UAE bans import and sale of pork 'as a precaution against swine flu'

UAE bans import and sale of pork 'as a precaution against swine flu'
Posted in Gulfnews, 29 April 2009

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has banned the import and sale of pork in the country as a precautionary measure against swine flu, a senior official told Gulf News on Wednesday.

General Secretariat of Municipalities [GSM] issued a circular on Monday banning import and sale of all types of pork in the country, Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, Manager of Communication and Information Department at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) said.

The ban covers cooking the pork in hotels [for non Muslims], he added.


GSM had already banned import of pork from Mexico and the US on Sunday, but extended it to a blanket ban, considering the alarming situation, Al Reyaysa said.

"Only two outlets in Abu Dhabi have the license to sell pork (for non-Muslims) and our inspectors have already informed them to remove the pork from the shelves," the official said.

UAE Ministry explores precautionary measures

A source from the Ministry of Health, who requested to remain anonymous, told Gulf News over the phone that the ministry is currently in talks with a technical group regarding precautionary plans and measures that should be practiced among hospitals and between people.

"There is no specific vaccination or drug one can take to prevent swine flu, but there are technical procedures that should be put in place, that's why we contacted a technical team to help us prevent the condition from reaching the UAE."
The World Health Organization (WHO) even though has no power to enforce any policies on different countries across the world with regards to swine flu, advises that ministries undergo their own pandemic flu plans.

The WHO also recommends that vaccine makers keep making seasonal flu vaccine instead of switching over to a new one that matches the swine flu strain, but it urged them to start the process of picking a pandemic strain, weakening it and making large batches of it, which could take six months.

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Filipino Schools and Churches in UAE

Schools

Far Eastern Private School
P.O. Box 29047
Sharjah, U. A. E.
Tel : 06-5389556
Fax: 06-5389557

New Filipino School
P. O. Box 3695
Sharjah, U. A. E.
Tel : 06-5361331
Fax: 06-5368228

United International Private School
P. O. Box 60817
Dubai, U. A. E.
Tel : 04-2543888
Fax: 04-2543889
E-mail : uipsinet@emirates.net.ae
Website: www.uips.co.ae

Pioneer International Private School
P.O. Box 5043
Abu Dhabi, U. A.E.
Tel : 02-6424622
Fax: 02-6426233

Philippine National School
P.O. Box 31874
Abu Dhabi, U. A. E.
Tel : 02-4492998
Fax: 02-4494850

PISCO Private School
P.O. Box 29317
Abu Dhabi, U. A. E.
Tel : 02-6416044
Fax: 02-6422880

Churches

St. Mary's Church, Dubai

St. Joseph Church, Abu Dhabi

Mar Thoma Church, Mussafah, Abu Dhabi

St. Francis, Jebel Ali

St. Mary Church, Al Ain

St. Anthony of Padua Church, Ras Al Khaimah

Should you want to add your organization or any info for free please send an email to info@pinoyexpatuae.com

*Special Thanks to Diomedes Delen for your contribution. ShareThis Read more...

The Crisis of Credit Visualized...

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

An interesting and informative explanation of the ongoing credit crisis!!! ShareThis Read more...

Driver scam: Agency uses RTA name

Driver scam: Agency uses RTA name
Published in Xpress Newspaper, April 2, 2009

Nearly 140 Filipinos – recruited to work as Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) bus drivers in Dubai – have become victims of a possible 20.5-million- peso (Dh2 million) swindle.
Without the promised jobs, some have been reduced to scavenging to eke out their next meal.

Many of the recruits said they came on a visit visa, arranged by CYM International Services, a job agency in Manila, which endorsed them to a local agency, Al Tomooh Technical Services, in Dubai. Al Tomooh declined to comment. In sheer misery

“It’s clear we’re not expected here,” said Reynaldