern trends in governmental work, as and Deputy Supreme Commander of well as creative and innovative means to further develop the UAE Armed Forces; HH Sheikh government services in various sectors. Many other key President His Highness Sheikh the rifle shooting event at the London Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al issues related to developing excellence in governmental work Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan 2012 Paralympics. Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and will also be discussed. congratulated Emirati Abdulla Sultan Sheikh Khalifa also congratulated the Chairman of Dubai Executive Council Alaryani on winning a gold medal in members of the UAE team in London and to the people of the UAE. Promoting Arabic as the language of Science and Technology Sheikh Khalifa Phase 2 of UAE President’s grant to Uae Vice President, Prime Minister donates 80 falcons Yemeni People launched and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh tHe President, His Highness tHe KHalifa bin Zayed implementating relief programmes to Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Humanitarian Foundation (KZHF) alleviate their suffering,” Attiya said. received the chairman and members donated 80 falcons from the Pro- distributed food packages in a number He also expressed his gratitude for the of the Arabic Language Education Falcon Farm to the Abu Dhabi of villages in Al Hudaida Governorate great role of the Foundation towards Development Committee at the Executive International Hunting and Equestrian in Yemen as part of the second phase of helping Yemenis and the needy people Office in Emirates Towers, Dubai. Exhibition (Adihex 2012). the Dh500 million grant announced by in various parts of the world. The committee, set up as part of the Sheikh Khalifa’s contribution President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Juma Al Kuwaiti, Chairman of KZHF, Arabic Language Charter launched by emphasises the importance of bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The food items affirmed UAE leadership in carrying Sheikh Mohammed earlier this year, protecting the endangered species included rice, flour, sugar and cooking out humanitarian and charitable works, is tasked to develop Arabic language and supporting the country’s efforts oil. citing that around one million families curricula and teaching methods to to preserve heritage, environment Akram Abdullah Attiya, Governor of in Yemen benefit from the Dh500 promote Arabic as the language of and wildlife, said Mohammed Khalaf Al Hudaida commended the important million nation-wide donation drive. Science and Technology. Mohammed meets committee chairman in presence of Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture role that the UAE president, the UAE Al Kuwaiti said KZHF has completed In presence of Dubai Crown Prince in such a way that raises awareness of the internationally-recognised standards. and Heritage in the Court of the Abu government and its people are playing the first phase of distributing food Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin importance of Arabic as the language of During the meeting, committee Dhabi Crown Prince, and Director- in helping out Yemenis. assistance amongst the people of Yemen Rashid Al Maktoum and Dubai Deputy the Holy Quran and a critical element of chairman Dr Farouk Al Baz emphasised General of the Abu Dhabi Authority ‘’The great contributions of the in Abyan Governorate while the second Ruler Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed national identity. that Sheikh Mohammed’s interest for Culture and Heritage. late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan are well phase is being implemented in the Al bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Sheikh Mohammed directed the in preserving the Arabic language The UAE is one of the pioneering known to the Yemeni people and Hudaida Governorate. Mohammed exchanged views with chairman and members of the Arabic and promoting it is an inspiration to countries in the breeding and President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa The villagers also expressed their Chairman of the Committee Dr Farouk Language Education Development all Arabs who value the importance protection of the endangered species bin Zayed Al Nahyan is following the happiness, saying the grant reflects Al Baz on developing teaching methods Committee to introduce innovative of such initiatives, highlighting His of birds, he added. footsteps of the late Sheikh Zayed in the UAE’s keenness to alleviate their of the Arabic language in public and approaches in the field of Arabic language Highness’ belief that there is no room for providing assistance to Yemenis and suffering. private universities, colleges and schools education in accordance with the best “impossible”.
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4-12 news OCT20122.indd 4 9/27/12 3:42 PM 4-12 news OCT20122.indd 5 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All news Security And Safety For All MohaMMed bin Zayed reiterates Uae’s saif bin Zayed fUlfils the wish of a disabled interest in preserving heritage eMirati to Meet hiM His HigHness Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior rushed to the side of a sick and disabled Emirati woman, as soon as he received a letter from her, expressing her hope to meet him. In a caring fatherly gesture, His Highness, accompanied by his three children, (Sheikha Mozah, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa), visited the young lady at an Abu Dhabi medical centre, where she was undergoing treatment for muscular dystrophy. Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Saif bin Zayed presented a bouquet of flowers to the Emirati woman. Yousra Alhatali expressed her appreciation for Sheikh Saif’s visit by writing on the computer, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at ADIHEX 2012 at Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre as she is unable to speak; shedding light on her hopes and interests. His Highness His HigHness General Sheikh Expressing satisfaction at the displayed and researches on the migration of falcons also had a talk with Yousra’s family, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, products aimed at preserving national and other birds to the region and on the discussing her health condition, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy heritage, Sheikh Mohammed noted the club’s wild rabbit breeding programmes progress achieved as part of the treatment Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed showcase of national products and the which produced a total of 1175 rabbits programmes. Forces has reiterated the interest of the UAE’s keenness to preserve human and between June 2008 and September 1, Emirati citizen Yousra Alhatali, 25 Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan surprised a crippled national woman as he walked into her hospital room along with his three children Sheikha Mouza, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa UAE, under the leadership of President environmental heritage. 2012.The club targets to breed 10,000 years old, suffers from a form of muscular His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Sheikh Mohammed toured the stand of rabbits a year by the end of 2016. dystrophy, called Facioscapulohumeral not strange to the nation’s leaders who she’s always following up his news Al Nahyan, in preserving its heritage, Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital (ADFH), the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also muscular dystrophy, which affects the are keen to provide care and attention to and activities; she even spent the Holy culture and authentic sports as well as in first public falcon hospital in the UAE, visited the stand of International Fund respiratory muscles and the lower limbs. their citizens. He pointed out that UAE Month of Ramadan praying to meet His promoting them among the present and which was opened in 1999 to become for Houbara Conservation where he This causes the patient to suffer from leaders have always cared for their people’s Highness and getting to know him in future generations. the largest of its kind in the world with was briefed on the Fund’s new record breathing and movement difficulties, concerns; partaking in their joys and person; until she got what she wished for. Sheikh Mohammed made his remarks an influx of more than 6,000 falcons a number of producing around 13,000 which make her dependent on an artificial sorrows. Sheikh Saif, accompanied by his as he toured the venue of the 10th edition year and an additional 250 convalescent Asian Houbara bustards in 2012 taking respiration as well as a wheelchair. The patient’s father added that children, also visited a disabled child, of Abu Dhabi International Hunting and falcons. the total number of the birds produced by The patient’s father, Yasser Alhatali his daughter had a special and great Fatima Al Ameri, who was being treated Equestrian Exhibition (Adihex 2012) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also the Fund’s captive-breeding facilities since expressed his and his family’s delight for admiration for His Highness Sheikh at the same medical centre, for a rare held at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre stopped at the Emirates Falconers Club’s the launch of the breeding programme in this visit; emphasising that the gesture is Saif bin Zayed for years, noting that disease that hampers her movements. (Adnec). stand where he was briefed on the studies 1996 to more than 120,000. Minister of Interior praises Omanis “heartfelt efforts” in handling UAE vaccination drive in Pakistan in cooperation with the Pakistani Army, the Ministry of Health and specialised accident involving UAE nationals crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and campaign last month. “The implementation medical entities. Five health centres lieUtenant general Sheikh Saif and competence of the traffic and Moreover, Sheikh Saif applauded the of vaccination campaign is a genuine Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE have been set up in the Khyber bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime medical Omani entities; whose efforts of the Omani police authorities, Armed Forces, His Highness General translation of the directives by the Pakhtunkhwa region to provide the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and orders of the Abu vaccination to 20,000 Pakistani children. Minister and Minister of Interior, efficiency contributed in reducing the who rushed to the accidents’ sites to has ordered the launch of a humanitarian Dhabi Crown Prince to enhance the According to UNICEF reports, commended the heartfelt efforts exerted number of casualties. He expressed rescue the injured, as well as the efforts campaign to vaccinate 20,000 Pakistani health programmes and curb spread of there are 2.1 million cases of measles by the Omanis in providing care for the his sincere regret at the occurrence of exerted by the Omani medical personnel, epidemics in the areas hard hit by the children against measles and polio in the annually that claim lives of 21,000 victims of the recent traffic accidents that such incidents, extending his sympathy by providing medical assistance before Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. The move floods, and in support of the concerted children annually. One-third of children follows the directives by the President, international efforts to eradicate measles in Pakistan do not receive immunisation occurred in the Sultanate of Oman. and condolences to the families of the rushing them to the finest hospital in His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al and polio,” the administration said in a against measles. Pakistan had His statement came in light of the victims and the injured. He also praised the Sultanate, to undergo necessary Nahyan. statement. registered 2011 as the year with the recent traffic accident in Oman, which the sincere brotherly support of the treatment, prior to being transferred to The UAE’s Pakistan Assistance It added that the vaccination campaign highest case of measles for the last 10 Project Administration rolled out the against measles and polio is carried out years, with 198 cases. resulted in seven deaths and 12 injuries. Omanis; which emphasises the unity of their home countries, near their families, His Highness apraised the cooperation GCC countries. to complete treatment.
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4-12 news OCT20122.indd 6 9/27/12 3:42 PM 4-12 news OCT20122.indd 7 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All news Security And Safety For All Al Sha’far heads the meeting of the joint MoI and Customs Committee
lieUtenant general Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, chaired the first meeting of the joint higher committee that comprises the Ministry of Interior and the Federal Authority of Customs. The meeting was held at the Al-Ittihad Hall in the Ministry’s headquarters. A number of topics were discussed, Bahraini delegation briefed on naturalisation systems such as ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two a delegation from the General at the Bahraini Ministry of Interior. by Lieutenant Colonel Awad Al parties. The meeting was attended Directorate of Nationality, Passports The meeting was attended by Brigadier Marar, Director of the Naturalisation by a number of officers from the and Residence at the Kingdom of Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, Acting Department, and a number of officers. Ministry of Interior and the general Bahrain was briefed on the UAE Director General of Naturalisation, Major Khamis Al Kindi, Head of the headquarters of police across the experience in the field of naturalisation, Residency and Ports. Electronic Passport section, gave a country. Representatives of the Federal residency and ports, and got The two sides discussed ways detailed explanation of the procedures Authority of Customs and Customs acquainted with the systems used in to enhance co-operation and co- followed in issuing e-passports. departments nationwide were also this area. ordination and exchange of expertise The delegation was introduced to present. Major General Nasser bin Al Awadi and experiences, as well as the means of the modern systems and up-to-date Al Menhali, Assistant Undersecretary identifying regulations and other points equipment used in printing and issuing of the Ministry of Interior for that were of common interest to both of the e-passports. Naturalisation, Residency and Ports the countries. The Bahrainis also visited the UAE Al Khaili signs cooperation contract Affairs, met the Bahraini delegation The delegation toured the Citizenship, Residency and Ports at his office. The visiting team was Naturalisation, Residency and Ports Institute, where they were briefed on headed by Amal Issa Boujandl, Head General Directorate, accompanied by the progress of work, training rooms with Etihad of the Systems Development Section Al Rashidi, where they were welcomed and latest training developments. tHe Ministry of Interior has signed a contract with Etihad Airways for the airline to provide ticketing services to Al Ketbi visits hunting exhibition the ministry. MoI selected Etihad for its “quality of services” that meets the Major general Obaid Al Hairi Ministry’s needs. Salem Al Ketbi, Deputy Commander- The contract was signed by Major in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police, paid a General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, visit to the International Hunting and Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry Equestrian Exhibition 2012 held at the of Interior for Resources and Support Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Services, and by Hareb Mubarak Al During the show, Abu Dhabi Police Muhairi, Vice President of Etihad issued 331 criminal certificates and Airways Commercial Affairs in the 1,565 licence and arms purchase United Arab Emirates. approvals. The signing of the contract is in line The K9 department also distributed with both parties’ keenness to strengthen brochures and veterinary handbooks, in mutual ties. Al Khaili stressed that Etihad addition to an introduction to the ‘Rifq’ has been able to attain a leading position (humane/welfare) programme, which among the world’s top airlines, thanks is adopted by the UAE Dog Owners to its commitment and the quality of its Association in cooperation with the services. The airline, based in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority. was established in 2003 by a royal decree. This programme aims to educate the Al Muhairi hailed the ministry’s keen public and dog owners about veterinary interest in forging fruitful partnerships. aspects and how to keep dogs healthy.
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4-12 news OCT20122.indd 8 9/27/12 3:42 PM 4-12 news OCT20122.indd 9 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All news Security And Safety For All Badran signs al Mazina inspects dubai police directorate
MoU for police Dangers of drugs explained training The General Department of Anti- Narcotics at Dubai Police recently tHe aBU dHaBi Police concluded its awareness exhibition, General Headquarters and the held at Modhesh City, in which multinational fi nancial services fi rm paintings by the famous caricaturist PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Hamid Atta were displayed. have signed a memorandum of Department Director Major General understanding to train the staff of Abdul Jalil Mahdi Al Asmawi pointed the Abu Dhabi Police Finance and ministry’s global strategic objectives. directorate employees. out that choosing this period of the year Services General Directorate on He added that the police headquarters Fakhoury hailed the partnership with for the exhibition was meant to spread global best practices, and to raise was keen to raise the level of Abu Dhabi Police, stating that the MoU awareness among the largest possible their effi ciency in accounting and professionalism and technical effi ciency would enhance mutual cooperation in segment of society, especially as fi nancial planning. of the fi nance and service staff by the accounting and technical training Modhesh City is visited by thousands Th e MoU was signed by Major providing them with high quality fi eld and help the employees acquire during this period. The show informed General Khalil Dawood Badran, training programmes in collaboration globally recognised professional Major general Khamis Mattar Al Mohammed Suwaidan Al Muhairi, visitors about the dangers of drugs Director General of Finance and with experienced fi rms and technical qualifi cations through the PwC Mazina, Acting Commander-in-Chief Director of the Headquarters Building and its harmful effects on an individual, Services of Abu Dhabi Police, and consultants based in the emirate. Academy for the Middle East. of Dubai Police, inspected the General Department of the General Department the family and the community. The Jack Fakhoury, the main partner and Such programmes would enable the Th e signing of the memorandum Directorate of Administrative Affairs of Services and Supplies; and Captain caricature exhibition was the first of its Chairman of the Middle East Region, directorate to execute its strategic plans was attended by Brigadier Salem Al in line with the annual inspection Mohammed Buhannad of the kind to be held on this scale. PwC. and fulfi l its vision. Shamsi, Deputy Director General of programme framework for police Institutional Performance Assessment Aft er the signing, Badran stressed the Badran said that the MoU aimed to the Finance and Services Directorate in departments and stations. He was Department of the General Department the country, thanks to the efforts of dedication of Deputy Prime Minister facilitate the exchange of information, Abu Dhabi Police; Rami Nazer, Public accompanied by Brigadier Dr Al Salal of Comprehensive Quality; and a the officers and personnel who have and Minister of Interior, HH Lt General strategies, action plans and initiatives, and Government Sector Offi cial in the Saeed Al Huwaidi, Deputy Director number of officers. successfully translated the strategy of Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan in and to establish and implement a joint Middle East; and Tarek Wehbe, Partner of the directorate; Colonel Khalid Al Mazina stressed that the General Dubai Police into practice through developing capability, in line with the action plan to qualify and train the and Consulting Services Offi cial. Murad, Director of the Administrative Directorate of Administrative Affairs at programmes, ideas and proposals. Department; Lt Col Khalid Saeed bin Dubai Police is one of the main bridges The visit of Al Mazina covered the Sulaiman, Director of Control and of cooperation, communication and Departments of Information, Services Inspection Department of the General reinforcement of ties between the police and Treatment Affairs, Administrative Al Hadidi grants badges of excellence Department for Human Rights; Lt Col and their partners within and outside Affairs, and Quality Assurance Office. Al Qasimi discusses ties with French envoy
of departments in RAK police. The meeting, held at the RAK Police General Headquarters, was a part of the visits paid to the HQ by officials of the diplomatic and consular missions in the UAE. The meeting discussed cooperation and coordination between the two sides, as well as some important Major general Hamid Ali Al Qasir, Deputy Director for academic police and sports training emerging topics. Mohammad Al Hadidi, Commander- Administrative and Financial Aff airs, disciplines for the academic year The French envoy praised the level in-Chief of Sharjah Police and Deputy and Lt Colonel Dr Sarhan Hassan Al 2011-2012. of advanced security and services Chairman of the Police Sciences Maeini, Deputy Director for Academic He congratulated the toppers, that RAK Police had reached under Academy, inspected the academy, and Student Aff airs. expressed his pleasure with their the directives of the Commander-in- as well as its students and staff . Al Following the inspection ceremony, achievements in scientifi c and His HigHness Major General Sheikh accompanied by Erik Kud, French Chief, as well as its efforts to serve the Hadidi was accompanied by Colonel Al Hadidi presented badges of practical disciplines, and urged them Talib bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Commander- Consul General, and Jane Omatewol, community in all aspects. He expressed Dr Salim Jarwan Al Naqbi, Director excellence to student offi cers who to go further in achieving excellence, in-Chief of Ras Al Khaimah Police, Security Attache in the French his best wishes for RAK Police and the of the academy; Colonel Mohammed obtained top ranks in several with the badge as an incentive. met with HE Alain Azouaou, French Embassy, in the presence of a number UAE in general to continue on the path Ambassador to the UAE, who was of directors general, directors and heads of progress and prosperity.
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4-12 news OCT20122.indd 10 9/27/12 3:42 PM 4-12 news OCT20122.indd 11 9/27/12 3:42 PM Security And Safety For All news facts & figures Security And Safety For All ajman police celebrate training completion 230 Brigadier sHeiKH Sultan The number of new recruits that joined the training bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Acting on dealing with vertical ambulance aircrafts during Commander-in-Chief of Ajman Police, accidents. The training, organised by Abu Dhabi Police attended the graduation ceremony for Air Wing Department, was attended by 192 male and the training course ‘Skills to deal with 85 female recruits from the freshmen class superiors and subordinates’, held in the Emirates Hall building at the Ajman Police General Headquarters. The celebration was attended by Colonel Obaid Humaid Al Matroushi, Director of the Police Training Institute, and a 61 number of officers. The HQ supervised the organisation The number of officers and non-commissioned officers of this training course, which lasted for from the various departments of the Ministry of Interior, five days, and was attended by 37 non- who received certificates, after completing the Certified “Statistics indicate that many accidents involve commissioned officers and personnel Internal Auditor course, organised by the Quality students, especially in school buses stations or in Management from various police commands in the front of schools. These accidents are caused by emirate. different traffic offenses such as letting children The themes of the course, presented difficult conditions. Also discussed by the Police Training Institute. cross the road alone, and some bus drivers’ by Dr Huda Abdul Latif Eryan, focused were the bad habits that must be At the end of the ceremony, the recklessness and lack of commitment to the traffic on the concept of management, abandoned and the need to deal with Acting Commander-in-Chief delivered rules.” the characteristics and traits of a constructive criticism from superiors. the certificates of course completion 1,565 Brigadier Gaith Hasan Al Zaabi, Director General of the Traffic Coordination senior officer, and ways to maintain This course was held within the to the participants, and wished them Department said during the launch of the “Traffic Safety for School Students” a relationship with the boss even in framework of the training plans set up success in their careers. The number of permits issued by Abu Dhabi Police for campaign, which aims to educate school students and protect them from traffic firearms purchases during the Abu Dhabi International accidents Al Kaabi seeks co-operation with fujairah Prosecution Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition. Abu Dhabi Police Meeting on sport also issued 331 certificates of good conduct during the four-day event. Police took an average of 20 at Umm Al Quwain minutes to issue each firearms licence and 15 minutes Police HQ to issue certificates ColonEl ShEikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla, Commander-in- Chief of Umm Al Quwain Police, met with Colonel Abdul Malik Mohammed Jani, Chairman of the Police Sports Union, at the Umm Al Quwain Police 732 General Headquarters. The meeting was attended by Colonel Salim Ahmed The total weight (in kilograms) of heroin an Asian man Al Mazrouei, Deputy Commander-in- tried to sell. He was sentenced to serve a life sentence Chief; Lieutenant Colonel Arif Ali Al Rais, Head of Sports Activities Department; by the Cassation Court. The man was originally Lieutenant Colonel Adnan Jassim Bu sentenced to death by the Criminal Court, but the Asibah, Head of Community Policing Appeals Court had commuted this to life in prison, Brigadier MoHaMMed Ahmed correctional institution. and members of the Police Sports which was affirmed by the Cassation Court for a final bin Ghanem Al Kaabi, Commander- The meeting was attended by Union. The meeting discussed various ruling in-Chief of Fujairah Police, paid a visit Colonel Hamid Mohamed Al Yamahi, sporting activities for the 2012-2013 “This guiding standard underscores the great efforts season, especially Olympic rowing. to Fujairah Prosecution, where he Director General of Police Operations; Al Mualla stressed the importance exerted by Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters was received by the Chief Prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Hamdan of encouraging UAE citizens and at all levels in order to safeguard security and Advisor Saeed Khalfan Alzbahi. Al Zayoudi, Director of the Penal supporting them in their endeavours stability in society. This specification has exclusively to reach the highest levels of The two discussed the facilitation and Correctional Institution; and established the quality management system general of legal proceedings, the role of the Major Khalid Abdullah Al Dhanhani, preparedness for domestic and 7500 international tournaments, with an framework for the police institutions.” crime scene teams in catching the Director of the Office of the eye on a podium finish. Jani delivered The length (in meters) of the stolen cables that belong perpetrator in a short time, and Commander-in-Chief, from the police thanks to the Commander-in-Chief for Colonel Muhammed Hamid bin Dalmouj Al Dahiri, Strategy and Performance to government and private facilities. Western Region Development Director General at the General Secretariat of the Office of the aspects of cooperation between side; and Prosecutors Saeed Abdullah his willingness to eliminate all hurdles in Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior on the completion of the first quality Fujairah Police and Prosecution bin Amer and Ali Mohammed Al the way of the sports union’s success. Police arrested a gang, specialised in stealing and management system standard (within the ISO 9001:2008 context) for UAE Police regarding inmates of the penal and Naqbi, from the Prosecution side. melting copper electric cables to conceal the crime institutions
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Wanted: decision-makers Major General Nasser Lakhreibani Al Never shy away from taking decisions even if that Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior means making mistakes. For, one should see mistakes as learning experiences
t is said that leadership is decision-making and its and starts the final implementation phase based on the implementation. In any organisation, to capabilities available. The process of decision-making, successfully render the process of change and however, does not come to an end with the Idevelopment, it is important to have a wise leader implementation of the decision, as it should be who is capable of making rational decisions and followed up during and after the implementation phase solving problems to achieve the organisation’s goals. to make sure that it is implemented in compliance with Whether a man is facing a situation by himself, as an what is planned and aspired. individual, or along with a group or an organisation that Finally, the results of the decision taken and necessitates a response or reaction, he finds himself in implemented are assessed to determine the extent of a decision-making role. its effectiveness and success. Decision-making is the process of rational choice Taking decisions – even if they eventually turn out to between available alternatives to achieve a certain be wrong – is much better than refraining from taking goal. This means that the decision-making process is them, especially in the matters that need decisions to carried out by following a number of successive steps, be taken. This is because refraining from taking the which represent a plan of action and a method to proper decision leads the leader and his team to feel reach an optimal solution for the problem. depressed and unable to face situations and problems. Some problems put administrative leaders before There is no doubt that decision-making in any challenges that require them to organisation is the core of the take certain decisions within administration process, the framework of specific development and change. practical steps. The process Decision-making is I advise my brothers and starts with the formation of a the process of rational colleagues, the officers of middle workgroup to identify the choice between leadership and the heads of problem and then the study of available alternatives to departments not to hesitate in the situation to unveil the taking decisions, because even if reasons behind the problem. achieve a certain goal you make a mistake, it would be a This is after setting the objectives of the workgroup. good experience that would benefit you in the future. After that, the workgroup starts to collect information It is important to believe in reasons, which are the and data about the problem, and select alternatives to scientific and methodical based, for taking rational solve it. Afterwards, comes the phase of assessing the decisions. Do not fear of making mistakes, as mistakes alternatives through the objective study of the positive with goodwill and hard work can be corrected and set and negative aspects of each alternative, then the right without causing grave damage. study of the consequences and results from the A lot of decision-making skills can be gained and implementation of each of the alternatives. earned through learning, training and repeated Then, the team reaches the most proper alternative experience.
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UAE nEws bUllEtin POlIcE nEws, PEOPlE, numbERs AnD EvEnTs
rAs Al khAiMAh The narcotics section of the Ras Al Khaimah Police criminal Investigation Department (cID) has confiscated 86kg of hashish UMM Al QUwAin 86 kg after receiving a tip off that a Gulf national had smuggled 86kg of hashish into RAK. A 3 am police undercover agent, posed A single-vehicle accident last month has claimed the life of as a buyer, in a sting operation an Emirati driver and injured a passenger due to speeding. that led to the suspect’s arrest. The driver, reported to be in his 40s, was speeding on Al Ittihad Road, when his vehicle slammed into a concrete AbU DhAbi barrier and the car rolled several times before landing on a sandy roadside. The crash happened at around 3am.
DH2.5 MN Ajman Police arrested two Asian men for AJMAn Abu Dhabi Police arrests three Arab suspects allegedly ingesting heroin capsules in an involved in the illegal sale of Dh2.5 million worth of attempt to smuggle the contraband into the four antique gold coins and a fake. One dated back to emirate. The suspects were arrested in 83 their residence for possession of heroin Fatimid caliphate – between AD909 and AD1171. Another was from the Ottoman era. capsules with intention to sell and circulate. Ajman police found 26 heroin capsules in their possession at the time of the arrest. After interrogation, they confessed to their crime and admitted that they smuggled in a total of 83 heroin capsules into the emirate by swallowing them.
FUJAirAh 150 Flying from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah on a business jet kick-started last month. Rotana Jet has launched twice-daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah for as little as Dh150 for one way. All-inclusive one-way fares to Fujairah start from Dh200.
AbU DhAbi DUbAi 120 shArJAh Dh1.26Mn The Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police showcased its readiness to welcome the 11 According to Dubai’s traffic police chief, 10 new school year, by launching a traffic plan that sharjah Police arrested 11 Asian men female drivers, have piled up traffic fines ensured safety and smooth flow of traffic. Abu involved in stealing rented cars. The of nearly Dh1.26 million after committing Dhabi Police deployed more than 120 patrols in defendants confessed that they were 1,840 traffic offences. The unnamed Asian the various areas of Abu Dhabi, and intensified taking the cars rented to a mechanic woman dominated the list of offenders as these patrols around intersections and on shop, where they were fitted with she has accumulated nearly Dh201,000. internal and external roads. tracking devices and copies of the car keys were made with the aim of exporting them to a nearby country.
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cover story CliCk- ClaCk Front ere’s a macabre exercise. Try an online last year. But the analysis of the fatalities search using key words from this list: ‘UAE shows a chilling trend: traffic accidents are and Road Safety Crashes Baby Child Deaths by far the leading cause of death among Seatbelts’. The results will bring up this infants and responsible for 63 per cent of headline, from as recently as June 4, 2012: deaths among children aged 14 and BaCk “Husband, son killed in road crash while younger in the UAE, according to a report By DAMIAN WATSON mother and three little children suffer published by the Dubai Health Authority in serious injuries.” May 2012. The crash happened near Albahya, just This figure is significantly higher than the outside Abu Dhabi. Police said the family global average of 22.3 per cent of child appeared to be not wearing seat belts as fatalities caused by vehicles and is, say they were all thrown out of their car after road safety campaigners, largely the impact. One of the children sustained attributable to one simple fact: most drivers injuries so serious that he was left blind in the UAE do not make their children wear and deaf. seat belts. It is absolutely incomprehensible Another headline: “Baby killed in car why they neglect to do this, since most of crash on Palm Jumeirah island.” This time them claim to know the dangers of not the sub-heading describes the accident, in using seat belts. which a seven-month-old baby girl died Ninety-nine per cent of the 1,350 UAE after her father crashed his car taking a drivers quizzed in the 999 National Driving corner at excessive speed, as a ‘mishap’. Survey said they knew about the risks. seatbelt safety standards. The baby was being held by her mother in Among the Top 10 Road Safety Problems in A BMW survey of 325 UAE students the passenger seat rather than being the survey, not wearing a seat belt and not aged between 18 and 23, found that 55 restrained in a proper baby seat in the using proper child seats are ranked at No. per cent did not consistently wear a seat back of the car. 6 and No. 9, respectively. A vast majority belt, although 92 per cent knew of For road safety campaigners, this (97 per cent) of those polled said that they someone who had been involved in a kind of a tragic story is unequivocal proof were aware of the dangers of travelling car accident. Seventy per cent said it was traffic accidents are that drivers in the UAE do not take road with an unrestrained child (not wearing only necessary to wear a seat belt in the the most common safety, specifically the issue of wearing seat age-appropriate seat belts). front seat. cause of death among belts, seriously. Can the death of a baby A list of other surveys unanimously point The survey, done last year, is part of the children in the caused by such negligence really be called out to the fact that most UAE residents are second phase of the “Stay Alert. Stay Alive” a ‘mishap’? complacent when it comes to adhering to campaign BMW has rolled out with Health emirates. Overall, the number of accidents and these would have deaths on UAE roads are actually been prevented if they decreasing. Abu Dhabi Police reported a driving is a dangerous business in were wearing proper 45 per cent decline in deaths on the emirate’s roads, from 130 to 71, over the first the UaE. it’s essential that people, seatbelts four months of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011. During the same particularly children, wear seatbelts period, Dubai saw a 32 per cent drop in the number of road deaths, 38 compared to 56 and, where appropriate, use car seats
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Interior for the passing of such a law [on responsible for their child’s death, when it not wear safety belts in the front seats, rear seat belts] and it is currently under can be prevented so easily. despite it being mandatory.” study,” said Major General Mohammed Al “Issuing a law is just a first step and will According to the 999 survey, 22 per cent Zafeen, the head of the Dubai Police traffic not solve the problem,” said Al Zafeen. of respondents felt the chances of being department. He added that alongside “Raising awareness on the need to wear stopped if travelling with an unrestrained legislation, there must be strict the belts and also having a fierce child were highly likely, while an equal enforcement and, above all, awareness. enforcement once the law is passed is number thought of it as unlikely. After all, no parent would want to be much more important. Many people still do Nevertheless, almost half (49 per cent) thought it to be likely and only 7 per cent believed it was highly unlikely that they would be stopped for this offence. It would appear from these responses, when juxtaposed with the negligence of parents, that they have, for some reason, refused to take the possibility of a fatal accident seriously – they know everything yet do nothing. Legally, children under 10 must sit at the back. “If this law was enforced, it would prevent mothers from holding children on Which parents are not taking care? their laps in the front seat,” said Dr Jens Thomsen, section head of occupational Research conducted by the Health Authority The Buckle Up In The Back campaign – Abu Dhabi (HAAD) showed that 71 per cent has only been running for two years but and environmental health at the Health of fatal injuries among children in Abu Dhabi already its series of school roadshows is Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD). between 2008 and 2010 were due to traffic proving to be a powerful force in Dr Reem Al Ameria, the senior officer of accidents. Of these children, 59 per cent educating children about seat belt were from the UAE, 23 per cent were Arab safety. health promotion at HAAD’s public health Hutton family and 12 per cent Asian. Just 6 per cent of the The campaign certainly has work to and policy department, added that a fatalities were Western expatriate children. do, though, if it is to reduce the UAE mother probably did not realise how easily Campaigner Lesley Cully does not think University survey statistics of 15 per Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the these figures prove that there is a cultural cent of UAE nationals who refused to a small child on her lap could suffer a fatal Department of Transport, the Roads and trafficaccidents are by far the leading difference between Westerners and other wear seat belts because they injury – it would not take a big accident, Transport Authority and the Higher nationalities in the use of seat belts. “I agree considered them to be dangerous. (Only severe crash or excessive speeding, just a that most fatalities are listed as Emirati or 3 per cent of overall respondents felt Colleges of Technology. cause of child deaths in the UaE, Arab children. that way.) collision at 50 kmph could kill a child. A tiny A study by the UAE University also Having said that, I see just as many “Someone once tried to argue that baby weighing 3 kg, she said, would be shows revealing statistics – only 2 per cent responsible for 63% of deaths among Western families not using seat belts and I’m there had been a case of a person in a equivalent to 150 kg (weight multiplied by careful to not make the campaign a vendetta car accident being saved from injury by of the population are buckling their against any one race. being thrown clear,” says Nick Hutton. speed) at impact, and would crash through children into car seats or strapping them in children aged 14 and younger “I believe strongly that it’s more a matter “That’s all very well and maybe there the windshield. The opposite is also with a safety belt. of education. Cars haven’t really been have been isolated incidents. You can’t remarkable: according to the European around for long so we can’t blame culture for argue with the statistics, though, that The study, done in 2008 but results of mother’s arms in passenger seats, small Dh400 fine and four black points for not wearing seat belts. We can blame seat belts have saved many lives. I once Transport Safety Council, 83 per cent of which were announced last year, found that children standing up on seats or even offenders. New legislation on enforcement education and lack of awareness, which is read of someone walking along the children who are belted or in car seats almost a quarter of children ride in the front hanging out of car windows amid moving of seat belt rules has been mooted by better changed than any cultural attitude.” pavement by the side of a road being hit escape road collisions unscathed. Religious beliefs cannot be blamed either. by a car. It didn’t induce me to walk seat of a car. traffic. the federal authorities, but is yet to become In April 2012, Dubai’s Grand Mufti, Dr Ahmed down the middle of the road.” To make people start using child seats, These figures will not surprise anyone Federal traffic law requires only front- a law. bin Abdul Aziz Al Haddad, said, “Islam impels More statistics, then: a seat belt is HAAD had last year stocked up 2,500 free used to seeing babies cradled in their seat passengers to wear seat belts, with a “We have put a request to the Ministry of every road user to comply with traffic rules. proven to reduce deaths by up to 45 per car seats ready to be given to parents of It is a sin not to. There are quite a few fatwas cent in cars and up to 60 per cent in clearly stating that it is obligatory to observe trucks and SUVs, according to the newborns at maternity wards of major STATS traffic laws and haram [forbidden] to violate United States National Highway Traffic public hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and them.” Safety Administration. the Western Region. But before distribution, Dr Al Haddad rebuked drivers who argue Until the law is changed here in the that using seat belts demonstrates a lack of UAE, campaigners such as Lesley Cully they wanted to make sure the seats would 63% 22% 98% 50-75% 1 in 3 faith in God, or those who claim that their advise parents to follow guidelines on be used correctly. HAAD was looking into of child deaths in the of child deaths of children in the UaE less risk for a accidents happen strong faith means they are exempt from the use of car seats and seat belts for putting in place a regulation that an infant traffic safety rules. He said the idea that a children issued in countries with strict UaE are traffic- worldwide are traffic- are not properly properly strapped within 2 km of would only leave a maternity ward in a car child seat belt is makrooh, or discouraged by road safety legislation. related related strapped into car seats home Islam, because safety is in God’s hand, is Source: Royal Society for the Prevention of seat, thus making it a habit from birth. “completely wrong”. Accidents (RoSPA), UK These measures were meant to embed
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responsibility is one championed by the means using the correct car seats, fitting UAE non-profit campaign group, Buckle Up them properly in the back of the car and In The Back. “Seat belts and properly fitted making sure they wear seatbelts for every child seats save lives. It’s as simple as that,” journey, short or long.” That is an important says Lesley Cully, the group’s founder. point Hutton makes – a short journey “UAE law states that people in a car’s front without a child restraint is not a safe seats must wear seat belts and that journey. A lot of collisions occur children under the age of 10 cannot ride in very close to the car owners’ the front, but many people ignore this. homes, so “we’ll get there in “Also, and this is crucial, there is currently just five minutes” is not a no law to make seat belts or child seats good enough reason to not compulsory in the back of the car. This restrain the child properly. has to be changed, of course, but until “Driving is a dangerous that happens, parents have to take business in the UAE,” adds Hutton, responsibility for themselves and their who has lived and driven all over the children.” world, from Indonesia to Greece. “Speeds Dubai-based British expat Nick Hutton is can be excessive, people use mobile the father of three children, aged eight, phones while driving and don’t seven and five. “My children are the most concentrate on the road and lane seats. Clearly, a legal requirement to do precious things I have in the world,” he discipline is poor. I think it’s essential that this would help but, frankly, any says, “and I will do whatever it takes to people, particularly children, wear seat responsible parent should be doing this as make them as safe as possible. That belts and, where appropriate, use car a matter of course.”
WHAT KIND OF CAR SEATS move them to a forward-facing seat once they only into Group 3 are no longer produced and ARE AVAILABLE? have exceeded the maximum weight for the modern booster seats are designed for baby seat, or the top of their head is higher children between 15kg and 36kg An appropriate child restraint is one that than the top of the seat Booster cushions can be approved for conforms to the United Nations standard, Groups 2 and Group 3, although some are ECE Regulation 44-03; is suitable for the only approved for just Group 3. You should child’s weight and size; is correctly fitted ensure your child is within the weight range of according to the manufacturer’s instructions FORWARD-FACING CHILD SEATS Group 1: For children weighing 9-18kg any booster seat or booster cushion Child restraints are divided into categories, Some booster seats are designed to be according to the weight of the children for (20-40lb), roughly from 9 months-4 years Once children have outgrown a rear-facing converted into a booster cushion by detaching whom they are suitable. These correspond the backrest, and you should always check the the necessity of using a baby seat in – the meter then starts from Dh25. broadly to different age groups, but it is the seat, the best option is to use a Group 1 seat with an integral harness. The large area of the manufacturer’s advice about when and how to parents’ mind, the HAAD officials said. It weight of the child that is most important do this parents accountable for when deciding what type of child restraint harness helps to reduce the risk of injury if was obviously not possible for the Campaign Call strapping children in there is a crash. The bottom attachment Booster seats and booster cushions do not to use have an integral harness to hold the child in government to give away free seats to The concern over getting adults to ensure place: abu dhabi police Retailers often describe child restraints in between the legs will also prevent the child from sliding under, and out of, the harness place. The adult seat belt goes around the every family in the UAE. child safety in a moving vehicle is a global The Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols terms of ‘stages’ child and the seat, so it is important that the Directorate has stressed that the Stage 1 = Groups 0 and 0+ They can be used in the front or rear of the Dubai Taxi Corporation has also done its one. In 2006, the UK government put into car, but it is safer to put them in the rear, seat belt is correctly adjusted. The basic complacency of some parents regarding Stage 2 = Group 1 points to note are: the belt should be worn as bit to promote the use of child seats. “Fifty effect rules that could result in a spot fine child seat rules could lead to tragic traffic Stage 3 = Group 2 especially if there is a passenger airbag in the front. Once again, it is safest to keep children tightly as possible; the lap belt should go over child seats have been issued by DTC, of £30 (Dh179) or a court fine of £500 accidents, resulting in serious injuries or Stage 4 = Group 3 the pelvic region, not the stomach; the even death for the children. The in this type of system until they have outgrown along with Baby Shop, with special (Dh2979) for adults who failed to restrain it. Only move your child to a booster seat once diagonal strap should rest over the shoulder, Directorate made a special reference to REAR-FACING BABY SEATS not the neck emphasis extended at the Dubai airport for children up to 11 years of age, whether they parents letting children under 10 years of they have exceeded the maximum weight for Group 0: For babies up to 10kg (22lb), When children first move out of the age sit in the front seat of a vehicle, the child seat, or the top of their head is ‘Ladies Taxi’ and ‘Family Taxi’ services,” were the parents of the children or not. roughly from birth to 6-9 months forward-facing child seats into booster seats which is illegal in the UAE. The regulation higher than the top of the seat Group 0+: For babies up to 13kg (29lb), and cushions, initially, ones with backs may said Mansoor Al Falasi, Acting CEO of DTC. Only in three specific circumstances, is flouted all the time by families. Officials roughly from birth to 12-15 months provide a better fit for the seat belt. Booster “Customers can order a taxi fitted with a explained on Childcarseats.org.uk, could a said that parents should teach their They can be used in the front or rear of the seats with side wings will also help to prevent children the proper ways of getting into a child seat when booking a cab through the person expect relief. The website has car. It is safer to put them in the rear. Do not BOOSTER SEATS AND BOOSTER injury in a side impact by protecting a child’s vehicle and exiting it, to sit on the child put them in the front passenger seat if there CUSHIONS head, and on several seats, the height of the Road Transport Authority (RTA) number extremely detailed lists of what sort of seat or booster cushion, and to use the is a passenger airbag. Rear-facing seats Group 2: For children weighing 15-25kg side wings can be adjusted as the child grows 04-2080808,” he said. If a mother travelling restraint is required for children in various seat belt. A child under 10 is physically provide greater protection for the baby’s (33-55lb), roughly 4-6 years Booster seats and booster cushions can be too small to be restrained safely by the alone with a baby wants a child seat- age groups and who is to be held head, neck and spine than forward-facing Group 3: For children weighing 22-36kg used in the front or rear of the car, but it is front seat belt, the Directorate said, and seats. So, it is best to keep your baby in a (48-79lb), roughly 6-11 years safer to put them in the rear, especially if equipped taxi to have a woman driver, the responsible for their safety. therefore needed a special seat at the rear-facing seat for as long as possible. Only Booster seats that only fit into Group 2 or there is a passenger airbag in the front service is available at a small extra charge The issue of individual and parental back. Source: www.childcarSeatS.orG.uk
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18-24 Cover Story Seatbelts-Click-Clack Front and Back.indd 22 9/27/12 3:43 PM 18-24 Cover Story Seatbelts-Click-Clack Front and Back.indd 23 9/27/12 3:43 PM Security And Safety For All cover story COLUMN Security And Safety For All seatbelts save lives here are selected results from 999 ’s national driving survey EmiratEs shows thE futurE of aviation Maysa Rashed is a prominent UAE writer With its superior services and strong drive to recruit nationals, interested in local affairs and a former member of the Federal National Council (FNC) the airline has paved the way for other UAE carriers to become global players 35% What are the chances VEry t had been hard to imagine that the United Arab in the airline, which employs about 15,000 people likEly Emirates, this small country with a small population, from more than 120 countries. The company is hiring 47% would enter a field crowded by bigger nations and more UAE citizens as cabin crews as it expands its likEly Ithen take the leading position – especially, when network, which currently comprises 124 destinations in of being stopped if you are we are talking about an industry as advanced and 74 countries, and its fleet of 175 modern aircraft. The specialised as aviation. But the UAE has done just that; opportunities would only increase, he said, as the airline it has surged ahead in every segment of the industry, had confirmed orders for 238 new planes. Recently, the including both cargo and passenger flights, and had airline focused on training the UAE nationals on its rolls become a powerful competitor to countries that have as ‘ambassadors in the sky’ for their country. had well-established national carriers for much longer. Since its inception, Emirates has led the move to driving Without a seatbelt? The UAE today has more than one national airline – develop national human resources; it has a special Emirates, the oldest and the foremost, founded in 1985; section for the recruitment and development of citizens 13% Flydubai; Etihad; and Air Arabia. In the next few years, through programmes spanning various activities and UnlikEly the country aims to reach a pre-eminent position through disciplines. top 10 road SaFEty proBlEmS partnerships with leading companies, and through the The Emiratisation drive extends to management in thE UaE aviation and training colleges set up here. training, including human resources, corporate The official figures show that UAE nationals now communications, performance development, the occupy about 35 per cent of the broader travel industry, business not wearing not using proper senior management positions operations, airport services, #6 seat belt #7 child seatbelts in Emirates, and 10 per cent of UAE nationals now information technology, customer middle management positions. service, revenue management, and The HR official releasing the occupy about 35% of more. As a group, which includes 5% statement to the media confirmed the senior management Emirates Holidays, the company arE yoU awarE oF thE dangErS oF driVing VEry that the airline was working on positions in Emirates employs 60,000 people. withoUt wEaring a SEatBElt? the Emiratisation of jobs, and We hope to see such integrated UnlikEly on creating opportunities for UAE nationals in various programmes in the various aviation companies operating 99% yES 1% no disciplines. The drive also covers positions of pilots in the country. If Emirates alone managed to achieve all and engineers – the airline has more than 360 UAE that it has within just 27 years, then imagine where we
INFOGRAPHICS: WOLF nationals as pilots, some of them in different stages can reach if all our national carriers follow its footsteps. of training. He pointed out that the number of national It is not difficult, let alone impossible, but it requires are you aWare of the dangers of travelling With What are the chances of being stopped if you are travelling With an graduates of the Emirates engineering programme had planning, co-ordination, integration of roles and hard an unrestrained child (children not Wearing unrestrained child (children not Wearing seatbelts appropriate for their age)? seatbelts appropriate for their ages? reached 375, and that qualified Emirati women were work, and developing the human resources in the also doing engineering jobs related to aircraft repair and country. With this, aviation can become the most yES no maintenance. powerful instrument for raising the gross domestic 22% 49% 22% 7% Dozens of nationals were working as flight crew product of the UAE.
99% 1% VEry likEly likEly UnlikEly VEry UnlikEly The views expressed by 999 columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ministry of Interior (MoI)
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Out of the dark
debtBy MARy SCOFIELD well Four years after the implosion of one of the world’s biggest consumer spending binges, are Gulf residents careful about splashing their cash? The numbers say they are headed that way
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taste of fear when the pink cloud of easy so; and 87 per cent owned only one or two credit and high income suddenly cleared to credit cards, proof that the days of doing Get your head around debt reveal the looming debt mountain. juggling acts with credit card debt were How do you know if you are in a When the jobs began to disappear, the over. Debt levels still remain significant – 60 debt trap? debt story was a nightmare, except there per cent of the respondents had debts up to You know you are in big trouble when your was no waking up from it. Expats either fled Dh10,000; 27 per cent owed Dh10,000- primary income is no longer enough for making regular debt repayments, when you the country in droves, unable to service their Dh50,000; 7 per cent owed Dh50,000- have to borrow money to repay money, and debt-fuelled lifestyle, or were arrested; even Dh100,000; 1 per cent owed Dh200,000- when you are making only the minimum UAE nationals faced the stick and needed Dh250,000; and 2 per cent owed more than payment on your credit card, carrying forward the balance month after month. help from the state, such as the Dh250,000. But the promising aspect was You are definitely in very deep trouble Let’s put something away for a rainy day.” announcement in January this year that the that more than a quarter (27 per cent) had when you feel you have no control over That, in a nutshell, is the sentiment ruling government would settle Dh2 billion in debt contacted their banks to negotiate debt your own money and also do not have the faintest idea what the debt situation would personal finance in the UAE. In a recent owed by nationals, including some who servicing, and the number of people who look like, say, three to six months from now survey of 650 people of different were detained for defaulting. believed banks were willing to be – this is the time to cut up the credit cards nationalities across, conducted by 999, a It has taken this long for things to stabilise. reasonable (27 per cent) was rather higher and seek help from debt management professionals, or the bank, if it is willing to whopping 91 per cent said they planned to In the 999 survey, 83 per cent of the than those who did not listen. Even when you take their advice, save more this year than in previous years. It respondents felt their debt was manageable think so (17 per cent). make sure you understand very clearly was also clear from the survey that many based on current income; 70 per cent said That is a definite what is being asked of you; do not accept any solution that is full of jargon and going would fail to do so, because of factors such they planned to reduce the number of their improvement since over your head. as cost of living and stagnant income. But credit cards; 65 per cent had already done the days when a the attitude itself is very important; it is a debt of Dh600 SHould you not Have any debt? When you decide to take a loan, it should paradigm shift in a country where there has could mean threat be to fund an investment (home, car, or a 2009 when he missed payments on his two economy that 48 per cent of the so far been no uniform culture of saving. In a 999 calls from new degree) and you should have enough credit cards because he was away on respondents picked bank deposits, while 7 The post-Lehman universe – the four collection savings or some collateral to cover the holiday. “It’s not a case of just asking for the per cent said they would pre-pay existing survey, 70% debt should your income disappear. Taking years since the great crash of September agents, as what a loan to fund non-assets like gadgets, money. Well, initially, that’s what we will do, loans. Since all the survey respondents 2008 – has made people aware of the saId they happened with holidays etc leads you into a murky tunnel. but if you then provide me with details that have varying degrees of debt, it may be importance of saving. It is now on Dubai resident If your spending has risen slightly, then it is show there are some issues, then we’ll concluded that the fans of bank deposit will not such a bad thing. If everyone sat on all everyone’s mind, for nationals and planned to Junaid Malik in their money all the time, then no one would study the case, and try and mediate with the continue paying off the debt from their immigrants alike have experienced the bitter ever have any increase in income. But the client before settling it,” said Mohammed regular income, while putting some money increased spending should be rational, e.g. Siddiqui, collections manager for the cash away as a nest egg. Since 34 per cent reduce the you have invested in something, the value What does it mean to be a of which offsets the expenditure; or your recovery specialists, Bahar & Associates. respondents also named property, stock debt defaulter in the uae? number of income has gone up and your spending and “We don’t always receive the full amount markets, bonds etc as their choice of savings have both risen proportionately. – it’s generally around 80-90 per cent. investments, there is some overlap between If you get a good increment, instead of At present, the penalties for not paying theIr credIt Everyone always asks for a discount.” the two groups of savers. back a debt is severe, though banks heading for the shops right away, divide up appear to have realised that putting the extra sum into three equal parts – to It is still a tightrope walk for UAE residents Next to saving in banks and financial people en masse in prison does not do cards splurge, to save, to repay debt. between building up savings and debt instruments, the respondents named anything for their balance sheet, and that How mucH SavingS SHould you servicing. If they have managed to education and long-term needs such as restructuring is a better option. However, Watch your Watchman this is discretionary; the debtor has no Have? accumulate some money, should it be insurance and pension as their preferred legal right to ask for a debt restructuring. Bank deposits are safe but the money hardly grows. For A good rule of thumb is to keep putting deposited in the bank or spent on pre- avenues for utilising savings. Luxury buys faster growth, you need to choose a mix of debt and equity money away into an account not linked Several debtors have had to flee the paying debt? It is a sign of confidence in the like gadgets were very low priority, as only 7 country to avoid being jailed. A proposed instruments. Independent financial advisers (IFAs) can help you to your debit card, so that the money new bankruptcy law may dispel this with this, and also invest your money for you. accumulates there. Build this up to cover per cent would use their savings for that. atmosphere of fear around debt. The When checking out IFAs, find out if the firm is licensed, at least six months of your current total This shift in priorities in the UAE – a country and also ask friends and colleagues about their experiences expenses. Try not to borrow money until the number draft law is nearing final approval. The law equated with an insatiable appetite for retail is expected to ease debt restructurings with different companies. If a firm is promising a return on you have reached this savings target, with greater provision for out-of-court investment (ROI) that sounds too good to be true, then it and even then do not take a loan that is 1,000 consumption – is reinforced by a recent negotiations and the government hopes it probably is. Roughly, the ROI in a growth fund could be up to more than 60 per cent of your disposable survey carried out by National Bonds, a 10 per cent more than the prevailing bank interest rate on fixed income, i.e. the money left in hand after The approximate number of inmates would help attract more foreign investors. Sharia-compliant scheme, in which It also contains provisions that can deposits. Anyone promises anything more, and you need to meeting regular monthly expenses like pardoned from Dubai jails in 2011, force a minority of creditors to accept a proceed cautiously. At any rate, ask all the questions you want rent, school fees, electricity bill, fuel costs compared to 973 in 2010 and 1,053 in respondents cited saving for retirement as restructuring agreement if it is acceptable to ask – do not hesitate, it is your money. Find out how much of etc. 2009, after their debts were settled the number one reason for putting money your money will be protected if the markets crash. by the Humanitarian Aid department. to the majority. away.
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Security And Safety For All PERSONAL FINANCE Security And Safety For All
were the rising cost of living (60 per cent) free, is it? not really Want to and inadequate income (22 per cent). But save, but Abu Dhabi resident KB Muralee was Mohammed Abraham Zaa- can’t the intention to save is there. About one in offered a ‘free for life’ credit card and Qasim Al Ali, rour, Assistant Once a person has racked up four respondents (24 per cent) saves used it just once. Seven years later, he a substantial debt, based on current need regularly, and 61 per cent save when they had a debt of Dh60,000 to his name. Chief Executive Vice President at “I used the card for some purchases in and expectations of uninterrupted future can. Only 31 per cent managed to save Officer, National independent India, amounting to Dh12,000. Of that, income, three things can happen: more this year than the last one, and the rest I paid back Dh10,000 on time and later Bonds, wants to financial advisors • His income keeps pace with or outstrips 69 per cent spent more. deposited the remaining Dh2,000. My see the UAE Global Eye gives expenses, and so he is able to service the card’s credit limit was Dh15,000,” he said. The bank charged him a late fee of become a savings- some tips on asset debt and maintain his credit rating and also Wanted, Dh288 for the Dh2,000 paid later and, oriented nation allocation borrow more to finance goals more strangely, combined this with annual fees • His income stagnates and the rising cost of discipline (for a free card!), insurance and interest living erodes the value of his money, leaving In the absence of increasing charges to create the mammoth debt. The case has now been settled, and him enough to maybe keep making the income, the only way to save more is to Muralee said he believed the charges minimum debt repayments but not enough reduce expenses. That much is obvious. were baseless. “It’s very hard for a to pay off the debt altogether The UAE is not really used to cutting layman to understand their schemes, • His income falls sharply or he no longer corners, but the National Bonds survey paybacks, late fees and hidden charges that they add on without explanation. Steer clear of GettinG out has an income, forcing him to either use up showed that 7 per cent more people than These banks play like hunters and they the lure savings, if he has any, to pay off the debt, or the year before had managed to stick to wait and watch when you are going to from the debt trap become a defaulter and face the their savings targets – a small statistical rise get trapped.” consequences but a positive signal. “Changing the mindset How big is the problem of “debt trap” in the UAE? Who What is your advice to those who are in deep debt troubles a vicious circle is very important. We can see the trend, it’s a The case of British national Nicholas are the most common victims of debt trap? who honestly want to get out from it? In the case of UAE residents, even if they positive trend,” said Mohammed Qasim Al Warner made headlines in July 2010 Banks have made it very attractive for consumers to borrow As a first step, you need to sit down with your banks, try to have a steady income, the generous Ali, the chief executive of National Bonds. when it was revealed that he had been first and then spend money, and unfortunately through loans restructure and consolidate your multiple loans into longer term sleeping in Dubai parks and public places increments are a thing of the past. The That said, the UAE still needs to work on and credit cards they are encouraging them to spend money lower interest and thus lower payments loans. Second, drastic for almost three months after a chain country’s economy is closely tied to the its financial discipline. There are of events triggered by the label of ‘debt- they don’t have. As soon as someone begins doing this, they spending measures have to be taken. Finally you need to fortunes of the Western world and that still speculations that the debt culture is skipper’ put on him by his bank. Warner are in the debt trap. Anyone can become a victim of the debt generate additional income by taking additional work, working looks shaky. So remaining in debt is not a creeping back, on the back of a patchy had a dispute with the bank over whether trap, whether they are young or old, poor or rich. The reason additional hours to aim for that end of year bonus and maybe his credit card repayments had been financial decision but a compulsion for recovery in the world economy and for this is that we are in a culture where status symbols are have your non-working spouse start looking for a job. If all these made. Then he went on a holiday out many, especially with not enough savings to innovative methods devised by banks to of the UAE, and when he returned, was important, and the way to achieve these status symbols is by steps are followed one can not only service his or her debt but fall back on. About two-thirds of the 999 drive up credit card spending, Ironically, arrested at the aiport. He was released spending money. As a result, people frequently go above their can also start on the right track of saving for the future. survey respondents (65 per cent) said they these are the very same banks that got later, but was promptly fired, and the means and fall into the debt trap. In addition, the problem bank refused to release his passport were not saving enough. The reasons cited people arrested during the debt crisis. until the disputed debt was paid. But comes down to bad financial decisions in everyday life on How much should one save? Where should they keep their Credit card purchases in the UAE rose 16 without the passport, Warner had no smaller expenditures such as groceries, travel costs, water money? per cent to $8.6 billion (Dh31.6 billion) for the hope of getting a job, and so he naturally and electricity usage, etc. From my experience the savings amounts typically vary between 12 months ending on September 30, 2011, could not pay off the debt. He was finally $500 (Dh1,800) and $5,000 (Dh18,000) per month. Now, where a huge 91 % of rescued when his story became known according to statistics released by Visa, the and private individuals raised the money Is saving a part of UAE residents’ culture? Common sense should the money be kept or invested? Under the mattress is the respondents retail electronic payments network. “While to pay the debt and send him home. tells you that you have to save but why is it so hard for a obviously out of the question. As we all hear and read, asset plan to Increase clearly there has been buoyancy from an person to save? allocation is the key to best performance. Personally I always economic perspective, there are also key cards business at Emirates NBD. Unfortunately it is not part of the culture, but we are working advise my clients to balance their savings between real estate, theIr savIngs In innovations done [by the banks] to drive But the credit card, though still popular, to encourage the development of a savings culture in the securities portfolio and their own business (for entrepreneurs). If 2012 overall spend on credit cards,” said R has lost its pre-eminent position, having UAE, and have seen a lot of success so far. The reason people one strategy fails you have the other two to cover for it. If all fail, Sivaram, Senior Vice-President and head of been overtaken by the debit card, a far safer find it hard to save is three reasons: They might not be aware something is wrong with your advisor. Regarding real estate option for spendthrifts. As per Visa data, that their savings are not enough to keep them safe; they opportunities, there are plenty of undervalued properties hoW much do Gcc residents oWe? total debit card transactions reached more might have a negative mindset that tells them that they worldwide and in the UAE, where one can take advantage off. As than 123 million, while credit card cannot save and that it is too difficult; or they might want to for the securities portfolio, one can chose from the many world In 2010, research and advisory specialists Lafferty Group estimated that the outstanding personal debt in the GCC countries stood at $139 billion. It was suggested that the level of transactions stood at a little over 47 million save but do not know what savings tools are available to class institutions present here in the UAE which offer retirement outstanding debt rose by 80 per cent between 2002 and 2010. According to research, 26 in the 12 months ending September 30, 2011, them. We have been working to address these three problems and long term savings solutions, and some have been around for per cent of the Arab youth had incurred some form of personal debt, mainly owed on credit a sure sign that enough people in the UAE by raising awareness about the importance of savings, and the more than 180 years. As for the client’s own business, I believe cards. The youth of Saudi Arabia were most indebted, at 52 per cent. In the UAE, 23 per cent of the youth admitted to having personal debt, with bank loans accounting for 38 per have taken a lesson from the dark years tools that can be used to save. he or she would be the best expert in that case. cent of the debts, followed by credit cards at 32 per cent and student loans at 15 per cent. following the crash.
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HAVE YOU BEEN REPORTED TO THE How much do you owe the banks POLICE BECAUSE OF DEBT ISSUES? in total? 90% 10% 2% 1% 0% no yes Apology to A mAn I don’t know Ali Obaid is a veteran Emirati commentator Patience is a virtue that helps us be kind and tolerant to and writer on local issues; he currently heads the Over Dh250,000 Dh200,000 – 250,000 Dh150,000 – 200,000 others’ rights DID YOU SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP News Centre at Dubai Media Incorporated TO RESOLVE YOUR DEBT ISSUES? 3% 7%
Dh100,000 – 150,000 Dh50,000 – 100,000 t was a Friday, and as you know, Fridays are I took the slot. Soon, the driver of the other waiting car 19% 81% 27% 60% reserved for shopping malls. While shopping approached me to object to my ‘occupation’ of the slot no yes malls seem to accommodate a huge number of that he considered his. shoppers on Fridays and Saturdays every week, I tried to convince him that I deserved the space HAVE YOU BEEN IN CONTACT Dh10,000 – 50,000 Less than Dh10,000 I WITH YOUR BANKS TO NEGOTIATE the parking areas inside and around them do not seem more than him because I was waiting right behind the YOUR LOANS? to be able to accommodate all the vehicles carrying departing car while he had already crossed it, but he these visitors. insisted. The situation could have developed further, Based on your current income, Do you plan to reduce your The malls’ parking lots, then, resemble but because I was in a hurry, I walked off, leaving the 27% 73% are these debts manageable? credit cards? battlegrounds with warriors duelling with each other protesting man. no yes for a parking slot on the weekend. I don’t know to what extent the man was offended, 83% YES NO This incident happened a few months ago, but it is but when I returned after an hour or so, there were ARE BANKS WILLING TO NEGOTIATE/ still fresh in my memory, and whenever I recall it, I feel dozens of vacant parking spaces as most stores were RESTRUCTURE YOUR LOANS? guilty with remorse even if I wasn’t completely at fault about to close. 70% 30% that day. As I got into my car, the image of the protesting 17% It was late evening, and the crowd was at its peak driver kept disturbing me. I wondered: Who was in Al Khalidiya Mall in Abu Dhabi. right? Was it the driver who had yes no n /a The internal parking spaces were already crossed the leaving car, 29% 17% 54% How many credit cards Have you reduced the number fully occupied, and I – along with or I, the one who was just behind do you own? of credit cards that you own? many others – was looking for a Even if it is my right it? Even if I were right, would the parking slot. to occupy a mall’s universe become disordered had I ARE YOU SAVING ENOUGH? 87% 8% I kept looking for one in vain parking slot, would abandoned the space for him and 1-2 3-4 YES NO for almost 20 minutes. The most the universe become waited a few more minutes until I infuriating thing I encountered found another parking space? was to spot, in the car’s rear-view disordered if I abandon These questions still haunt me 5% 65% 35% mirror, a departing car, but before it for someone else? whenever I find myself looking for More than 4 35% 65% I could allow that car to pass and a parking space. After all these no yes reverse mine into the slot, the car behind mine have months, I find myself driven to provide an apology quickly moved in to occupy that space. to that man whom I do not know. I could have been Call it a gift bestowed upon me from heaven, but kinder, more tolerant and more patient than what I was 40 after what seemed like ages, I spotted, a few metres then. 35 30 ahead of me, a car reversing out of its slot. While You too, dear readers, can be kinder and more 25 waiting for it to exit, I noticed that another car was tolerant if you find yourselves in a similar situation, and What is 20 15 waiting for the same spot, but a few metres ahead. I think you may experience such a situation soon, if your 10 5 Because I was in a better position, once the car left, you haven’t experienced it already. income 0 bracket? 30% 40% 18% 6% 6% Less than Dh5,000 Dh5,000 – DH10,000 Dh10,000 – DH15,000 DH15,000 - DH25,000 ABOVE DH25,000 The views expressed by 999 columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI)
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the child is also deemed to suffer serious residents to never leave their car engine Police long-term effects, both physical and running when they’re not in it. Not only is it authorities have recently warned against psychological. an open invitation for opportunist car sleeping in air-conditioned cars, with The General Administration for Criminal thieves; it is also dangerous – and illegal. toxicology experts saying in less than an Security at Dubai Police also warns Leaving a car engine running while hour, someone could suffocate as a result unoccupied for even a minute can land you of a decrease in oxygen, and/or carbon a fine of Dh300 or, worse, your car stolen, monoxide poisoning. or damaged after moving without anyone Carbon monoxide is a colourless, Authorities warn at the wheel. odourless gas that stops oxygen from residents to never Lt Col Khalid Al Sumaiti, a forensic getting to the brain and heart. It can cause leave their car engine chemistry expert at Dubai Police said toxic headaches, dizziness, tiredness, confusion, running when they’re gases, such as carbon monoxide, can fainting, and vomiting. Patients with CO not in it. Not only is occur in these cases, and urged people to poisoning often feel like they have the flu. it an open invitation maintain car air conditioning units. A few recent tragedies here in the UAE for opportunist car have left authorities keen to explain the thieves; it is also nappers do’s and don’ts of using your car for a nap. dangerous – and Walk through many car parks in the UAE In July, a two-year-old boy died in illegal around lunchtime and you’ll spot them Sharjah after being accidentally left in a car – people taking a nap. Often with the for almost four hours in temperatures of 42o Celsius. In another incident, a five-year-old Emirati girl died in July after her grandmother left her in a car for almost two hours, while visiting a friend in Umm Al Quwain. You might think it’s okay to leave the kids in the car while you nip into a store to grab some milk, drop a letter or collect the dry cleaning. There’s no harm in leaving your child in the car for just a minute, right?
Your car is not Wrong! For various reasons, hundreds of kids each year are involved in potentially fatal accidents when left unattended in a vehicle. Don’t let your child become a Bya WILL RANKIN sleeping poD statistic. The Public Safety Department at Abu Leaving children to nap in the vehicle or take forty winks Dhabi Police confirmed that it had dealt with the engine running is not only a health hazard, but with cases of children being left alone in hot cars, some of which ended in fatalities. also a legal offence Even if the child did not die in such cases,
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What is Carbon safety tips monoxide poisoning? Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute Carbon monoxide (sometimes Get in the habit of always opening referred to as CO) is a colourless, the back door of your vehicle every odourless gas produced by burning time you reach your destination to material containing carbon. Carbon make sure no child has been left monoxide poisoning can cause brain behind. This will soon become a damage and death. You can’t see it, habit smell it, or taste it; but carbon Keep a large stuffed animal in the monoxide can kill you. child’s car seat when it’s not occupied. When the child is placed in Carbon monoxide can come from the seat, put the stuffed animal in any source that burns fuel. Common the front passenger seat. It’s a visual sources are cars, fireplaces, powerboats, woodstoves, kerosene reminder that anytime the stuffed space heaters, charcoal grills, and animal is up front you know the gas appliances such as water child is in the back seat in a child heaters, ovens, and dryers. safety seat Leaving your child alone in the car is a serious offense Keep vehicles locked at all times; Usually they cause no problems. even in the garage or driveway and engine running, especially at this time of you’re sleeping, your body is less aware of Trouble comes when: always set your parking brake Keys and/or remote openers year, as temperatures soar. temperature and air quality. Cars, trucks, or other engines are left Both adults and children run the risk of suffocation if there is no sufficient supply of oxygen should never be left within reach of But whether your car is old or new, the running in enclosed spaces, such as children. threat of suffocation or poisoning is ever Kid’s play garages. Carbon monoxide can build “Adults could die in the same way,” said Al The Major General said leaving the Make sure all child passengers present. If there are any mechanical issues, Leaving your children alone in the car is a up in a garage and leak back into the Marzooqi. “However, adults are able to engine running is an open chance for have left the vehicle after it is according to experts, exhaust fumes can serious offense. Leave them awake, and house. Even sitting in an idling car in resist themselves. They could break a opportunist thieves – and in order to stamp parked an open garage or swimming behind leak into the car and rapidly lower oxygen they could let the handbrake off, and set window, which a child could not do.” out theft, drivers are being held When a child is missing, check an idling boat can be dangerous. levels – and exhaust fumes are made up of the vehicle in motion. They could get Rather than run the risk of any accident responsible for ensuring the security of vehicles and car trunks immediately Use drive-thru services when poisonous carbon monoxide. While the trapped inside, or, as in the worst case to your child – or damage to your vehicle their vehicles. Fuel-burning appliances are not available (restaurants, banks, issue relates to all cars, it is more likely to scenarios above, suffocate. Remember: installed or used properly. Dangerous – it’s always the safest bet to simply take Al Zafeen pointed out a number of pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc.) levels of carbon monoxide can build occur in older models, which might lack even leaving a child in a car with a window them with you! vehicles are left running in order to keep Make sure you have cash to pay up inside houses and other buildings. engine efficiency and full ventilation. open is a danger-riddled situation: a kid the vehicle cool, but also cited a number of whenever you load your car at the Mechanics suggest getting your AC can easily get stuck in a half-opened Fuel-burning heating systems and a fine mess dangerous situations children may face pump station system checked every six months – for window. appliances are used during cold Now, if you leave your engine running while when left unattended in the vehicle. If you see a child alone in a vehicle, leaks, faults and efficiency. Money is well Raed Al Marzooqi, Head of the weather, when doors and windows paying a quick visit to a shop or For example, he mentioned a driver who get involved. If they are hot or seem sick, get them out as quickly as spent if it saves a life! Occupational Health and Safety Section of are closed. withdrawing cash from an ATM, you could left two children inside the vehicle and possible. Call 999 immediately But even sleeping in the car with the Dubai Municipality, said: “Even If it is summer face a federal traffic law fine of Dh300. went into a shopping mall. One of the SOUrCE: KIDSANDCArS.OrG engine off and the windows shut is or winter, whether the air conditioning is involving children in and around the car Major General Mohammed Saif Al children took out a cigarette lighter, which dangerous. There is a high tendency that switched on or off; a child should never be reported 600 fatal cases of children being Zafeen, Director of the General Directorate led to the outbreak of fire in the vehicle. A accident. you inhale ‘stuffy’ air with less oxygen and left in the car without supervision, because left in the car between 1990 and 2010 in of Traffic in Dubai said in the first seven sergeant on duty immediately broke the There are two simple rules to engage more carbon monoxide present. the level of oxygen is not sufficient and the the US alone. months of this year, some 2,314 vehicles side glass of the vehicle and rescued the when driving – try not to sleep in the car, When you’re driving, it’s a different child may die as a result.” Being left in a small area with no were found with engines running. children. and do not leave children unattended in a matter – you realise the need for fresh air The UAE is not alone in combatting this sufficient supply of oxygen is already life He said a lot of cars are commonly left He cited another case, when a child left vehicle. and you can open a window. You can stop problem. Kids and Cars, a US-based threatening for any individual, so how much running while drivers visit fuel station shops alone in a vehicle engaged the gears, Apply both these simple rules, and we and move around if you’re tired, but when organisation that monitors incidents more is the risk in the case of children? or ATMs, as well as other places. moving the vehicle and nearly causing an will all ensure safer, happier driving and life.
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The relaTionship beTween india during the same period. Overall, bilateral of the historical links between the two and the UAE has evolved into a significant trade has grown by more than three times countries, geographical proximity, and the partnership in the economic and in five years (2006-2011). extensive relations in trade, investments, commercial sphere, with UAE emerging as But trade and economic aspects alone and people-to-people contacts. Man with a Mission the second largest market globally for do not only determine India’s relations. The UAE is a very wealthy and clean Indian products. Indians were present in the UAE long country. It has seen a lot of developmental HE Lokesh Mysore Kapanaiah, the Indian In an interview with India’s Ambassador before oil was discovered and have played activities in the last decade and a lot of to the UAE MK lokesh, he said bilateral a vital role in the development of the transformation. In this progressive country, Ambassador to the UAE, tells 999 how he trade has been steadily growing over the country. the standard of living of people in terms of years and people-to-people contacts are In 2011, the two countries grew closer infrastructure is improving by the day. handles the welfare of the UAE’s largest constantly on the rise. still with Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin 999: India and the UAE indeed share rich expat community while enhancing the rich He shared data from India’s Department Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister historical ties. Indians were present in the of Commerce, which showed that trade is and Minister of Interior, and Indian Home UAE long before oil was discovered. How economic and cultural relations between the definitely on the upswing. Official statistics Minister P. Chidambaram signing two do you handle the welfare and security of shows that the UAE is host to 13.47 per accords – the first one on transfer of such a large community? two countries cent of India’s total exports and the pie is prisoners to jails in their respective Having such a large community from just getting bigger. Last year, India’s countries and the second on security your home country is always a blessing for exports to the UAE grew by 41 per cent to cooperation. an ambassador because they form a very $34 billion (Dh125 billion) from $24 billion Over 1,200 Indian prisoners were sent important link in our relation with the host Profile (Dh88 billion) a year earlier. back to India at this time. The second country. He Lokesh Mysore Kapanaiah, a post-graduate Indians have also emerged as important agreement, on security cooperation, deals However, at the same time, a large of botany and Military Science, joined the Indian investors in the UAE. UAE exports to India with drug trafficking, organised criminal community also has a large number of Foreign Service in 1977. At the initial stage of ballooned by 68 groups and illicit trade in weapons, problems, a large number of demands, and his diplomatic career, Ambassador Lokesh served at Indian Missions in Kandy and Colombo per cent to ammunition and explosives. It also actively the Indian Embassy is not very huge. While (Sri Lanka); embassy of India, brussels; and $33 billion encourages initiatives on training of police attending to all the demands, for example, High Commission of India, Lagos. (Dh120 personnel. the maximum pressure comes in terms of before his appointment as Indian Ambassador billion) from Excerpts of the interview: to the UAe in April 2010, he served as Deputy $19 billion 999: You’re assigned now in the UAE Chief of Mission in embassy of India, brussels (Dh72 after your stint in Brussels and Belgium. (2007-2010), Ambassador to Slovak republic billion) How do you find the UAE as your new I find the UAE more (2004-2007), Consul General in Durban home? (1997-2000), and Counsellor in embassy of akin to my own Every country is unique, every continent Washington (1994-1997). country because of a is unique, they have their own cultural He also had several appointments in India as: history, they have their own political large Indian community Deputy Secretary, Defence Services Staff here and the historical College, Wellington; Deputy Director General, system, and they have their own Indian Council for Cultural relations; and Joint customs and practices. The UAE links between the two Secretary (Africa), in the Ministry of external is of course quite different from countries Affairs. Belgium where I served Ambassador Lokesh has two daughters with previously. requests for consular services such as the his wife, radhika Lal Lokesh, an Indian Foreign I find the UAE more attestation of documents as well as Service Offi cer in Saint Petersburg, russian akin to my own attending to labour issues. The number of Federation. country, India. Not Indian blue-collared workers in the UAE is only because of substantial, and they have their own the presence of unique problems. large Indian All of these add to the pressure of the community here, embassy’s work. For example, every year but also because we issue almost 300,000 passports and
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999: What are the common concerns from June 2012 – there was a marginal is comfortable in approaching the I understand that the government of the recieved by the Indian Resource Centre? decrease in the second quarter, but given embassy or consulate whenever there is a UAE is trying to amend bankruptcy laws. We have a 24-hour helpline so any the global downturn and slow trade, problem? Once this is done, probably some of these worker can call them. If a worker has visa bilateral trade figures between India and Well, whenever there is a problem, the issues can be taken care of. issues, wage issues, or if he just wants to the UAE look very good. tendency is to approach the embassy, but 999: But do you support the idea? Photo by Joem Aldea Photo by Joem know the procedures in extending his visa, 999: As trade between India and the UAE one must understand that the embassy Definitely we’ll support whatever can he can call the hotline. They will provide grows, the number of Indian expatriates, may not be in a position to help in all help the affected people. That is why we him with counselling in different areas – which belong to the labour group, also cases. There are people who’ve gotten want to give financial counselling to avoid legal, work, and health areas. Sometimes increases. Do you face a lot of issues themselves into debt issues and other such issues in the first place. the needy ones get psychiatric counselling when it comes to the labourers in the issues where they’ve fallen foul of local 999: Is illegal immigration a big issue too. UAE? laws. We can’t help much in those issues. amongst the community? They can do these things because they We do have a very large number of But whenever the embassy can intervene, As far as the Indian community is employ dedicated professional counsellors labourers in the UAE. There are problems, we always take up the case of Indian concerned, I have not come across such on their payroll. Not only do they receive sometimes with companies going bankrupt citizens. cases in big numbers. There are some calls, but Indian expats can also go there and not being able to pay workers’ wages, 999: Having said that, we understand cases where they have a valid visa, but any time to seek assistance. sometimes issues with the extension of that you are also negotiating and dealing have absconded from their employers. The centre also goes to the workers’ visa, etc. with prisoners to actually work for them Local laws are very strict and they take camps to reach out and organise 999: Do you think the Indian community to be able to pay off their debts… action against such people. The issue isn’t awareness camps and tell them what their rights are and what they can do and what they should do, and also receive their visas in both the embassy and the crematoriums. The associations help with complaints in these camps. consulate in Dubai. In addition to this, we the embassy taking the lead. This is the first time that we have set up provide attestation services of about 999: When will IVS Global Services something like this in this country. I don’t 100,000 documents a year. Private Ltd, the company hired by the think there is a similar set-up in other GCC The embassy has been able to manage Indian Embassy to carry out attestation countries by the Indian Mission. It’s been these issues successfully through services, start its operations? operational since 2010 and was innovative measures. We have been able I do not know exactly when they will inaugurated by the President of India. to meet the demands by outsourcing our open, we are still finalising. Hopefully, they We have received 30,000 calls since it services to an agency who does most of will be operational in October. But was set up, and 90 per cent of those calls the paperwork for us, and we take the final definitely within this year. But we also have were resolved in the centre itself and did decision. Union Worker’s Resource Centre, then we not need to be escalated to the embassy Similarly, for labour-related work, we have BLS International, which is the because of fast resolution and the nature have set up the Indian Resource Centre in outsourced agent handling our passport of the calls. But there are some cases that Dubai where we have a 24-hour helpline. and visa work, and VFS Global, which is were brought to our attention in which the Majority of the calls would have otherwise handling the Indian Resource Centre. embassy and the consulate needed to been directed to the embassy, and with 999: Is this the first time that the Indian intervene. our staff limitations, we would not have Embassy has outsourced it services? 999: That is great because you have been been able to accommodate all of them. No, it has been outsourced before. VFS able to concentrate on the core services These are all outsourced, but they work was doing it earlier, but we need to go for of the embassy. You’re known for creating in close coordination with the embassy a bid and get new quotations every three trade agreements in Brussels. Are there and the consulate, so we are able to face years. So, the attestation work has been any trade agreements that you’re the challenges. We also have a lot of outsourced for quite some time now. planning to push through here in the community organisations and associations, 999: Do you anticipate a larger number of UAE? from whom we receive a lot of assistance, attestation work now that there are many Well, I do not know if there is any need especially when it comes to labour-related Indians migrating to the UAE? for a trade agreement, because trade work. For the last two to three years, there has between India and the UAE is already They also help out in the community by been no significant increase in the number booming despite the global downturn. For uae deputy Prime Minister and Minister of interior, lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al nahyan and india union Minister of finance, chidambaram Palaniappan setting up schools, social centres, and of Indians in the UAE. example, I’ve received the latest figures sign the Security agreement between uae and india in new delhi
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so severe in the case of India because of embassy – Abu Dhabi Indian School, Dubai When Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin the fact that immigration authorities in India Indian School, etc. they were all set up with Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime IndIa’s Import from UaE (In aEd) are also very strict. the assistance of the Indian communities. Minister and Minister of Interior, went to 999: More and more governments are If you visit the Indian Social Centre in India last year, he signed the India-UAE 2006 – 2007 31.8 Billion tightening up their security protection for Abu Dhabi or the Indian Club in Dubai, security agreement. 2007 – 2008 49.5 Billion their people applying as domestic helpers. which are very prestige organisations with This is a very important agreement and 2008 – 2009 87.4 Billion What are the measures undertaken by many facilities for community members, we are still waiting for the ramifi cation from INDIA trade exports and imports 2009 – 2010 71.6 Billion India, with regard to this issue? and the crematorium building in Sharjah – both sides before it is enforced. This We’ve already done it many years ago. they were all built with the contributions of covers a wide gamut of security-related 2010 – 2011 120 Billion There are many checks when it comes to the Indian community. cooperation including crime, money recruiting domestic helpers from India. First Before we set up this Indian Community laundering, terrorism, among others. UaE’s sharE In IndIa’s total of all, they have to be 30 years of age – Welfare Fund (ICWF), the embassy used to 999: Can you please expound further? Imports we have completely banned hiring maids collect money from Indian businessmen to Basically it will lead to better below 30 years old, plus the employer has help workers. There are organisations such coordination between the two countries in 2006 – 2007 4.7 % to fulfi ll a number of conditions. as the Indian Workers’ Welfare Committee, terms of information and intelligence, so 2007 – 2008 5.4 % He has to pay a deposit to the embassy and other associations, who collect money that we could fi ght global crimes more 2008 – 2009 7.8 % of $2,500 (Dh9,200), and provide a mobile for workers’ welfare. eff ectively. Crimes know no borders, 2009 – 2010 6.8 % phone to the maid so that the embassy can But the embassy itself does not collect criminals can commit it there and come 2010 – 2011 8.9 % reach them at any time, and the minimum money directly from the people. We do here, or commit here and go there. The salary is also defi ned. Because of these however collect an additional Dh10 fee for agreement also covers physical and restrictions, the number of cases where our consular services, which goes to the electronic frauds. UAE’s share in India’s total 2006 – 2007 6.6 % maids are exploited have been lowered ICWF and is used for welfare activities. 999: Does it also include a prisoner swap trade 2007 – 2008 7.0 % radically to one or two cases at any given For instance, if somebody gets stranded agreement? 2008 – 2009 9.9 % time where we place them in housing and wants to go back to India, or people There was a diff erent agreement for that, 2006 – 2007 6.6 % 2009 – 2010 9.3 % services. are stranded here and are in need of which was also signed when Sheikh Saif IndIa’s Export to UaE (In aEd) 2007 – 2008 7.0 % 2010 – 2011 10.7 % 999: India is so diverse. What is the Indian maintenance for a few days or initial legal visited India. In essense, Indian nationals 2008 – 2009 9.9 % convicted and serving jail sentences here 2009 – 2010 9.3 % Embassy doing to approach its citizens in assistance, this fund is used for those 2006 – 2007 44.1 Billion 2010 – 2011 10.7 % 2010 – 2011 line with charity and philanthropy services. We don’t really go to the can request the completion of their jail 2007 – 2008 57.4 Billion 244 Billion missions? community directly, but we do encourage sentence in India. Similarly, if an Emirati is 2008 – 2009 90 Billion The Indian community is already helping the community to contribute. jailed in India for some crime, he can 2009 – 2010 a lot. They are responsible for building 999: What are the new security request to serve his jail sentence in a UAE 2009 – 2010 88 Billion 160 Billion many schools here in association with the cooperation deals between UAE and India? jail. 2010 – 2011 124.2 Billion 2008 – 2009 999: Is it already implemented? 177 Billion From the Indian side we have ratifi ed this. We are still waiting for the ratifi cation UaE’s sharE In IndIa’s total 2007 – 2008 Up Close and Personal from the UAE side. As soon as it is ratifi ed, Exports 107 Billion it will be implemented. After an exhausting day of work, 999: What is your message to the Indian Total Trade between ambassadors also have to relax. India and UAE (in AED) community as far as debts are concerned? 2006 – 2007 Here’s how MK Lokesh does his It is a very basic advice which your 75.9 Billion relaxation: 9.6% parents would have given when you were 9.5% 13.2% “Well, I do relax a bit while attending 2006 – 2007 2007 – 2008 2008 – 2009 functions. But I also relax with friends. young: don’t borrow what you cannot Top 10 CoUnTriES TrADing wiTh inDiA Sometimes we play games, eat at repay. It’s a very simple advice to follow, Country Total Trade (in US Dollars) (in AED) restaurants, go to shopping malls and but so many people still get into trouble. 1 China 57.8 Billion 212 Billion various places and events. There are They have to be careful in how they spend 2 UAE 52.8 Billion 194 Billion many events that are coming up, like the 3 USA 43.2 Billion 159 Billion and how they speculate – most of the Formula 1, golf tournaments and tennis 4 Saudi Arabia 27 Billion 99.1 Billion tournaments - which I am really interested cases happened during the economic 5 Switzerland 24.4 Billion 89.6 Billion in going. That’s how I relax.” downturn. They were being encouraged 13.4% 13.5% 2009 – 2010 2010 – 2011 6 Singapore 19.2 Billion 70.5 Billion by the banks, yes, but ultimately, fi nancial 7 Hong Kong 18.1 Billion 66.5 Billion management has to be done by the 8 Germany 17.8 Billion 65.4 Billion 9 Indonesia 15.8 Billion 58 Billion individual. Source: export import data Bank (financial year starts in april and ends in 10 Unspecified 15.6 Billion 57.3 Billion March). note: data in the top 10 countries is from april 2011-december 2011)
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minimising the Risk
To reduce pesticide poisoning, FAO, UNEP and WHO urge:
To reduce and eliminate possible sources of pesticide To provide training for people on how to use pesticides exposures to children at home and at work judiciously and how to prevent exposure To keep pesticides out of children’s reach and store To run information and education campaigns via TV and FataL Fumes them securely in containers that are properly labelled radio programmes and to use child-proof tops Mishandled pesticides have caused numerous deaths by To reduce the risks associated with the use of pesticides To reduce the use of agricultural pesticides through a comprehensive life-cycle approach, i.e. poisoning in the UAE. 999 tells you all about how it happens addressing all aspects of pesticide management from To train healthcare providers on the recognition and manufacturing until use or disposal and how to cut out the risks management of pesticide poisoning
repel insects, weeds, rodents, fungi, and In some countries, such as China and Banned/RestRicted Pesticides in uae Globally other organisms that can threaten public Sri Lanka, self-poisoning with pesticides The Ministry of Water and Environment has worked to • A total of 401 pesticides have been either restricted pesticide poisoning is a serious health health and national economies. is a particular problem. Studies from Sri develop legislation, regulations and environmental or banned in the UAE problem that disproportionately affects However, when improperly used or Lanka regarding self-poisoning reveal an controls including pesticide registration, ways of handling and use. It also collaborates with municipalities • The updated list of banned/restricted pesticides in the infants and children. stored, these chemical agents can also acute pesticide poisoning incidence rate of and other authorities concerned to control the UAE is based on the EU and US lists Children are facing higher risks from harm humans. Key risks are cancer, birth approximately 180 per 100,000. distribution of pesticides based on the strategic plan of • Pesticides are divided into five groups according to pesticides than adults and need greater defects, and damage to the nervous system the ministry. the type used and degree of seriousness protection against these chemicals, and the functioning of the endocrine system. particularly in developing countries, According to the WHO, cases of acute according to a joint report published by the pesticide poisoning account for significant ChroniC toxiCity UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the morbidity and mortality worldwide, Refers to the effects of long-term or What to do When accidentaL UN Environment Programme and the World especially in developing countries. It has repeated lower level exposures to a Health Organisation (WHO). been reported that an estimated one million toxic substance. The effects of chronic Poisonings occuR To avoid poisoning incidents, UAE to five million cases of pesticide poisonings exposure do not appear immediately authorities have come up with a host of occur every year, resulting in several after first exposure and may take FiRst aid iF inhaLed initiatives to prevent such tragedies. thousands of fatalities, including children, a years to produce signs and symptoms. Examples of chronic poisoning effects One of the most important of these was WHO report said. may include: the establishment of the food-borne disease WHO statistics show that, in developed surveillance and investigation system that countries, the annual incidence rates of was set up in collaboration with the Dubai acute pesticide poisoning in agricultural CarCinogeniCity– ability to produce Health Authority, under the guidance of workers is as much as 18.2 per 100,000 cancer or to assist carcinogenic chemicals. the WHO and the US Centres for Disease full-time workers and 7.4 per million among MutageniCity– ability to cause genetic Control and Prevention. schoolchildren. In developing countries, the Call a poison control centre or doctor for changes. treatment advice. The Poison and Drug Pesticides are designed to kill, reduce or incidences are higher. Information Centre (PDIC) provides a poison Bring the individual to a place where there teratogeniCity– ability to cause birth help hotline throughout the entire UAE. The is fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial defects. call is free and confidential. The PDIC can be respiration, preferably mouth-to-mouth. reached at the national toll - free number Get medical attention. What the LaW says onCogeniCity– ability to induce tumor (800 424). growth (not necessarily cancers). In July this year, HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin prohibited from using any other banned or To be granted a licence, a pest control Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime unregistered pesticide to carry out their activities. technician must have a diploma or degree Liver daMage – death of liver cells, iF sWaLLoWed Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued The firms are also forbidden from importing or from an accredited college or university in the jaundice (yellowing of the skin), fibrosis and iF in eyes a resolution regulating activities practised by trading any kind of pesticide, unless it is fields of public health, environmental health, cirrhosis. pest control firms in the country. registered with the Mnistry. agricultural engineering and biology. reproduCtive disorders – such Resolution No. 27 of 2012 stipulates that Pest control companies must keep a certificate As for pesticide storage, the warehouses as reduced sperm count, sterility, and pest control companies must obtain a licence proving the safety and authenticity of the must be appropriately ventilated, well-lit, and miscarriage. from local authorities to practise their activities pesticides, and also a list of pesticides associated must have exhaust fans. The warehouse’s of pest control of flies, bugs, mosquitoes, with the registration certificate issued by the walls must be made from inflammable nerve daMage – including accumulative effects on cholinesterase depression Hold eye open and rinse slowly and gently This product will cause gastrointestinal rodents, cockroaches, and weevils, and other Ministry of Environment. materials, and must be coated with liquid associated with organophosphate rinse with water for 15 – 20 minutes. tract irritation. Immediately dilute by insects that pose a danger to public health. As per Article No. 6 of Cabinet resolution No. insulated materials, such as ceramics. The insecticides. swallowing water or milk. Get medical Under the law, all pest control firms must 27 of 2012, advertising pesticides is prohibited warehouse must have a register detailing the Remove contact lenses, if present, after the attention. Never give anything by mouth to aLLergeniC sensitisation – use pesticides registered at the Ministry of without obtaining a licence to import and trade in quantity and types of pesticide stored, and first 5 minutes, then continue rinsing the eye. an unconscious person. development of allergies to pesticides or Environment and Water. The firms are these substances. incoming and outgoing stock. chemicals used in formulation of pesticides. SOURCE: UNIvERSITy Of NEBRASkA - LINCOLN
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May 31 this year, Dubai is buttressed by gruesome pictures of ON took an unprecedented body parts (jaws, lungs, mouth) damaged step – the emirate put a 24-hour ban by smoking. However, the country is For the UAE, the on all tobacco sales to mark World No still far from adopting the severe plain introduction of graphic Tobacco Day. It was the strongest signal packaging for cigarettes that Australia has by far sent out to the industry that is said made mandatory. Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, images is the fi rst step to be responsible for one death every 6.5 head of the National Tobacco Control towards government- seconds somewhere in the world. Programme and Director of Primary level smoking cessation Speaking on the occasion, Redha Healthcare Centres, Ministry of Health, efforts Hassan Salman, Director of Dubai Dubai, said: “For the UAE, the introduction Municipality’s Public Health and Safety of graphic images is the fi rst step towards until January 1, 2013. But there are no new Department, reminded everyone of a government-level smoking cessation imports of packs with the older designs. danger that we all know exists but which eff orts. It took four years of eff ort to make By the end of 2012, a bylaw of the many of us prefer to ignore until it has the graphic warning images on tobacco Federal Tobacco Law would be passed, reached a point of no repair. “Smoking products mandatory. The second step Al Maidoor said, ensuring that all tobacco S kills millions of people and aff ects public towards tobacco control would be to product packaging contained one of the health,” he said in a simple, succinct enforce another law to ban product logos ESMA-approved pictorial warnings. Once M message. According to the World Health on tobacco packaging.” The powerful the bylaw came into eff ect, it would also K Organisation, every 6.5 seconds a current tobacco lobby always resisted any new enable strict enforcement of regulations N or former smoker dies, and the habit measures to clamp down on smoking and concerning the maintenance of smoke- causes six million deaths a year worldwide. protect people’s health, she said. free areas, sale of tobacco products and BY WILL RANKIN O I Just how much of a threat smoking Currently, 42 countries feature pictorial media advertising, she said. “Groceries can be is now visible to anyone who warnings on tobacco products. Although and supermarkets will no longer be QUIT G buys one of the new cigarette packs packs with the warning images appeared allowed to sell and display these products The UAE is tightening the screws on lighting up in public introduced in the market from the second on UAE shop shelves from August, the near the cash counter. No promotions will places, in a two-pronged move to discourage tobacco users week of August this year, by a federal law. Emirates Authority for Standardization and be allowed, and there will be a complete These packs carry a health warning in a Metrology (ESMA) has decided to allow ban on advertising of tobacco products in and protect passive smokers much larger type than before, and this the shops to sell their existing old stock, any form,” she added.
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Research has shown that glossy brand imagery, and also distract attention collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, will However, health authorities have packaging and ‘slim’ cigarettes can from health warnings,” said Professor guide smokers on how to quit. dismissed the idea that no-smoking will mislead users into believing that these John Britton, director of the UK Centre for The government’s measures have been translate to no-profits for cafes. The no- are less harmful than the contents of Tobacco Control Studies. “Putting tobacco spurred by the worrying trend of underage smoking policy must not be viewed as a a standard king size pack. Support for into plain packs creates no problem for smoking in the emirate. In a survey hindrance, said Dr Sara Karrar, a senior measures that deglamourise smoking existing users, but protects young people conducted by Dubai Health Authority, with officer in cardiovascular and metabolic has been growing in countries that are from becoming familiar with and perhaps a sample population of 2,457 students, diseases at Health Authority-Abu Dhabi. most aware of the menace. In the UK, a identifying with specific brands.” 14.6 per cent said they used tobacco “We need to sit down and have a 2012 YouGov survey of 10,000 adults, The UAE is also about to hit smokers in some form; 11.2 per cent smoked conversation with them,” said Dr Karrar, conducted for Action on Smoking and with a 200 per cent tax, which will double cigarettes; 2.2 per cent used sheesha; who works in the public health and policy Health, showed that 62 per cent of people the average cost of a pack of cigarettes 1.9 per cent smoked a pipe; 0.8 per cent department. supported plain packaging. Only six per from Dh8 to Dh16. Announced in April, the smoked cigars; and another 0.8 per cent The anti-smoking zeal is spreading cent believed the tobacco industry could tax was to come into effect from August, said they chewed tobacco. through the GCC. Saudi Arabia has be trusted to “tell the truth”. but has since been delayed. Qadhi Al Hardened smokers like Phil Waller, banned sheesha smoking and sale of “Pack designs are used to promote Murooshid, Director General of the Dubai an expat in Dubai who has embraced tobacco to those under 18. Kuwait issued a Health Authority, had said on the sidelines tobacco for 40 years, are unimpressed by blanket smoking ban in February. The GCC of a cardiology congress that the tax all these. “They can put warnings on the countries are also considering adopting would be levied in co-operation with Dubai packets; and increase the prices, but I’m a the 200 per cent tax hike, and the pictorial It works! Municipality. smoker,” he said. “The more warnings and warnings on packs. For die-hard smokers, In Thailand, bans on smoking in such like are foisted upon us, the more it is time to look for the nearest closet. many indoor venues, and graphic Anti-smoking shield belligerent I become in my smoking habits. photographs of diseased lungs, The most important move in the war I have always loved smoking, despite stained teeth, etc on cigarette against smoking is the step to protect knowing the health risks, and don’t feel The US Food & Drug Administration had proposed requiring tobacco makers to place stronger packets have lowered male passive smokers. Like most developed warnings and graphic pictures on the top half of cigarette packages. The proposal faced a number of twists and turns and is now awaiting final decision from the Supreme Court, legal experts say Did you know? smoking rates to 37 per cent now or developing countries, the UAE has now banned smoking in public places, a from 63 per cent in 1981. When you quit smoking... classification that covers everything from Which is the global any desire to give up. What about freedom There are those who suggest that the After 20 minutes, your blood airports and malls to cafes and Ramadan of choice?” price hike will simply lead smokers – a smoking capital? pressure and pulse return to tents. Some cafes have been flouting the Phil Waller’s freedom to smoke, great many of whom are from the poorer, normal. ban to keep the customers happy, but China has that dubious distinction. unfortunately, encroaches upon another less educated strata of society – to seek After 24 hours, your lungs start Top tips to quit several of them have also been slapped Nearly 60 per cent of Chinese person’s freedom to inhale poison-free air, tobacco illegally, increasing the trade to clear. with spot fines of Dh2,000 - Dh3,000 since men smoke. China consumes one and the ban on smoking in public places in ‘black market’ imports. These illegal • Call the new cessation hotline: After two days, your body is the ban took effect from July 1 this year. in three of the world’s cigarettes emphasises just that. Some friction is imports are often made of inferior or even 800-123-QUIT (7848) nicotine-free and your sense of In 2009, the Dubai government banned and produces more tobacco inevitable. While Dubai has not seen public adulterated tobacco, which is still more • Take it one day at a time taste and smell improve. individuals from smoking sheesha pipes than anywhere else. About one protests like in Lebanon, where business injurious to health. • Occupy your mind – and your body After three days, you can in all public recreational areas, including million Chinese die each year from owners organised a sit-in demonstration Cafes and restaurant owners have also • Take up a new hobby; you might breathe more easily, and your parks and beaches. In 2010, a federal smoking, according to studies. in September against a similar ban, there voiced their unhappiness, especially in get fit, too energy increases. anti-tobacco law was issued, giving cafes Paradoxically, Hong Kong, the is dissent. areas where one cafe is merrily flouting • Investigate the full range of After two to 12 weeks, your and restaurants located in residential former British protectorate now the ban and pulling the customers in, and nicotine replacement therapy circulation improves. neighbourhoods two years to move or under Chinese control, has one another is abiding by the law and losing products, and talk to your After three to nine months, ban smoking. The law mandated non- of the lowest recorded smoking business. The manager of a cafe in Marina pharmacist or doctor about what coughs, wheezing dissipates and residential outlets to create designated figures in the world, at 11.8 per Mall, Abu Dhabi, that was fined for violating might work best for you Pack designs are used breathing improves. smoking areas within the stipulated cent, according to 2008 data. In the ban, complained that the enforcers • Celebrate each smoke-free day to promote brand After one year, your heart timeframe. Earlier this year, Dubai Health Hong Kong, cigarettes are heavily had targeted certain malls as they lacked • Save the money you would have imagery, and also attack risk is half that of a smoker. Authority launched a smoking-cessation taxed, have pictorial warnings on the manpower to monitor all the malls spent on cigarettes and put it on After 10 years, your lung cancer helpline. The 24-hour toll-free number packets and smoking is banned in distract attention from together. This resulted in business flocking other things risk is half that of a smoker. – 800-123-QUIT (7848) – launched in most public places. health warnings elsewhere.
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Dodge the perils of pedalling Cycling is a great outdoor activity, as long as you train yourself to avoid dangerous collisions BY LUCY VICENTE
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hear a lot about The Traffic Department of Dubai Police join groups who ride around Dubai as it is Bicycles are lighter and more We irresponsible drivers on announced that the number of people more fun and safer.” environment-friendly vehicles, but they still UAE’s roads, but it’s not just the drivers killed from bicycle accidents totalled 25 in If drivers get lessons It takes proper planning to make a need to use the road and not the sidewalk Cycling can be a – at times, cyclists are to be blamed too the month of March 2012. in driving cars and city bike-friendly. In the world’s most meant for pedestrians. However, due to way to reduce the for riding their bikes in a reckless and Although the number of fatalities bike friendly cities (see box), the key to the lack of awareness, a lot of cyclists knowing the rules of country’s carbon irresponsible manner. resulting from bicycle mishaps is encouraging cyclist is the government’s still ride their bikes on sidewalks here in footprint and reduce It is because of the increasing number declining, from 45 dead during 2007 to 12 the road, a responsible support. The governments of these cities the UAE, which disturbs pedestrians and cyclist should also learn traffic congestion. of accidents that irresponsible cyclists last year, authorities are now confiscating have laid out bicycle lanes, and have could lead to injury for both. Besides, proper cycling cause that news of bicycles being the offenders’ bikes and doling out fines the rules and how provided cyclists route maps. “Most parks are too small to ride your banned from parks and on major UAE to those who breach the rules. to use proper hand The most important role of the bike anyway, except Mushrif Park, which is actually safer than roads has been on and off the headlines. signals government is the promotion of cycling is very nice. Most cyclists prefer to ride driving In 2009, Dubai’s Al Barsha Pond Bike-friendly cities as a means of transportation. In Berlin, on the regular roads or the cycling parks Park banned bicycles in park premises “His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Germany, city leaders have been as it allows them to cover more distance,” bike-friendly with the initiatives from the because, despite designated bike lanes, Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and UAE Federal Law encouraging more people to use bicycles says Wolfi. government. “We recommend riding your cyclists failed to follow the park’s rules Prime Minsiter of the UAE and Ruler of to add to the 400,000 Berliners that ride In response to the growing threat to bike with caution and use strong blinking and regulations, resulting in chaos among Dubai, the Dubai Sports Council, and No. 21 of 1995 bikes to work. bikers on the roads, the Traffic Department front and rear lights even during the day,” Article 16: A cyclist shall ride a bicycle park visitors and joggers. the UAE Cycling Federation are working “In the UAE, cycling is all about sports has issued warnings to cyclists that their says Wolfi. on the right side of the road and is Ahmad Abdul Karim, the Director of the on their vision to make the UAE a more prohibited from riding their bicycle on and to be social and make some new bikes will be confiscated if they’re caught “Nad Al Sheba has been a training Public Parks and Horticulture Department cycling friendly place,” says Wolfgang sidewalks and main roads. friends,” says Wolfi. “Commuting to work is breaking the rules (see box). ground for the Dubai Roadsters for many at Dubai Municipality, was quoted as Hohmann, also known as Wolfi from the still difficult but in some cases possible.” In addition, Dubai’s Roads and Transport years and the newly created cycling saying that visitors were not using special cycling group Dubai Roadsters. In fact, Wolfi says he enjoys riding the Authority has proposed to lay out a parks and lanes are a big improvement in tracks meant for jogging and cycling, and He added that some development bike more here in the UAE than he did 900km bike route across the emirate to cycling safety. The Dubai Autodrome and that parents were bringing their kids to has happened in the 10 years that the back home in Germany. “In Germany address the needs of a growing number the Yas Marina circuit are fantastic venues the park and leaving them unsupervised. bike veteran has been cycling in the Pedal Safe were I am from, you don’t have big riding of bikers in the city. for cycling and are opened for cycling In August this year, news from different UAE. Before he arrived a decade ago, Wear the Right Gear: groups like we have it now in the UAE. The UAE is making its cities more once a day every week,” he adds. newspapers in the country reported “cycling was almost non-existing and we • Helmet The weather in the UAE is very good • Compulsory lights and reflectors accidents and deaths of bicycle riders. encouraged customers in our bike shop to • Additional lights and reflectors compared to Europe where half of the GuidelineS for all cycliStS to folloW Learn how to cycle safely on year the weather is not so pleasant with the road: cold and rainy conditions – I do prefer • Stay Alert riding in the heat compared to cold 1. When cycling on any public road, you MUST obey road rules. 2. Give-Way and Stop at roundabouts if there is already traffic on the roundabout • Ride decisively conditions. I get to use my bike more • Look and signal before you start, (the same as if you were in a car). stop or turn often compared to the time I lived in 3. Use the “Shoulder Lane” whenever possible. • Ride well clear of the kerb, ride in Germany,” he says. 4. Use hand signals when overtaking, or turning, or using a roundabout, so that the centre of the left lane and not on Part of the promotion is creating other road users are aware of your intentions. the sidewalk awareness on the benefits of cycling, 5. Ensure you have adequate lighting on your bike so that you are EASILY • Ride a car-door width away from encouraging citizens to bike, as well as VISIBLE to other road users and can see the roadway ahead clearly. Minimum parked cars requirements are one front white and one rear red light for every bike. The having laws that protect the safety of • When cycling on busy roads, get brighter the better! some cycle training cyclists. 6. Wear appropriate clothing whilst cycling; which includes wearing a shirt at all • Use your bell to let people know Safety is always an issue when it comes times. (This applies to runners as well.) you’re there to transportation. That is why these bike- 7. Do not illegally cross lane lines when riding in a group. This includes • Be prepared to slow down or stop friendly cities have taken the initiative roundabouts. Stay in your lane! when necessary to give cyclists proper training on how 8. Do not use the Nad Al Sheba Mosque Car Park (unless you are attending the • Keep to the cyclists’ side mosque to worship). There is parking space to the right of the centre roundabout to cycle safely. If drivers get lessons in Know your highway code: on NAS Road that leads to the stables. • Know the rules for cyclists driving cars and knowing the rules of the 9. Do not change your clothes in any public place. To do so is a punishable offence. • Know the signs and markings road, a responsible cyclist should also 10. Do not litter as this is illegal and punishable by law. • Know the rules for all road users Source: www.direct.gov.uk learn the rules and how to use proper Wolfgang Hohmann Source: Wolfi’s Bike Shop, Dubai (www.wbs.ae) hand signals.
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where to bike in the UAe? of the world’s most here Are soMe PlACes where You CAn riDe biKes sAfelY AnD rent A biKe. bike-friendly cities Abu DhAbi CorniChe top 15 Abu Dhabi Corniche is a good place to ride a bike with nearby parks and establishments for refreshment on the 8km stretch by the sea. It has its own bike path which makes cyclists and pedestrians safe. Bikes and helmets are also available for rent. YAs MArinA CirCuit The Yas Marina Circuit is open for bikers every Tuesday from 6pm – 9pm. With its 5.55km race track, most bikers ride here because the facility is free and they get to train for long-distance cycling. If you don’t have a bike with you, Yas Hotel offers bikes for rent. KhAlifA PArK Khalifa Park in Al Matar, Abu Dhabi is a major landmark that features play equipments for children, picnic grounds, and a water park. The vast grounds of Khalifa Park requires some form of transportation, besides the mini railway, one can go cycling with your own bike or rent from the bike rental booth. fAirMont bAb Al bAhr Fairmont Bab Al Bahr are renting out Mercedes bikes to their guests including a safety helmet and the map to the cycling routes around the hotel’s area. Riding bikes are encouraged from 6am-6pm within the 3km, 5km, and 10km bike routes. CYCling grouP For a more serious cyclist, you would want to join Abu Dhabi Tri- athlete Club or Raha Revolution who rides on the road at 5:30 am from Spinneys, Khalidiya (tri-athletes) and Mugg and Bean, Etihad Plaza. Both cyclist groups ride for long-distance cycling with an average pace of 45kph. The schedules of their rides are available at their websites: abudhabitriclub.org and raharev.forumarabia.com nAD Al shebA PArK Nad Al Sheba park is big and spacious which makes it good for cyclists. The park has a bicycle lane which ensures the safety of the rider as well as the pedestrians. Source: CNN Travel Al MAMzAr PArK Al Mamzar Beach Park is open for everybody. It has a bike lane as well Amsterdam, Netherlands as a bicycle rental booth for you to use and go around this big park. sAfA PArK Barcelona, Spain Is a vast park located in Jumeirah that is quite popular for sports fan. Berlin, Germany The park has a jogging track as well as boats and bicycle rentals for everybody to enjoy. Copenhagen, Denmark DubAi CreeK PArK Paris, France Dubai Creek Park is the second largest park in Dubai. With an overview of the creek, one can bike around the 96-hectare park with a bicycle Boulder, Colorado, USA rental booth. But it only has designated biking areas you can play around. Chicago, Illinois, USA Mushrif PArK Davis, California, USA Located in the Mirdiff Area, Mushrif Park has a 2.5km scenic cycling track. One can go sight-seeing around the vast park with their kids on Ottawa, Ontario, Canada training wheels at tow. The park also has Children’s Museum, Petting Portland, Oregon, USA Zoo, and adventure playground that your kids can enjoy. JuMeirAh oPen beACh San Francisco, California, USA Jumeirah Open Beach also known as Russian Beach is a stretch of Beijing, China paved path along the coastline of Dubai. The park has showers, toilets, kiosks, and is also popular for its track to joggers, inline-skaters, and Cape Town, South Africa cyclists alike. The open beach also has a bike rental booth for those Bogota, Colombia who don’t want to bring their bikes. Perth, Australia
Among the main problems is the lack of awareness of the law governing bicycles, inconsistencies in executing the law and the lack of places to ride a bicycle. But cycling also has many benefits. It can indeed be a way to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and reduce Union show that the percentage of fatal On the issue of health, obesity has traffic congestion. Besides, proper cycling accidents involving car passengers is been a problem worldwide. In the UAE, is actually safer than driving. higher than those involving cyclists. This it is one of the major health issues, and In a media statement, Ottawa’s clearly shows that with proper education cycling can offer a solution to this. Responsible Cycling Coalition has and training, it is much safer to ride a bike All in all, the plan to support and focus maintained that skilled cyclists reduce than drive a car. on the use of bicycles in the UAE will their risk of being involved in collisions by Moreover, bikes are far more reap more benefits than harm with proper 80 per cent. environmentally friendly than cars, dissemination of information and strict Statistics published by European precisely because they don’t use petrol. implementation of the law.
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the falling fertility rate among women PCOS gene is active. On the other hand, if waist area, high blood pressure, sugar college graduates to lifestyle. Because of somebody had a PCOS gene the more cravings, and dark patches on the skin. this, the Dubai-based Zulekha Hospital likely they are to be obese. Having PCOS These physical symptoms can add to carried out a study among 200 women also increases a patient’s risk for Diabetes. depression and anxiety as such unwanted living in the emirate, and they found that the Another risk for Diabetes is a sedentary physical changes tend to lower their greatest cause of infertility among them was lifestyle with a poor diet of refined self-esteem. Additionally, because of the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). carbohydrate which is also linked with ache of not being able to bear a child, they PCOS is also the most common cause of PCOS.” border to depression. Studies across the infertility worldwide, affecting between 5 Dr Sant says that a third of her patients globe have linked PCOS to depression. and 15 per cent of women across the globe. claiming menstrual problems are proven to Although the exact causes of PCOS are “It tends to be less common in Northern have PCOS; while Darakjian says that 40 per still being debated, doctors have agreed Europe but there is certainly more in the cent of her patients have the disorder. “The that it is genetic and that environmental Gulf Region and in the Asian subcontinent,” occurrence of PCOS is high in the UAE factors that causes insulin resistance. “The reports Dr Rosalie Sant, Obstetrician & because it has a direct link with obesity and predisposition is due to genetic constitution Gynaecologist from Primevara Medical diabetes. My patients with PCOS are and although it has been described in Clinic. referred to me by their gynaecologists and females (as its name implies) it is also found Not only is the number of PCOS cases endocrinologists,” Darakjian said. in men,” explains Dr Sant. Because of its increasing globally, but women suffering Women with insulin resistance also suffer genetic nature, if a woman’s mother had from this disorder are also getting younger. from acne, weight gain especially in the PCOS, it is most likely that she too will have “Nowadays, there is a rise in the incidence PCOS. She added that: “The altered lifestyle of PCOS all over the world and this is habits have resulted in the activation of the because of our dietary and lifestyle habits PCOS gene with expression of the that have changed significantly towards The occurrence of symptoms that it predisposes the patient to.” more refined foods and a more sedentary PCOS is high in the It is diagnosed through medical history, lifestyle,” Dr Sant said. UAE because it has physical examination, ovarian ultrasound, Women with PCOS have low chances of a direct link with blood tests and, of course, the visible conceiving and have ovulation irregularities. obesity and diabetes symptoms. Other symptoms include acne, excess facial hair, dark patches of the skin, and ovarian cysts. PCOS is a reproductive disorder that is sensitive to insulin production and resistance. Studies show that between 30 and 70 per cent of women with PCOS resist Beyond infertility: insulin. Insulin resistance causes the body to produce testosterone levels and reduce sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) serum. “PCOS patients with high SHGB and low Polycystic ovarian insulin level will be able to conceive in a range of six months to two years. But the success rate is very low and the treatment syndrome for PCOS is very tough and complicated,” By LUCy VICENTE says Jane Darakjian, PhD, a Dietician in Manchester Clinic Dubai. Polycystic ovary syndrome, or is a growing When a person has insulin resistance, his InfertIlIty challenge in or her blood doesn’t accept the insulin that Pcos, is a hormonal disorder the UAE, with fertility rate in UAE women continuing to decline in the body produces, causing the person to and the most common cause recent years. This is also reflected by the increase in the number of have high insulin levels and high glucose fertility clinics in the country. levels, which can lead to obesity and Type 2 of female infertility in the A renowned fertility centre in Abu Dhabi is opening up a branch in diabetes. uae. is there a remedy to this Al Ain because of the growing demand on fertility diagnosis and “There is a definite link between PCOS, treatment from an increasing number of couples who have problems diabetes, and obesity,” says Dr Sant. “PCOS growing disorder? conceiving a baby. and obesity form a vicious cycle. The more The Yearbook of the Ministry of Information and Culture attributes obese a patient becomes, the more the
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acids are good fats which we can get from oily fish or fresh water fish,” says Darakjian. Proteins should be lean and cooked in their own oil. That means women with PCOS must bid goodbye to fish-and-chips and other deep-fried food. She also emphasises that women with PCOS must avoid processed food, processed meat, baked goods and soft drinks. When it comes to cravings, Darakjian allows her PCOS patients to have a small bite of chocolate to satiate them, but she usually prescribes them to eat a small portion of meat, around 1,000-1,100 restricted calories per day, which patients have to then burn through exercise. In terms of fitness regime, a good 30-minute cardiovascular programme would suffice, she says. “Walking, jogging, or In cases of PCOS, the ovaries are polycystic, with many small follicles scattered under the surface of biking around 1.8km will help the body to the ovary. These follicles remain immature, never growing to full development or ovulating to produce open up and get more oxygen. When the an egg capable of being fertilised body has more oxygen, it can absorb more These cardiovascular exercises can be must not over-exercise our body. Rigorous nutrients from the food we eat, and the red done at the gym or outdoors, or even in exercise should only be done twice or thrice blood cells will be healthier and the your own homes. A good cardiovascular a week. You cannot do body-pump every distribution of energy to the blood vessels exercise will elevate blood circulation and day; it has to be balanced in order to relax will be more efficient. At the same time, it make your heart pump harder. But Darakjian the muscles.” will take out the toxins.” warns people to not over-exercise. “One Holistic exercises are the key. These exercises make use of the whole body and tones all the muscles. Low or medium- impact exercise like swimming, which is a very popular holistic exercise, can be done every day. Losing weight, especially for PCOS patients, is not something that happens overnight. You really need to change the Once this is detected, the gynaecologist “As losing weight can be quite a way you eat, and make time to get some will recommend the patient to undergo challenge to the patient, I usually augment exercise to keep the blood flow healthy. As pharmacological treatments such as this phase of the treatment with a The treatment for Darakjian points out, “You cannot punish hormone pills and insulin regulators. But the medication that increases their sensitivity to PCOS is very tough yourself by overworking and depriving best way to regulate this disease is to insulin like Metformin. Once the patient’s and complicated. yourself of food. Losing weight the healthy change one’s lifestyle. metabolism has improved and stabilised, we way really takes time.” Dr Sant advises: “The most important plan about the methods of conception by Besides the prescribed PCOS is becoming a problem that should thing before somebody starts thinking of identifying whether the patient ovulates or medication, lifestyle be addressed by creating awareness. Dr conception is to try and control the not, then, possibly give her medication to modification – diet Sant argues that the best way to treat PCOS metabolism of the patient as much as help her ovulate,” says Dr Sant. and exercise – is an aid is lifestyle change and early diagnosis. “The possible. I therefore strongly advise them to Darakjian adds that overweight PCOS Dr Rosalie Sant Jane Darakjian, PhD more awareness there is about this lose weight, to re-organise their diet and cut patients have to follow a strict diet and allowed because they make the glucose condition, the more likely we are to nip it in down on the carbohydrate, particularly on special exercise programme to be able to levels shoot up, which causes the person to According to the rotterdAm consensus Pcos is the bud before it becomes extremely active. refined carbohydrate and to introduce conceive. “The treatment for PCOS is very crave for more sugar. diAgnosed through this three criteriA Nowadays we are seeing PCOS that is exercise into their life.” tough and complicated. Besides the She advises women to take in complex starting to become active from a very young “I see patients who are referred to me by prescribed medication, lifestyle modification carbs like wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown 1. Clinical signs and symptoms of irregular periods, a tendency for obesity, increased age including teenage years and possibly their OB-GYNE because they are polycystic – diet and exercise – is an aid to help PCOS rice, and other grains because these take facial and body hair, tendency for acne and thinning of the head hair. Usually this is pre-teens. It is therefore extremely important and they cannot conceive,” says Darakjian. patients conceive and regulate their time to digest, which allows the glucose to accompanied by difficulty in getting pregnant. to start combating obesity along with PCOS, “It is a very long programme of proper diet hormones and insulin levels.” be released in a regulated manner. 2. Ultrasound findings of cysts arranged in the periphery of the ovary, forming a ‘pearl and the only way to start doing it is to and exercise for PCOS patients, depending PCOS patients need to veer away from As for fats, they are allowed but need to necklace’ like arrangement. educate children on the importance of 3. A disrupted hormone profile. This is a blood test that needs to be done during the on how high their SHGB and insulin levels sugar and carbohydrates. Simple carbs like be the healthy fatty acids. “Good fats are exercise and healthy eating habits.” period of a patient to identify how the hormones are working. are. pasta, white rice, and other breads are not simply Omega-3. Poly-unsaturated fatty
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murder of an old
ladyBy EMAN ABDULLAH Man jailed for four years for beating a woMan to death when she tried to defend her friends froM Molestation
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Look before you Leap! Tim Maycock is Director of Maycock Training It is easy to give in to temptation but be aware that the list of a cold-blooded crime, a in his pocket and pounced on her, held Ltd, an international consultancy firm consequences is far more than you could imagine In conspiring driver bought a pair her neck in a tight grip and dragged her to of gloves from Ajman, rented a car from the hall. There, he pinned her down while Ayouba bought a pair Sharjah and, according to prosecution, still smothering her. She started gasping of gloves and four smothered an elderly Emirati woman for breath, unable to breathe or scream for staying alone in the Satwa area. After help. cans of alcohol from committing the shocking crime, the court As Majda fought to get up, Ayouba Ajman, rented a car heard that the driver then relaxed by stood on her chest and pinned her to the from Sharjah, and then recent case of an expat who received a jail in what we had come to regard as a haven of peace consuming alcohol. floor, thus breaking her ribs and continued drove to Majda’s home sentence for “consorting with a woman of and tranquility after a few fraught weeks in the Taliban After that noon on September 5, 2002, smothering her with his strong grip while around noon on that ill repute” gives us a cautionary note that territory. the suspect did not return to Dubai, and she was writhing and kicking her legs fateful day A indiscretion can be costly! Dave was initially tempted. Especially since it’s the instead used the Emirates Road whenever around. Some years ago, a friend and colleague of mine, start of his two weeks of freedom from the yoke of he needed to travel from Sharjah to Abu After she stopped resisting and the police. Dave, (name has been changed) was approached by onerous work in a dangerous land, and before him Dhabi. breathing, he rushed to her bedroom to Forensics reported the cause of death a ‘lady of the night’ whilst happily ambling through was a pretty young girl in an exotic location. Oh yes, The suspect, Ayouba, a 50-year-old look for money. Upon locating the safe, he as suffocation. Majda had been attacked the grounds of a large, exclusive and very well-known Dave was tempted! African, learnt that Majda, a 59-year-old tried searching for its key but was unable as she sustained wounds on her inner lips, five star hotel. In those days we were working in Thankfully, he did not succumb. Instead, he politely Arab, used to give alms to the poor, and so to find it. He attempted to lift the safe to multiple fractures on her ribs in addition to Afghanistan on a rolling rotation of six weeks on duty but firmly escorted the ‘young lady’ to the garden hatched a heinous plan to rob her. carry it with him, but found it too heavy. injuries on the head and shoulders, which followed by two weeks off. exit and sent her on her way with some strong verbal He observed Majda’s schedule for three That’s when he decided to flee, leaving the could have occurred due to a fierce fall. On our leave periods, we would be lodged in this advice and an empty pocket. days from outside her house. He saw old woman in the hallway. The police checked the scene of the particular hotel to rest for a night before continuing As Dave later recounted, it would have been so people entering and leaving her house, He went to Sharjah where he returned crime and documented all fingerprints in homeward to the UK or wherever. easy to take his pleasure there and concluded that the best time for him to the car and disposed of the gloves in a the house and the safe in the bedroom, If one walked through the rather and then. But he considered rob her was mid-day. garbage bin. He then drove his own car to which was in a complete mess. This secluded gardens of this hotel, it the dangers and took into Ayouba bought a pair of gloves and four Ajman, where he consumed alcohol. proved that theft was the motive of the was possible to lose oneself in an It would have been so account how much he may cans of alcohol from Ajman, rented a car A couple of days later, his crime was crime. almost jungle-like area, brimming easy to take his pleasure have to lose. from Sharjah, and then drove to Majda’s discovered by his friendsand told him However, further investigations could with pretty flowers, rich verdant but he considered the Maybe like Dave, you’ve home around noon on that fateful day. about the death of the woman. not identify any suspect, and the case had grass, sweet scents and fragrant enjoyed a relaxing moment When he reached, he waited outside Majda’s cousin, Mariam, got very worried to be closed. aromas. dangers and how much and why not? You’ve worked for a while to ensure Majda was alone at that something bad might have happened Ten years later, police arrested Ayouba The gardens were full of lush he may have to lose hard and earned it. Then her house. Then he walked in through the to her as she hadn’t answered or retuned suspecting his connection with a number vegetation, which lent a pleasant you come to a very tempting open gate, putting the glove on his right her phone calls the entire day. Mariam of thefts including all the cases that had ambience to an evening stroll, but also afforded situation in a very secluded location. hand, and as he was about to wear the left asked her 64-year-old relative, Hassan, been registered against an ‘unidentified’ excellent cover for anyone who perhaps shouldn’t Your guard is down. You are distracted. She slips her hand’s glove, Majda happened to see him. to go to Majda’s house to check on her. person, until he was discovered. be there, as my unwitting friend Dave was about to hand into your pocket, and suddenly she is gone, your He immediately put the left hand’s glove Hassan arrived there at around midnight Ayouba denied committing any of discover. wallet is also gone, and with it is your cash, your credit and found the gate open. those crimes and said that he hadn’t even As he picked his way through the palm fronds, cards, and worse, you leave your identity at risk. He stepped into the yard and started entered Dubai in 10 years. When he was heading to the restaurant at the far end of the path, Not to mention your marriage, your family, your calling her name but did not get any asked why, and was confronted with the a pretty girl of maybe 19 years suddenly materialised friends, even your pride and your self esteem. And you As Majda fought to get answer. Roaming in the yard, he saw the fact that his fingerprints had been removed from behind a tree to stand face to face with him, can hardly call the cops. up, Ayouba stood on light of one of the rooms was switched from the safe of the smothered woman, he causing him some considerable alarm. All of these for the sake of a little temptation and a her chest and pinned on while the light of the hall was off. He collapsed and confessed to his crime. Her intention was not to disturb but to offer her few moments of madness. Take care my friends. We her to the floor, thus decided to enter the house and walked to Dubai Prosecution has filed a case services in return for some good old-fashioned US are all adults and I am no preacher. All I am saying is, breaking her ribs and the hallway where he saw Majda lying on accusing Ayouba of premeditated murder, dollars! It was just such a shock for him to be accosted discretion is the watchword...so look before you leap! continued smothering the ground with her face covered with her which he denied when he appeared her with his strong grip head scarf. He repeatedly called her name, before the Dubai Criminal Court in early but when she did not respond, he called September. The views expressed by 999 columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ministry of Interior (MoI)
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Publish or Perish Iain Chalmers is a British health-services There is no commercial or moral justification for withholding researcher, a founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, and the coordinator of the James the results of health-related research with peers and the Lind Initiative general public
few years ago, two Norwegian researchers arrhythmic drug than among those receiving a placebo. presented their version of a scientific- They had not published the results, they explained, research slippery slope, with honest errors because the drug’s development had been abandoned A(mistaken observations and analyses) at the for commercial reasons. In retrospect, however, they top and intentional fraud (plagiarism, falsification, and observed that their results “might have provided early fabrication) at the bottom. They placed “publication bias” warning of trouble ahead.” about halfway down the scale – but it should have been Beyond avoidable suffering and death, failure to report much lower. Indeed, failure to publish research results is research also slows the pace of scientific discovery. It by far the most common and worrying form of scientific is widely acknowledged that the high current level of and ethical misconduct in health research – and it has investment in pharmaceutical research is yielding too few had lethal consequences. substantive discoveries. Anecdotal evidence of publication bias has existed for At a meeting on “translational research,” a senior a long time. But, as requirements for registering clinical member of a contract-research organisation – a company trials have become more stringent, its magnitude has that provides outsourced research services to the become quantifiable: the results pharmaceutical and biotechnology of at least half of the clinical trials industries – articulated the problem. involving patients and healthy “What really frustrates us,” he volunteers remain unpublished Beyond avoidable commented, “is to be commissioned years after completion. Studies suffering and death, by a pharmaceutical company to with “negative” results are failure to report design an early-phase trial when we particularly unlikely to see the light research also slows know already that it is going up a of day. But neglecting to report blind alley. And the reason we know research can lead to distorted the pace of scientific that is that we’ve been up the blind clinical-practice recommendations, discovery alley with another company; but that suffering, and death. experience remains unreported for commercial reasons.” For example, anti-arrhythmic drugs were prescribed In other words, the drug-discovery process suffers widely – with the United States Food and Drug from built-in inefficiency, owing to inadequate reporting. Administration’s approval – to heart-attack victims for But, while waste may be tolerable, avoidable harm to more than a decade, under the assumption that reducing patients is not. Drug-trial volunteers should not accept heart-rhythm abnormalities would decrease mortality this abuse of their participation in research. Failing to rates. But, as the investigative journalist Thomas J. Moore publish the results of clinical trials is a betrayal of the reported in his book Deadly Medicine, at the peak of implicit trust that they have placed in researchers to use their use, these drugs were killing more Americans each their contribution to increase and improve the stock of year than were killed during the entire Vietnam War. scientific knowledge. Following this revelation, a British research team Nor should the public accept this squandering of reported a clinical trial that they had carried out more resources. There is simply no justification for withholding than a decade earlier. Their study had found a higher the results of health-research studies. Publication is a death rate among patients receiving a new anti- moral imperative.
The views expressed by 999 columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI)
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1692, Imam Saif bin Sultan soldiers got a nasty surprise when an bin Saif Al Yaarabi ascended Omani warship appeared and opened the throne of Oman. He was Saif bin Sultan fire on the fort and the city. However, called the ‘Land Registrar’ strengthened his shallow waters prevented the warships becauseIn he created something like today’s from getting close enough to the fort, fleet and the navy real estate registration system. to achieve his dream and many of their artillery bombs fell Since the very beginning of his reign, into the sea. Even so, panic spread Imam Saif, one of the most famous of conquering the throughout the city. Portuguese settlers imams of the Ibadi sect in Oman, paid Portuguese colonies in rushed in to protect the fort until their close attention to the building up and East Africa number exceeded 2,500. maintenance of his armed forces; he At this point, the commander of the strengthened both his army and navy war base in the Indian port of Mangalore. Arab fleet ordered the infantry to get to to achieve his dream of conquering After successfully routing the the mainland. They pulled their guns and the Portuguese colonies in East Africa Portuguese, thus securing the eastern cannons with them and occupied some (Mozambique, Mombasa and Zanzibar on front, Imam Saif turned towards the positions on the highlands overlooking the Kenya-Tanzania coast). In 1695, the western front, determined to conquer the walls of the fort. But despite the stable political situation in the Gulf allowed the town and port of Mombasa. He set intensity of the Omani attack, the fort Imam Saif to move his forces away from his sights on Fort Jesus, which lay at the walls withstood the shelling. the region and also from the coasts of entrance to the harbour, about a mile from The battle continued for several Persia and India; these soldiers would now the old Swahili and Arab city. This fort had weeks before the Arabs realised that head towards the Portuguese strongholds been built about a century earlier by the they could not storm the fort. Then on the African shore. Portuguese, and was the first European- began a war of attrition – the Arab Some of the warships in the Omani style fort constructed outside that strategy was to wear out the adversaries naval force originally belonged to the continent designed to resist cannon fire. If through a siege on land and water. Portuguese – they had been seized by the Omanis could take the fort, they would The Arab shelling continued to kill the the Arabs. The Omani navy comprised take the city. trapped Portuguese officers, so their IMAM SAIF one command warship with 50 cannons, The great siege of Fort Jesus began on number began to dwindle. Alongside, BIN SULTAN two warships with 60 cannons each, one March 13, 1696, and ended on December a serious shortage of food and other BIN SAIF AL ship with 47 cannons and 18 warships with 13, 1698 – exactly two years and nine supplies led to the outbreak of fatal An IMAM’S YAARABI LED between 16 and 32 cannons each, besides months. Two days before the siege began, diseases, forcing many of them to several light-load rowing ships with four to 3,000 soldiers left Oman aboard seven surrender to the Omanis. THE OMANI eight cannons each. warships. However, according to another Towards the end of the first year of NAVY TO BIG While Imam Saif’s military chiefs were historian, the number of soldiers was the siege, the Portuguese leadership in VICTORIES assessing the situation and developing actually only 300 and they were spread Kawa, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, DREAM OF OVER THE plans for the battle in Africa, the ruler on-board 17 warships, of which seven tried several times to send military himself was surprised when he received were with heavy-calibre artillery and 10 reinforcements to break the siege on Fort PORTUGUESE intelligence that the Portuguese were were light armament cruisers. Looking at Jesus, but those reinforcements often IN INDIA AND planning to attack Muscat, and that they the circumstances of the battle, the latter ended up in the hands of the Arabs. EAST AFRICA were about to seal a pact with the Shah account seems more accurate. At the end of the year, the Portuguese of Iran to help them destroy the Omani The Portuguese garrison at Fort Jesus leadership sent four large warships COnQUESTBY DR FALEH HANZAL fleet. To pre-empt this move, Imam Saif was not large, with the number of regular carrying 770 soldiers, who managed unleashed his forces on the Portuguese soldiers not exceeding 50. The fort’s to reach the fort with difficulty, where
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they supplied the trapped people with During interrogation, he admitted that plenty of food, supplies, equipment and the commander was seriously injured and gunpowder. the morale of the besieged Portuguese The commander of that attacking unit army had collapsed. Commander Nasser also tried to contact the local tribes of bin Abdullah decided to strike the Africa and tempted them with gifts and fi nal blow. At seven in the morning of money to help them carry out an assault December 13, 1698, the Arabs scaled the on the Omani artillery positions. But he walls of the fort and attacked the garrison, failed, and was forced to withdraw to his which had escaped from its positions on ships and return to the base in Kawa. the outer walls and retreated to the inner The number of Portuguese killed that rooms and barrack halls. The wounded year reached 200. Imam Saif ordered captain was shot in the head – he died his forces to halt their attacks on the trying to combat the attackers. fort but keep any Portuguese military By the end of the day, Nasser bin reinforcements at bay. Abdullah’s forces had wiped out all those The situation remained unchanged who were inside the fort; those who until July 20, 1697, when the commander escaped were killed outside by the Arab of the fort died. When the Omanis came people of Mombasa. In this way, the fort to know of this, they attacked the fort with and the city were seized by the triumphant renewed vigour, but those walls could Omani forces after 33 long months. still not be breached. The Portuguese Following that victory, Imam Saif issued managed to retain the fort for almost orders for Nasser bin Abdullah to rule another year-and-a-half, with the help Mombasa. This leader was from the Al of occasional reinforcements from Mazarei tribe, and his full name was Mozambique and Kawa breaking through Nasser bin Abdullah Al Mazroui. He was the Arab lines. the fi rst of the Al Mazarei tribe to rule The command of the fort had passed to Mombasa and Zanzibar, as Omani troops Captain Leonardo Barbosa, who fortifi ed began to occupy cities in the eastern his defensive positions, waiting for a coast of Africa. The Portuguese, who larger reinforcement to rescue him from had colonies in other parts of Africa, too, the siege. But though the Portuguese tried to wrest back the fort and their lost held on, the severity of the Arab siege territory from the Omanis, but all their was taking its toll on their morale. By attempts failed. September 1698, their resistance had In 1711, Imam Saif passed away, and his weakened a lot. son Sultan bin Saif II began to rule Oman. Portuguese in 1730, he prepared a military evidently not unanimous. The ruler of Sultan Said ascended the throne, but The turning point came when Captain This was a short reign – Sultan bin Saif II campaign led by Mohamed Said Al Oman, Sultan Said bin Sultan bin Ahmed because of his dislike for the English, Barbosa was severely injured; he began passed away in 1718, and his son Saif bin The great siege of Fort Mamouri. This commander led his forces bin Said, was able to take advantage the British forces in Zanzibar ousted him to require medication and treatment Sultan II succeeded him. Jesus by the Omanis to Mombasa, clashed with the Portuguese of these diff erences and re-occupy the and appointed Hamed bin Thuwaini bin from outside the fort. This is what literally But the new ruler was very young, began on March 13, troops and their allies, and managed to African city. Sultan Said in his place, who remained opened the doors for the Omani troops so the clergy refused to accept him. 1696, and ended on break into the city. When the Sultan died in 1856, the then the ruler until 1896. After his death, under Commander Nasser bin Abdullah. The clerics removed him and assigned Thus, Mombasa was regained by ruler of Mombasa, Sultan Majid bin Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed bin Said ruled On December 10, the fort ran out of another member of the Al Yaarabi family December 13, 1698 Oman. But instability in Oman itself Said, again announced independence the region. Captain Barbosa’s medication and his to rule Oman. Even this did not solve the meant Mombasa was without a ruler until from the motherland. When he passed The last ruler of the Al Bou Said fever rose alarmingly. He ordered one succession issue – this was the beginning Although Commander Nasser bin Mohammed bin Othman Al Mazroui took away, his brother Burgos assumed power, family was Sultan Hamid bin Abdullah. In of his soldiers to make a bold attempt to of many problems that later plagued Abdullah repelled the attack, the African charge to restore the Al Mazarei rule in the and ruled the region until 1888. His brother November 1963, Britain announced its escape through one of the openings in Oman. soldiers in his army plotted a coup against region. In 1746, Mohammed bin Othman Khalifa succeeded to the throne, but then withdrawal from Zanzibar, but fi ve weeks the fort walls and try to pass unnoticed The internal bickering weakened Oman. him and toppled him. They appointed passed away. His brother Ali took over the abdicated in favour of his brother Ali, who later, they started a local revolt aimed through the ranks of the Arabs, so that Revolts sprang up everywhere and made another ruler from their ranks, named control of Mombasa, and announced a ruled until 1893. at destroying everything Arab. Sultan he could reach Mombasa and get the the situation in the Omani territories of Cisse Ramb, a Portuguese ally who let the complete separation from Oman. The last three rulers were the sons of Hamid and his entourage managed to medicine. However, the soldier was Zanzibar and Mombasa worse than before. Portuguese enter Mombasa again. There was a great deal of uncertainty Sultan Said bin Sultan, who hailed from escape a tragic end. With this, the curtain captured by the Omani forces while trying The defeated Portuguese had regrouped, When the ruler of Oman was informed in Mombasa following this bid to break the Al Bou Said family. After the death of fell on the Arab Omani rule of Mombasa to sneak through. and in 1728, they attacked Mombasa. of the fall of the city in the hands of the free, but acceptance of Ali’s decision was Ali bin Sultan Said, Khalid bin Burgos bin and Zanzibar.
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Most Unusual Tennessee Williams – Celebrity Deaths Death by Choking A popukar playright who was most Compared to the grotesque, disgusting and sometimes even creative celebrity deaths in famous for his play ‘A Streetcar Named yesterday’s world of entertainment, death by drug overdose in today’s show business Desire’, Williams battled with his world (real or accidental) seems an almost gentle way to check out. addiction to alcohol and depression Celebrities are so exposed in the public eye that whenever one dies, everyone seems to throughout his life. be in a state of shock. There seems to be an air of mystical immortality surrounding In 1983, he died in a strange accident. celebrities, placed on a pedestal so high by the public that they expect to be able to look Taking eyedrops he choked to death on 10 up to them forever and not envisage them ever falling. the bottle cap he’d put in his mouth It therefore comes as an even bigger shock if a celeb dies unexpectedly, in a tragic whilst he was pouring the eyedrops into accident when they were at the peak of their careers. Some celeb deaths shock us simply his eyes. He’d tilted his head back and Jeff Buckley – Death by by the unusual circumstances surrounding it. Here is a list of 10 of the most unusual the bottle cap had fallen back into his Drowning celebrity deaths throat where it got lodged. American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley was the son of Tim Buckley, who was also a musician. On May 29, 1997 Jeff went for a Salvatore ‘Sonny’ Bono – Death by swim, fully clothed and in his boots, in the Michael Jackson Crashing Into a Tree Mississippi River. He was never seen alive – Death by again. Friends heard him singing the chorus Intoxication Sonny Bono enjoyed a diverse career that spanned for to “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin but about three decades. He was a record producer, singer, when the singing stopped and Jeff was no American singer Michael actor and politician. He was famed for that song he longer visible in the water a search was Jackson died on June 25, 2009 sang with his wife, legendary singer, Cher. He passed issued. His body was not found until four of propofol intoxication after away in 1998 when on a skiing holiday on the Nevada days later. Drugs or alcohol were suspected suffering a respiratory arrest side of Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, to be the cause but neither were found in at his home in Los Angeles. His California. He died from the injuries he sustained after his system so the cause of death was personal physician, Conrad crashing into a tree. accidental drowning. Murray, said he had found Jackson in his room, not Lupe Velez – Death by Toilet breathing, but with a faint pulse, and that he Brandon Lee – Death by administered CPR on his bed Beautiful, feisty Lupe Velez, star of nearly 50 a Fake Pistol to no avail. After a call was placed to 911 at 12:20 pm, Jackson was treated by paramedics movies from 1927 through 1944, former at the scene, and was later pronounced dead at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. wife of Johnny ‘Tarzan’ Weissmuller, and Bruce Lee’s son Brandon was on the On August 28, 2009, the LA County Coroner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide. passionate lover of Gary Cooper, drowned in set of the film The Crow in which he Shortly before his death, Jackson had been administered propofol and two anti-anxiety the toilet. Lupe, known by her fans as The was playing the lead role. One scene benzodiazepines – lorazepam and midazolam in his home. Murray was convicted in Mexican Spitfire, decided to quit this life at required Lee to be shot by a prop-gun November 2011 of involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving a four-year sentence the age of 36. firing blanks. The gun had been used in prison. several times before in filming but a Owen Hart – Death by a According to her suicide note, pregnant Stunt-Gone-Wrong Lupe had taken a huge dose of Seconal cheaply made round of blanks had when the father of her baby gave her the lodged part of the lead in the barrel of The WWF wrestler and brother of Bret ‘The big kiss off. Unfortunately for Lupe, the pills Bob Crane – Death by Tyre Iron the gun. When a new round of blanks Hitman’ Hart died in a stunt that went only made her nauseous. As she made her was loaded and a shot was fired on wrong. Owen Hart was due to enter the way to the orchid-coloured bathroom, The popular star of ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ met his maker in an that particular occasion at Lee, the ring from the ceiling, lowered by cables for stomach churning, she staggered to the Arizona motel. Someone bludgeoned the sleeping actor with impact of the lead hit the actor with dramatic effect. However, something went toilet where she slipped on the tile and a tyre iron, smashing in his skull. The assailant then cut an the force of a real bullet. His death wrong with the stunt harness and rather plunged head first into the chartreuse- electric cord from a motel lamp with a pocketknife and tied raised questions by people who began than being lowered slowly, Hart coloured deluxe toilet. The maid discovered a tight knot around Crane’s neck. The suspect was acquitted to suspect that the Lee family were plummeted 78 feet landing chest first in her the next day, still in the same due to lack of evidence and maintained his innocence for cursed as his father had died in the ring. At the time of his death Owen embarrassing position, dead from drowning. the rest of his life. mysterious circumstances exactly 20 Hart was in character as ‘The Blue Blazer’, a years earlier. buffoonish super-hero cum wrestler.
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Lady Diana – Death by Accident
On August 31, 1997, Lady Diana, as caused by the reckless actions of the she was popularly known, died as a chauffeur, who was the head of result of injuries sustained in a car security at the Ritz and had earlier accident in the Pont de l’Alma road goaded the paparazzi waiting outside tunnel in Paris, France. Her the hotel. companion, Dodi Fayed, and the An 18-month French judicial driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, investigation concluded in 1999 that Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the crash was caused by Paul, who the scene of the accident. lost control of the car at high speed She died in a dangerous car while drunk. His inebriation may have accident because the driver was been made worse by the drunk. However, Dodi’s father, simultaneous presence of an Mohamed Al-Fayed (the owner of the anti-depressant and traces of a Hôtel Ritz, for which Paul worked) has tranquilising anti-psychotic drug in contended that the crash was a result his body. of a conspiracy, and later claimed that The ‘conspiracy’ claims of the crash was orchestrated by MI6 on Mohamed Al-Fayed, were dismissed the instructions of the Royal Family. by a French judicial investigation and The bodyguard of Diana and Dodi, by Operation Paget. On April 7, 2008, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only the jury released an official statement survivor. Although at first the media that Diana and Dodi were unlawfully pinned the blame on the paparazzi, killed by negligience of driver and by the crash was ultimately found to be not wearing the seatbelt.
Anna Nicole Smith – Death by Anna Nicole Smith, the rags-to-riches who was also a trained paramedic, Accidental Intoxication Playboy Playmate, was 26 years old called the hotel front desk from her when she married 89-year-old sixth-floor room. The front desk in turn wheelchair-bound oil tycoon J. Howard called security, who then called 911. At Marshall. For years, she was a tabloid 1:45 pm the bodyguard administered sensation and a reality TV star. After CPR until paramedics arrived and she Marshall’s death, a lengthy court battle was rushed to Memorial Regional over Marshall’s inheritance proved more Hospital at 2:10pm and pronounced lurid, draining and outlandish than any dead on arrival at 2:49pm. Hollywood script, eventually reaching After a seven-week investigation led the Supreme Court in September 2010 by Broward County Medical Examiner – not that Smith would live to see its and Forensic Pathologist Dr Joshua outcome. Perper in combination with the On February 8, 2007, Smith was Seminole police and several found unresponsive in room 607 at the independent forensic pathologists and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in toxicologists, Dr Perper announced that Hollywood, Florida. Tasma Brighthaupt, Smith died of “combined drug a friend of Smith who was a trained intoxication” with the sleeping emergency nurse, performed CPR for 15 medication chloral hydrate as the minutes until her husband, Maurice “major component.” No illegal drugs “Big Moe” Brighthaupt, Smith’s friend were found in her system. The official and bodyguard, took over CPR. report states that her death was not According to Seminole Police Chief considered to be due to homicide, Charlie Tiger, at 1:38pm Brighthaupt, suicide, or natural causes.
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70-72 crime mysteries-Oct2012.indd 72 9/27/12 3:46 PM 70-72 crime mysteries-Oct2012.indd 73 9/27/12 3:46 PM Security And Safety For All HEALTH NEWS ARE organic foods healthier than the conventional ones? No, says study
t’s more expensive, for sure, but is organic food really better for you Icompared with its conventional cousin? A new study claims to have the answer – a team of Stanford University doctors say their research suggests that organic products have no signifi cant nutritional advantage over conventional foods, even though consumers end up paying more for them. The four-year project began when two doctors wondered what advice they should give their families and patients about whether to buy organic or conventional foods. amount measured from conventionally fruits and vegetables. The studies looked “It became much larger than we grown produce too was within safety limits, specifi cally at vitamins A, C and E. expected,” says Dr Crystal Smith-Spangler, the researchers reported. • Detectable pesticide residue was found in a primary care doctor at Stanford University Nor did the organic foods prove more 7 per cent of organic produce and 38 per and lead author on the study appearing in nutritious. “I was absolutely surprised,” cent of conventional produce. However, only the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. said Dr Dena Bravata, a senior research three studies found pesticide residue that Eventually, 12 researchers looked at a liate at Stanford and long-time internist exceeded maximum allowed limits in the EU 240 studies conducted from 1966 to 2011 who began the analysis along with Smith- on organic or conventional produce. As to covering nutrient and contaminant levels in Spangler. how pesticides could be in organic product foods. that must be grown without them by law, The fi ndings: Eating organic fruits AMONG OTHER FINDINGS: Smith-Spangler said it could either be long- and vegetables can lower exposure to • There were no signifi cant diff erences in the lasting, now-banned pesticides in the soil or pesticides, including for children – but the vitamin content of organic and conventional drift from nearby fi elds.
looked no more than a week ahead had a FUTURE-FOCUSED SMOKERS shorter time horizon. The researchers then looked at how ARE MORE LIKELY TO QUIT many of those 2001 smokers had quit data from a large Australian database. or tried to quit by 2008. Seventy-six per The Household Income and Labour cent of quitters were long-time-horizon Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) survey collects planners, compared with 66 per cent of data on economic and subjective well-being, those who continued to smoke. work, and family dynamics every year from Researchers in other fi elds have found over 7,000 Australian households. similar associations: newly diagnosed Brown and Adams identifi ed 1,817 diabetics who are future-focused are more participants who were smokers at the likely to make healthy changes to their diet start of the survey (2001) and analysed and exercise habits, and cocaine users mokers who value the future are their planning regarding their saving and who discount the future are less likely to more likely to stop smoking, new spending to measure their future orientation. stop using the drug. Sresearch has found. In order to People whose spending and saving plans “It is possible that helping smokers to make this discovery Dr Heather Brown looked ahead by more than three months think about the future a bit more might be and Dr Jean Adams of Newcastle were categorised as having a longer time a useful way to help them quit,” said co- University (UK) tapped into eight years of horizon, while those whose fi nancial plans author Dr Jean Adams.
74 999 SECURITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL OCTOBER 2012
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rd
ﺍﻟﻤﺆﺗﻤﺮ ﺍﻟﺜﺎﻟﺚ ﻟﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﺍﻹﻗﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﻄﺐ ﺍﻟﻌﺴﻜﺮﻱ 9-13 ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ 2012 ، ﺃﺑﻮ ﻅﺒﻲ، ﺍﻹﻣﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪﺓ ,MEN ARE FROM MARS WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS 3rd ICMM Pan Arab Regional Working Group Congress on Military Medicine ccording to a new study Brooklyn and Hunter Colleges of the published in BioMed Central’s City University of New York. The experts 9-13 December 2012, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Aopen access journal Biology of observed people over the age of 16 from ﻓﻲ ﱢﺍﻟﺴﻠﻢ ﻭﺍﳊﺮﺏ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺟﻞ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ، ﻣﻌﺎﹰ ﻟﻨﺤﺪﺙ ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻕ Sex Diff erences, men and women have both college and high school, including diff erent ways of using the visual centres students and faculty. Both genders of their brains. Experts suggest that needed to have normal colour vision and In Peace and War, for Humanity let’s make a difference EMIRATIS GIVE while females are better at distinguishing 20/20 sight (with glasses or contacts was THUMBS-UP TO UAE colours, males are more sensitive to fi ne considered fi ne), in order to participate. CME Open to all Register detail and rapidly moving stimuli. Scientists learned that the colour vision Accredited Medical Faculties Now! HEALTHCARE There are high concentrations of the of men was shifted, after they asked the ost Emiratis are satisfi ed with male hormone (androgen) receptors volunteers to describe colours shown healthcare in the UAE and throughout the cerebral cortex in the to them across the visual spectrum. It Stay Connected: Mless than half now prefer to brain, particularly in the visual cortex, also became clear that male subjects be treated abroad instead of within the which is in charge of processing images. needed a slightly longer wavelength to country, a new survey has revealed. Guys have 25 per cent more neurons experience the same hue as the female Conference Themes In a Gallup survey of more than 4,000 in the visual cortex than females because, subjects. C GCC nationals, the UAE came second during embryogenesis, androgens It was not as easy for men to M Humanitarian Military Intervention after Qatar with 87 per cent saying they are responsible for controlling the discriminate between colours as it was Y were content with the availability of development of those neurons. for women, meaning that the males had quality healthcare. That is more than the The vision of men and women was a broader ranger in the centre of the CM Impact of Illness and Non-Combat US, with 73 per cent, but less than the compared by a team of researchers from spectrum. MY
UK’s 92 per cent. CY Injuries on Soldiers and their Readiness Forty one per cent of Emiratis said CMY they were happy to be treated in the Women in Asia largely ignorant UAE, and 39 per cent would rather go about fertility PROBLEMS K Recent Advances in Military Medicine abroad. The remaining 20 per cent had no preference. omen in Asia are largely Earlier surveys have repeatedly shown ignorant about fertility Wartime Evacuations a lack of faith in the country’s healthcare. Wproblems and tend to blame A 2009 survey by YouGov conducted their failure to conceive on “God’s will” on behalf of a local daily found that and bad luck, a survey has found. Health Organisation as the inability more than half of Emiratis would seek The survey, which covered 1,000 to conceive after a year of regular, www.panarab2012-icmm.ae treatment abroad. women in 10 countries who had been unprotected sex. But only 43 per cent of Experts attribute the improvement to trying to conceive for at least six months, the women surveyed knew that. developments in the past decade, such found that 62 per cent of them did Only 30 per cent of the women, all Organized by In Association with as making health insurance mandatory not suspect they may have a fertility aged 25-40, recognised that obesity The Medical Services Corps for all citizens and residents. Bringing problem. could reduce fertility and only 36 per cent of the UAE Armed Forces renowned doctors, hospitals and medical They were even less likely to point knew that chances of getting pregnant centres to the UAE has also helped. the fi nger at their husbands, with 80 declined with age. Main Sponsor Dr Ali Obaid Al Ali, director of health per cent of them not suspecting that Forty-three per cent did not know a regulation at the Health Authority-Abu their partners may have a problem with man may be infertile even if he could Dhabi (HAAD), said collaboration with fertility. achieve an erection and 73 per cent were international brands had made quality The survey, commissioned by Merck unaware that men who had mumps after Platinum Sponsors Gold Sponsors healthcare more accessible. KGaA unit Merck Serono, covered China, puberty could be infertile later on. HAAD fi gures show that the number India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Instead of getting treatment, 46 per of Emiratis it sends abroad for treatment Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan cent of respondents blamed their inability dropped by nearly half in the past year, and Malaysia. to conceive on “God’s will” and 45 per Silver Sponsors Media Partners Official News Distributors from 2,858 in 2010 to 1,451 in 2011. Infertility is defi ned by the World cent put it down to bad luck.
76 999 SECURITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL OCTOBER 2012 Congress Secretariat: MCI Middle East, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 4 311 6300, Fax: +971 4 311 6301, Email: [email protected]
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Take a peek aT The newesT musT have high-Tech elecTronic devices
The opTimal phone Virtuous Victuals Steven Shapin is Professor of the History of The answer to today’s deep rooted problem of obesity may lie Apple finally launched the most awaited iPhone 5 as the Science at Harvard University in the past – when dietetics’ prescription for moderation was thinnest and lightest smart phone to date. The new iPhone 5 accepted as moral wisdom with its 7.66mm aluminium body is 18 per cent thinner and 20 per cent lighter than iPhone 4s. Running on the iOS 6 with an A6 chip, the iPhone 5, makes browsing, downloading, and he maxim ‘you are what you eat’ has defined Traditional dietetic advice now seems banal, with its streaming ultrafast. The new iPhone5 delivers HD video and dietary thinking for hundreds of years. The almost exclusive focus on moderation. For example, high-resolution photos at the palm of your hand with a taller prevailing interpretation is simple: our bodies, dietetic counsel would recommend that patients eat screen, and 4-inch Retina display which fits perfectly in one like the foods that we eat, are chemical neither too much nor too little; sleep when necessary, hand. The 8-megapixel iSight features a sapphire crystal cover T lens for clearer images and allows you to take panoramic compositions. In order to live long and healthy lives, and but not excessively; exercise, but not violently; and photos. Although the new connector cannot be used for your to maximise our potential, we must consume the right control anger and stress. Both good and good for you, other Apple products, the new Lightning connector is more chemicals – that is, foods with the right nutrients. moderation became a commanding idea. durable and reversible than the previous connector. The iPhone Not so long ago, however, this saying was understood This merging of medicine and morality now seems 5 is much faster, lighter, and thinner than its predecessor. quite differently, indicating a profound shift in the way naively unscientific, thanks to “nutrition science,” which that we think about our diet and ourselves – a shift that replaced traditional dietetics as a formal discipline in the Price: TBC www.apple.com has powerful implications for current health debates. 19th and 20th centuries. Nutritional experts today are In ancient Greek and Roman more likely to suggest monitoring medicine, prevention was key. cholesterol levels than they are to Regimen, commonly called give such holistic and common- dietetics, prescribed a lifestyle In today’s eat-and- sense advice as moderation. designed to keep people run culture, people Gluttony was once a sin; obesity is healthy. Indeed, while doctors increasingly tend now a disease (or a “risk factor” for did everything in their power to to consume food other diseases). GoTcha – There you are! cure ailing patients, dietetics was Historical change cannot be considered the most important free from fear of a undone. But the ways in which Over 3,000 bags are lost every hour of every day. Last year, 37 area of medical practice. After disapproving gaze. modern societies handle excess, million pieces of luggage were lost worldwide. Well now you can be all, with a sound diet, one would Individuals eat alone, whether in people’s diets or sure to locate your bag when the airline can’t. Trace Me Luggage presumably never need a cure. and societies get fat lifestyles, merit reflection. For Tracker is a durable tag that securely fastens to Dietetics was a prescription example, one plausible explanation your suitcase and sports a unique serial number together and barcode. This ensures that wherever in the for an ordered manner of living, of the rise in obesity is the decline world your bag has ended its lonely travels, it will guiding people not only on matters of food and drink, of the family meal – at which children might be urged wing its way back to you, and only you. With over but on all governable aspects of their lives that affected to “eat more,” but also would likely be told when they a million checks per month across 150 billion well-being, including their places of residence, exercise, had eaten “more than enough.” In today’s eat-and-run registered items of property, the Trace Me tag is sleeping patterns, bowel movements, sexual activity, culture, people increasingly tend to consume food free part of the world’s largest property ownership and an area neglected by medicine today: emotional from fear of a disapproving gaze. Individuals eat alone, database. No matter where your bag lands, the local control. and societies get fat together. handling official or police can scan your barcode, or In short, dietetics was a matter of virtue as well as While there is no simple solution to today’s dietary read your registration number, and your name and of bodily health. The medical profession doled out woes, we can take a collective decision to reconsider details will pop up on the property ownership register advice about how one should eat in the same breath not just what we eat, but our approach to eating, and at www.immobilise.com. You will then receive a text and email as instructions about how one should live – and about to recognise the inherent value in eating together. A enabling you to tell the airline exactly where your bag is!
what sort of person one should be. shared meal might be good for you as well as good. Price: $20 (Dh73) www.tracemeluggagetracker.com
The views expressed by 999 columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI)
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78 Steven Shapin column.indd 78 9/27/12 3:46 PM 79-81 Gadgets-OCT.indd 79 9/27/12 3:47 PM Security And Safety For All gadgets Security And Safety For All
Transform your iphone lounGe & lisTen inTo an eye-phone Many Of us had inflatable furniture back in the day. Whether it was in our dorm room, trying to look groovy, or in our first yOur iPhOne can give you directions, let you surf the web, and do about a apartment because we didn’t have the money for a real couch, thousand other things, but what if you want to get a close look at something we’ve all been there. And it was fun. There’s just something really tiny? Well, the phone can’t help you with that on its own, but it can if you magical about sitting on something that’s 95 per cent air. It’s equip it with the Mini Microscope for iPhone. It mounts over the lens of the like cheating the laws of furniture, if there were such laws. The phone’s camera and once in place, you can use it to inspect your thumb, get to iMusic Inflatable Chair is the perfect addition to your dorm, know the insects in your neighbourhood, or even to detect counterfeit bedroom, or media room. Once it’s inflated, connect your iPod, currency. The device transforms your smartphone into a mini microscope iPhone, or other portable music-playing device to the 3.5mm capable of 60x magnification. Three built-in bright white LEDs will shed light on headphone cable. Stash your device in the side pocket, then your subject and even allow you to reliably verify watermarks. And of course, enjoy your tunes. since it is attached to your camera, you can take photos of everything you’re examining and share them with the world. Price: $39.99 (Dh147) www.thinkgeek.com Price: $25.54 (Dh94) www.amazon.com
paparazzi’s pick Make yOur candid shots so much more so with the right- angle mirror scope. It mounts to the filter ring of your camera oldies To Goldies lens using a thread adapter and realigns the view path 90-degrees to the side. Opteka’s Voyeur Right Angle Spy This is the device that converts audio tape cassettes into Lens allows you to snap pictures from around corners. The MP3 files and stores them directly onto an iPhone or iPod lens incorporate a built-in rotating barrel to accommodate touch. It accepts most iPhones and iPod touches, and normal even the most ridiculous of hiding spots. It is designed to fit or chrome cassette tapes. With its free app, conversion to select Fuji model cameras but a simple adapter will help secure MP3 is as simple as inserting a cassette, docking an iPhone it to just about any camera. Aim your camera innocently in one or iPod touch, and pressing play. Tapes can be listened to direction and you’ll capture images from your immediate right using the headphones jack (headphones required) or by or left. The lens is sized to accommodate all viewing distances connecting its audio output to a stereo system for scanning from near wide-angle to full zoom. forward or reverse to select tracks for conversion. Price: $34.95 (Dh128) Cassettes can also be converted to a PC running Windows 7, www.opteka.com XP, or Vista or a Mac using the included software. Its small footprint allows easy portability for conversion anywhere at any time.
Price: $79.95 (Dh294) www.hammacher.com
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79-81 Gadgets-OCT.indd 80 9/27/12 3:47 PM 79-81 Gadgets-OCT.indd 81 9/27/12 3:47 PM Security And Safety For All environment Security And Safety For All
considered a strong signal of long-term “It used to be the Arctic ice cover was a climate warming.” kind of big block of ice. It would melt a little The sea ice fell to 4.10 million square bit from the edges but it was pretty solid,” kilometres (1.58 million square miles) on Meier told reporters on a conference call. August 26, 2012, some 70,000 square “Now it’s like crushed ice,” he said. “At kilometres (27,000 square miles) less than least parts of the Arctic have become like a the earlier record charted on September giant slushie, and that’s a lot easier to melt 18, 2007, the centre said. and melt more quickly.” Scientists said the record was all the The planet has charted a slew of record more striking as 2007 had near perfect temperatures in recent years, with 13 of climate patterns for melting ice, but that the the warmest years ever taking place in the weather this year was unremarkable other past decade and a half, along with extreme than a storm in early August. weather ranging from severe wildfires in Michael E Mann, an authority in climate North America to major flooding in Asia. change, said the latest data reflected that Researchers have also reported a scientists who were criticised as alarmists dramatic melt this summer on the ice sheet may have shown “perhaps too great a in Greenland, which could have major degree of reticence.” consequences for the planet by raising sea “I think, unfortunately, this is an example levels. Scientists believe that climate change is caused by human emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. These figures are not But efforts to regulate emissions have the result of some faced strong political resistance in several freak of nature but nations including the United States, where the effects of man- industry groups have said that regulations would be too costly for the economy. made global warming Kumi Naidoo, the Executive Director of caused by our reliance Greenpeace, said the ice melt showed that on dirty fossil fuels the planet was “warming up at a rate that puts billions of people’s future in jeopardy.” that points more to the worst-case scenario “These figures are not the result of some side of things,” said Mann, director of the freak of nature but the effects of man-made Earth System Science Centre at Penn State global warming caused by our reliance on University. dirty fossil fuels,” he said in a statement. “There are a number of areas where Shaye Wolf of the Centre for Biological in fact climate change seems to be Diversity pressure group called the record proceeding faster and with a greater ice melt “a profound – and profoundly magnitude than what the models depressing – moment in the history of our scientists have said that the predicted,” Mann said. planet.” US sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has “The sea ice decline is perhaps the most The melt has rapidly changed the politics melted to its smallest point ever, indicating profound of those cautionary tales because and economics of the Arctic region, with Arctic ice melts that worst-case forecasts on climate the models have basically predicted that shipping companies increasingly eager to change, earlier brushed aside by millions, we shouldn’t see what we’re seeing now save time by sailing through the once- may actually be coming true. for several decades,” he added. forbidding waters. The extent of ice observed in late Arctic ice is considered vital for the Data released by the Washington- to record low August broke a record set in 2007 and was planet as it reflects heat from the sun back based Centre for Global Development likely to melt further with several weeks of into space, helping keep down the planet’s found that nations including China, India The sea ice in The arcTic Ocean has melTed TO iTs smallesT pOinT summer still left, according to data from the temperatures. and the US were reducing the intensity of ever in a milesTOne ThaT may shOw ThaT wOrsT-case fOrecasTs On National Snow and Ice Data Centre and the The Arctic region is now losing about their carbon emissions but that the effort climaTe change are cOming True NASA space agency. 155,000 square kilometres (60,000 square was overwhelmed by the surge in power The US government-backed ice centre, miles) of ice annually, the equivalent of a consumption in developing nations. based at the University of Colorado at US state every two years, said Walt Meier, a Boulder, said in a statement that the scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data decline in summer Arctic sea ice “is Centre.
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etihad rail projeCt Cold Comfort: to use 1m tonnes of temperatures in uae reCyCled ConCrete Abu DhAbi’s only recycling plant for buildings are too low construction debris is to resume work this month after a halt of nearly a year. The facility, near Abu Dhabi’s main landfill VArious reports point in Al Dhafra, opened in May 2010 and at the fact that we keep cost Dh45 million. temperatures in UAE buildings It stopped processing waste at the too low for comfort – and end of November last year because that’s bad news for power its operator was struggling to sell the usage and the environment. recycled material, which is suitable In the past three years, for use as a road base and in other British economist Tia infrastructure projects. Kansara has studied 20 The global financial crisis meant buildings, measuring indoor fewer such projects, so there was less temperatures and interviewing demand for the material. As a result, more than 1,000 occupants. the plant has a stockpile of 1.5 million She says that more than 800 tonnes of recycled concrete, according of those interviewed say that to the Centre of Waste Management-Abu they find it too cold indoors. Dhabi. “Quite a lot of people were The plant’s revival is linked to the saying it was too cold in their Etihad Rail project, which will see 1,200 buildings,” she said. “It would kilometres of rail line laid across the be at least 80 per cent of country. The plant expects the project the people surveyed who to consume more than a million tonnes said it was too cold,” added of recycled concrete over a one-year Kansara, who is conducting period. the research as part of her Construction and demolition debris is doctoral thesis at University College Dubai utility Dewa Dubai Electricity the largest source of waste in Abu Dhabi, London. and Water Authority) has said that if all at 9,000 tonnes a day. At the same time, another independent the emirate’s residents turned their air The plant has the capacity to handle study by a local daily suggests that conditioning up from 20°C to 24°C, the about 60 per cent of that, Patterson temperatures inside buildings across the savings could satisfy the annual energy said. “We could recycle more but, at country are colder at summer than most needs of 11,000 apartments, and prevent the moment, the market for recycled people find comfortable, and the extra 160,000 tonnes of harmful greenhouse- products is still the bigger challenge than power needed to keep them that way is gas emissions, which contribute to global recycling it.” not energy efficient. warming. Mass of volcanic rocks floating in Pacific off new Zealand A mAss of small volcanic rocks nearly spotlight, like a giant ice shelf. and is lightweight, the size of Belgium has been discovered He says it’s the “weirdest thing” he’s seen so it poses no floating off the coast of New Zealand. in 18 years at sea. danger The stretch of golf-ball-size pumice Scientists say the rocks likely spewed to ships. Pumice rocks was first spotted last month by a up in an eruption by an underwater has a variety of New Zealand air force plane about 1,000 volcano. They don’t believe the eruption uses: an ingredient kilometres northeast of Auckland. The is connected to the recent onshore in concrete, a rocks stretch for about 26,000 square ash eruption of another volcano, Mount polishing and kilometres. Tongariro. The Defence Force says the scrubbing agent; a A navy ship took scientists to the rocks mass of rocks stretches 250 nautical miles tool to stone wash for analysis. Naval Lt Tim Oscar says the by 30 nautical miles. jeans and exfoliate rocks appeared a brilliant white under a Pumice is made from lava and water skin.
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TECHY HANDBOOK 140,000 how to sign up for e-mail and internet seniors how access, and how to use the world wide From October 14 to 18, the uae will witness the annual GITEX technology week, Title: Is This Thing On? to use a web. There’s information on peripherals which is expected to be attended by more than 138,000 ICT professionals from Author: Abby Stokes computer, lays such as printers, scanners, wireless 144 countries, and where over 3,500 ICT companies from 77 countries are Publisher: Workman Publishing all the tips in routers; and basic software, such as Company an easy and word processing programs. Plus, this expected to participate. recognising the vital role that technology plays in our Price: $16.95 (Dh62) lives, 999 reviews a mix of titles on IT. authoritative new edition delves further into the online way. Written world to cover search engines and web NOW uPdATEd ANd REvISEd, this for the reader navigation, information on online banking, with women. Eduardo figured their ticket computer handbook for late bloomers who did not shopping, travel planning, and dating. Innocence lost to social acceptance was getting invited as well as technophobes offers readers grow up with It covers security issues, “netiquette,” to join one of the university’s Final Clubs. The network of jargon-free and comprehensive nuts- personal computers, this book updates instant messaging, and blogs, and there’s Title: The Accidental Billionaires: The One lonely night, Mark hacked into the and-bolts guide for anyone on how to and expands on Stokes’s previous title, an entire chapter devoted to digital Founding of Facebook university’s computer system, creating a success take advantage and maximise the use of “It’s Never Too Late to Love a Computer.” It photos – on transferring them from Author: Ben Mezrich ratable database of all the female students Title: Tactical Transparency: How available technology. covers everything you need to get wired: camera to computer and sending them as Publisher: Anchor on campus – and subsequently crashing Leaders Can Leverage Social Media Abby Stokes, who has taught more than how to select, buy, and set up a computer; attachments. Price: $27.50 (Dh101) the university’s servers and nearly getting to Maximize and Build Their Brand himself kicked out of school. In that moment, Author: Shel Holtz and John C. Havens THE HIGH- in his Harvard dorm room, the framework Publisher: Jossey-Bass ENERGY TALE for Facebook was born. What followed–a Price: $34.95 (Dh128) Ad addendum of how two real-life adventure filled with slick venture Title: The New Influencers: A Marketer’s socially awkward capitalists, stunning women, and six-foot- Guide to the New Social Media Ivy Leaguers, five-inch identical-twin Olympic rowers WHILE EXPOSING Author: Paul Gillin trying to increase – makes for one of the most entertaining THE risks inherent Publisher: Quill Driver Books traditional and new media are explored, their chances of and compelling books of the year. Soon, in maintaining a Price: $16.95 (Dh62) as are simple ways business owners and having girlfriends, Eduardo’s and Mark’s different ideas about non-transparent marketers can use these new resources ended up creating Facebook created faint cracks, in their relationship with EXPLORING HOW ANd why online forums to communicate with their customers. Facebook. relationship, which soon spiralled into a customers, Tactical such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have Practical tips on gaining the attention of Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg warfare. The collegiate exuberance that Transparency gained such popularity and credibility and interacting with influential bloggers, were Harvard undergraduates and best marked their collaboration fell prey to the provides a with consumers, this practical guide offers the pros and cons of creating a company friends – outsiders at a school filled with adult world of lawyers and money. The great methodology proven strategies for organisations to blog, guerrilla marketing on the Internet, polished prep-school grads and long-time irony is that while Facebook succeeded by that will help your organisation create leverage these new internet-based social and restructuring marketing expectations legacies. They shared both academic bringing people together, its very success its unique plan to bringing greater media outlets. The differences between are also discussed. brilliance in math and a geeky awkwardness tore two best friends apart. authenticity to your company and your brands. Drawn largely from interviews with leaders in companies platform or content that have achieved measurable Go Blog, Girl! management tool, success in this arena, authors Holtz Title: The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with select a web host, and Havens provide step-by-step Morals in the age of IT Moxie dress up your details on how executives and Title: Ethics for the Information Age Author: Joelle Reeder and Katherine Scoleri blog, manage professional communicators can Author: Michael J. Quinn Publisher: Wiley Publishing Inc. blog content and create a transparency strategy that will Publisher: Addison-Wesley Price: $24.99 (Dh92) keep your privates keep their organisation competitive Price: $93.60 (Dh344) private. When you in the 21st Century. The authors show WANT TO BREAK into blogging but don’t are ready for more, how organisations can evaluate their IN AN ERA where information technology environment. By presenting provocative know where to start? Dynamic duo Joelle The Moxie Girls will readiness for transparency, what changes constantly, a thoughtful response issues such as social networking, Reeder and Katherine Scoleri of The Moxie treat you to insider dish on blog etiquette, they need to do to get ready, and to these rapid changes requires a basic government surveillance, and intellectual Girls show you how to start your first blog, analysing blog traffic, blogging for business, how to effectively communicate their understanding of IT history, an awareness of property from all points of view, this polish your prose, get involved in blogging creating podcasts and adding bling to your transparency strategy to their customers current issues, and a familiarity with ethics. market-leading text challenges students communities, make sense of RSS feeds, blog with plugins, add-ons and more. Throw and employees. They also identify Ethics for the Information Age is unique in to think critically and draw their own podcasts, photos and more — all with fun, in the refreshing cocktails, beauty tips and aspects of blog/new media ‘netiquette’ its balanced coverage of ethical theories conclusions, which ultimately prepares humour and attitude. Inside you will find gossip with the Girls at the end of each an important but often misunderstood used to analyse problems encountered them to become responsible, ethical the need-to-know info to get your blog chapter and you’ll be Blogging with Moxie in part of engaging in transparency. by computer professionals in today’s users of future technologies. noticed: How to choose the right blogging no time. So, what are you waiting for?
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86-87 Books.indd 86 9/27/12 3:47 PM 86-87 Books.indd 87 9/27/12 3:47 PM Security And Safety For All MOVIES Security And Safety For All
The hoTTesT new inTernaTional movie releases coming soon To a cinema near you Frankenweenie DirecTor: Tim BurTon sTarring: winona ryDer, caTherine o’hara, marTin shorT Taken 2 movie Type: comeDy, animaTion, horror DirecTor: olivier megaTon sTarring: liam neeson, Famke Janssen, Frankenweenie is an upcoming 3D black-and-white stop motion- maggie grace animated comedy horror film and is a remake of his Tim Burton’s own 1984 short film of the same name. Like the 1984 version, it is a parody movie Type: acTion, crime, Drama of, and homage to, the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s Taken 2 is an upcoming 2012 French action thriller film, which is the book of the same name. In the film, which was based in New Holland, sequel to the 2008 film Taken. A year after the events in Paris, on a trip to young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) harnesses the power of science Istanbul, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a retired CIA agent gets a surprise visit to bring his beloved dog, Sparky, back to life after its death. Victor tries from his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke to hide his creation, but Sparky gets out and unintentionally causes Janssen). The happy reunion turns sour when Lenore is taken and held havoc in the town, having him face unintended, sometimes monstrous, captive by gangsters serving Murad (Rade Šerbedžija), the employer of consequences. It will be the first black and white feature and first stop- the men in the Paris apartment, and the father of Marko Hoxha, whom motion film to be released in IMAX 3D. Bryan killed in the first film. With his ex-wife held hostage and Kim on the run, Mills must rely on his lethal skills to track down Lenore and eliminate all who stand in his way. CHasing Here Comes maveriCks THe Boom Cloud aTlas DirecTor: michael apTeD, DirecTor: Tom Tykwer, anDy curTis hanson DirecTor: Frank coraci wachowski, lana wachowski sTarring: Jonny wesTon, sTarring: kevin James, salma hayek, henry winkler sTarring: Tom hanks, halle gerarD BuTler, elisaBeTh shue movie Type: acTion, comeDy Berry, hugh granT movie Type: Drama, sporT movie Type: Drama, mysTery, sci-Fi Chasing Mavericks is a biographical film based on the life of surfer Jay Moriarity (Johnny Weston). It Cloud Atlas is an upcoming epic adventure-drama film adapted from chronicles his quest to surf Northern California’s most the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell. With a budget of dangerous wave, under the wing of Frosty Hesson over $100 million, a portion of which came from Warner Brothers, but most of which was raised from independent sources, Cloud Atlas is the (Gerard Butler), the local legend who trains him to most expensive independent film of all-time. With an ensemble cast to survive it. In course of Moriarity’s training, the two cover the film’s multiple storylines, production began in September 2011 surfers form a unique friendship. at Studio Babelsberg in Germany. The official synopsis for Cloud Atlas describes the film as an epic story of humankind in which the actions and consequences of our lives impact one another throughout the past, present, and future; just as one soul is shaped from a murderer into a saviour and a single act of kindness ripples out for centuries to inspire a Fun size revolution. DirecTor: Josh schwarTz sTarring: vicToria JusTice, HoTel Transylvania Johnny knoxville, chelsea hanDler DirecTor: gennDy TarTakovsky movie Type: comeDy sTarring: aDam sanDler, selena gomez, sTeve Fun Size is an upcoming American teen Buscemi comedy film written by Max Werner and movie Type: animaTion, comeDy, Family is the feature directorial debut of Josh Schwartz. It is produced by Nickelodeon Here Comes the Boom is an upcoming sports Movies, Anonymous Content and Fake comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and Hotel Transylvania is an American 3-D computer-animated comedy film produced by Empire Productions and distributed stars Kevin James. Former collegiate wrestler Sony Pictures Animation for Columbia Pictures. The film will feature the voices of Adam by Paramount Pictures. Wren (Victoria (played by Kevin James) is a 42-year-old bored Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Jon Lovitz, Cee Justice) is invited to a Halloween party biology teacher in a failing high school. When Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and David Spade. Dracula (voiced by Adam by her crush, Aaron Riley (Thomas budget cutbacks looked like they might force Sandler), owner of Hotel Transylvania, a five-star resort for the world’s monsters, invites McDonell), but she is also forced by her the cancellation of the music programme, which some of the most famous monsters to celebrate the 118th birthday of his daughter Mavis mother (Chelsea Handler) to take her would result in its teacher (Henry Winkler) oddball little brother Albert (Jackson (voiced by Selena Gomez). The resort was unexpectedly visited by an ordinary young being laid off, Rich begins to raise money by Nicoll) along to go trick-or-treating on becoming a mixed martial arts fighter to keep traveller named Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg) and falls for the count’s teen-aged Halloween. When she goes to the party the programme around. Contrary to previous daughter. Dracula goes into overprotective mode and rescues Mavis from falling in love instead, she loses him and must find him reports, it was not filmed in just 20 days with Jonathan before it’s too late. before her mother finds out. on a production budget of $10 million. The production budget is still unofficial.
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88-89 -Movies OCT2012.indd 88 9/27/12 3:47 PM 88-89 -Movies OCT2012.indd 89 9/27/12 3:47 PM Security And Safety For All TIPS & TRIVIA Security And Safety For All
F1 RecoRds F1 World Championship has been held continuously since 1950. In the course, many records have been made and remade. Here are some interesting facts and records related to F1 World Championship
The Drivers’ The first driver to win The championship has Juan Manuel Fangio Championship was multiple F1 been clinched in the final is the oldest Driver’s first won by Nino Championships was race of the season 23 times Champion. He was Farina in 1950 Alberto Ascari, in in the 58 seasons it has 46 years 41 days 1952 and 1953 been awarded when he won 1957 season The earliest in a Schumacher holds the German Michael season when a record for most Schumacher holds championship was consecutive Drivers’ the record for most 2012 F1 Abu DhAbi GrAnD Prix: Need for clinched was in Championships, titles, at seven 2002, when Michael winning five from Schumacher secured 2000 to 2004 the title with six Speed races remaining Juan Manuel Fangio As for the constructors, Ferrari has won four won 15, McLaren 11, Williams 7 and As the 2012 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix enters its consecutive Driver’s Honda 5. Climax and Mercedes fourth year, the party just gets bigger and better Championships, have won 4 each; TAG 3; Alfa winning four from Romeo, Maserati and Repco 2 1954 to 1957 each; and BMW and BRM 1 each he 2012 F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand a round of golf on one of the city’s premium Grand Prix will be held at the Yas Prix race finale will culminate as the night courses or some pampering at a luxury spa. Marina Circuit on November 2-4, 2012. falls. Flood lights will blaze and the drivers Yas Island and Abu Dhabi City offer a whole T Fernando Alonso is Fernando Alonso is This year promises a Formula 1 event to will compete for a place on the coveted host of cultural, sporting and leisure options the youngest also the youngest remember as crowds from all over the world podium. to choose from. champion ever. He ever double world gather to enjoy a festival atmosphere, Off track, the buzz continues with a Make yours a November to remember and became champion in champion. He got this championship racing and a packed calendar comprehensive programme of inject some F1 action into your calendar. If car 2005 season at the distinction when he of entertainment at Yas Marina Circuit. entertainment, fabulous food and beverage, races and adrenaline is not your cup of tea, age of 24 years 58 was 25 years, 85 Whether you are a first-timer or an Abu and the ever popular driver autograph there is more to F1 in Abu Dhabi. days days Dhabi Grand Prix veteran, the 2012 event has signings and Pit Lane something enticing for everyone. On-track walks. excitement builds this year with the grit and Abu Dhabi city comes Damon Hill is the Jochen Rindt died during son of Graham Hill, practice for the 1970 Italian grind of the Australian V8 Supercar alive during this event; who bagged the Grand Prix. However, his championship kicking off the race. whether you fancy Beats Drivers’ championship was not Six world champions are anticipated on on the Beach with DJs Championship in confirmed until two rounds the grid this season. The Grandstands will be and free live 1962 and 1968. later. He became Formula electric as we watch F1 drivers take on one of entertainment, or some Theirs is the first One’s first and only the world’s most technologically advanced celeb-spotting across the father-son pair to posthumous World Drivers’ circuits. city’s many restaurants both win Drivers’ Champion If 2011 is anything to go by, this will have and hotels. For those who Championships crowds on the edge of their seats. The 2012 prefer to relax, why not try
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90-93 Tips andTrivia Revised.indd 90 9/27/12 3:49 PM 90-93 Tips andTrivia Revised.indd 91 9/27/12 3:49 PM Security And Safety For All TIPS & TRIVIA Security And Safety For All
caR Facts The cars used in F1 championships are quite different from usual cars. Just go through these interesting facts on these cars and you will know how different both the versions are
Approximately 80,000 components The brake discs in an F1 car have to Most racing cars have their tyres filled come together to make an F1 car. The withstand the operating temperature of with nitrogen. The reason being nitrogen cars have to be assembled with 100 per approximately 1000˚C. They are made of has a more consistent pressure cent accuracy. If it were assembled 99.9 carbon fibre which is much harder than compared to normal air per cent correctly, it would go on the steel and has a higher melting point track with 80 components wrongly Road car tyres can last 60,000 to placed. The cars have more than a kilometre of 100,000 km. On the other hand, racing cable linked to about 100 sensors and tyres are designed to last only 90 to F1 car engines complete their life in actuators which monitor and control the 120km about two hours of racing. Just compare car this with normal engines which go on The tyres lose weight during the race. serving us faithfully for decent 20 years An F1 car can accelerate from 0 to In a Grand Prix, each tyre loses about 160kph and decelerate back to 0 in just 0.5kg in weight due to wear When an F1 driver puts brakes on his four seconds car he experiences huge retardation or The cars can be refuelled at 12 litres deceleration. It could be compared to a An F1 car weighs around 550kg. per second. The rig used would take just regular car driving through a brick wall at 4 seconds to fill the tank of an average the speed of 300kph Gear cogs or ratios are replaced after road car each race for they have to resist high An F1 engine usually revs up to degrees of stress Pit stop crews take only 3 seconds to 18000rpm. This means that the piston refuel and change tyres travels up and down 300 times a second. Gear levers are located on the back of Road car engines rev up to 6000rpm at the wheel. The clutch levers are located max below the gear paddles F1 dRiving Facts Driving in F1 championship is a demanding task. Drivers participating in F1 races gain the required skills and fitness also has mineral salts. The drivers can drink water from it via a pipe after rigorous training. Here are some interesting facts Numbers are assigned to all F1 drivers. related to F1 drivers The previous season’s champion is given number 1, and his team-mate is designated number 2 F1 drivers have prolonged exposure to drivers sweat off their weight during the high G forces and temperatures for little race Numbers are assigned in accordance over an hour. This results in an average with each team’s position in the previous F1 driver losing about approximately 2 to Sports studies have underlined the season’s constructors’ championship 3 litres of water and 4kg of weight after importance of fluid level in the body. A just one race. person who has lost 4% of body weight The number 13 is not designated to can lose up to 40% of their psycho- any driver The drivers have to remove the physical ability steering wheel to get inside the car. A Most F1 drivers start their career in latch behind the steering wheel releases In the days preceding very hot races, karting. They come up through traditional it from the column the drivers can drink up to 8 litres of European single-seater series like water Formula Ford, Formula Renault, Formula Before the race, drivers drink lot of 3, and finally GP2. Before GP2, Formula water to avoid dehydration. The F1 The F1 cockpits have drinking bottle Two and then Formula 3000 served the cockpits generate a lot of heat and make installed for the drivers. The water in it role of feeder series for F1
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90-93 Tips andTrivia Revised.indd 92 9/27/12 3:49 PM 90-93 Tips andTrivia Revised.indd 93 9/27/12 3:49 PM PUZZLES Security And Safety For All PUZZLES Test your wits with our classic crossword and sudoku puzzles Across easy 1- Slippery swimmers 5- Aloe ___ 9- Eurasian juniper 14- Blind part 15- Nastase of tennis 16- Muse of love poetry 17- Edible corm 18- Japanese wrestling 19- Conger catcher 20- Spinster 22- Chats 24- Sunburn soother 25- Fourth highest peak in the world medium 26- Bird having a very large bill 29- Cowboy display 31- Vows 32- Leaf of a book 33- Breach 36- Before, once 37- Seesaws Down 30- Arch type 40- Guadalajara gold 1- This, in Tijuana 32- Brazilian soccer star 41- Draft org. 2- Airline since 1948 33- Capricorn’s animal 42- Away from the wind 3- Hog fat 34- Horne solo 43- Marsh of mystery 4- Abdomen 35- Wading place 45- Seizes with teeth 5- Sight 38- Consumed 47- Door 6- Evade 39- Night noise tricky 48- Sunfl ower seed, botanically 7- Outer edge 44- Food store 51- Fiddling emperor 8- Long time 45- Scram! 52- 1992 David Mamet play 9- Boil 46- From birth 54- Voter 10- Playground retort 47- Jai alai ball 58- ___-car 11- Hired parker 48- Main artery 59- Nike’s swoosh, e.g. 12- Anatomical passages 49- Lucid 61- Cube maker Rubik 13- Like Eric the Red 50- Therefore 62- Unspoken 21- As ___ resort 51- Israeli desert region 63- Work without ___ 23- Tree of the birch family 53- King of comedy 64- Film unit 26- Digits of the foot 55- Hammock holder 65- Mountain ridge 27- Rowing implements 56- Like Nash’s lama 66- PBS science series 28- Western Indians 57- Drum sound 67- Shout 29- Gives a 9.8, say 60- Lennon’s lady; diabolical
SOLUTIONS for the September issue easy medium tricky diabolical
www.bestcrosswords.com - www.sudokuoftheday.com
OCTOBER 2012 999 SECURITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL 95
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Security And Safety For All HOROSCOPE WHAT THE MONTH Looking into the future with HAS IN STORE Tita B
Aries (March 21 – April 19) Libra (September 23 – October 22) You seem quite in touch with your creative side, and will be Be satisfi ed with getting the job done, even if the credit is claimed eager to express yourself in new, imaginative ways. If you by people of little real ability. Wise observers will know who is have an important project to focus on, or a pastime you are responsible and arguments over a credit line could prove harmful. serious about doing, take time this October to give it your Financial matters should be handled promptly and advice should all. The new moon should allow you to show off your creative talents in an be sought from an older and more adept person if problems develop. Your life is exciting way. Saturn and Mars are beautifully angled, increasing your sense busier than usual this month, until the last week of October, when you feel the of security, suggesting money and enviable publicity may be the outcome. need for a break from the more competitive or demanding elements of your life.
Taurus (April 20 – May 21) Scorpio (October 23 – November 21) The variety in your social life may have reached a Be careful not to assume the worst about a close friend or chaotic state. You should take time to sort things out lover, particularly if someone comes to you bearing tales. If and do away with the unnecessary dates on your the charge is serious, face up to it and ask for an explanation calendar so that you can enjoy the truly important – but don’t convict before the defence has a chance to ones. Career improvement is possible now if you speak. Absolute honesty in a work situation is vital, as there are those who make the proper overtures to the proper person. Brace yourself for are observing you closely in relation to a possible promotion or job offer. a relationship-centred period that extends through most of October. Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21) Gemini (May 22 – June 20) If at all possible, plan to get away for a few days in the A major purchase you have been planning should perhaps near future so you can re-think some long-made plans. be delayed for a short while until you get some defi nite A change in direction now might be diffi cult – and information on a promised promotion or pay raise. Consider even painful – but not as much as it could be later. becoming involved in some community project which could October is likely to bring your fair share of adventure. Delays related to utilize your talents as well as make a defi nite contribution education or travel clear up, and you have a better idea where you stand. to the community. You begin October continuing a trend that keeps you active and sociable, and this is likely to continue for the next few weeks. Capricorn (December 22 – January 19) A change of direction or profession is not impossible Cancer (June 21 – July 22) for you at this point. Remaining in a situation because Your ability to expend energy over and above your normal it is easy is not the best move. Seek advice from a expected share is a rare gift – but you should be cautious of person who has faced a similar situation. An old doing so much that you endanger your health. As the season fl ame could make an amusing, yet attractive, proposition. The fi rst begins to move more defi nitely into the cooler period, you three weeks of October can fi nd you a little more serious than usual. should be careful of exposure and drafts. Expect an important letter in the mail which could alter your present lifestyle. Life continues to Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) keep you close to home, grounded, and seeking out more comfort and security. Your love life may be in for an exciting, if bumpy, period during which there could be some exhilarating highs – and Leo (July 23 – August 22) a few deep depressions. If you hang on for the entire ride, Use that recently acquired bit of “found” money in ways however, you will probably be glad that you did. Career that will bring personal pleasure. Saving is a good habit choices could be many at this time, but give full consideration – but you also need to indulge yourself once in a while, to your present position before you grab for the brass ring. Ignore a threat in order to keep the creative juices fl owing. That is not to from a jealous person. You are more able to focus your energy in the last week say you should ignore chances for fun and frolic – just try to keep things on of the month, but until then, your social life continues to take top priority. an even keel and don’t expect too much. The fi rst three weeks of October bring you much attention, after which things quiet down considerably. Pisces (February 19 – March 20) Your business life could become inescapably involved with Virgo (August 23 – September 22) your private life, bringing a good deal of frustration and Keep your money in your sock instead of throwing it away on even unhappiness – unless you follow a strict rule about projects which will not do much for your personal pleasure or fraternisation in the offi ce. Keep your head down in any your long-range improvement. An introduction to a striking family arguments and avoid direct confrontations concerning your past. A more companion could set the stage for a highly interesting introspective period continues to unfold in your life as the month begins. It may relationship. The last week of the month involves an increase in activity, as not be until the last week, however, before you truly come out of your shell and well as your taste for it. become more actively involved with others and embrace new experiences.
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IN THIS ISSUE: INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIAN AMBASSADOR, TIGHTENING THE TOBACCO SCREWS, BIKE IT RIGHT
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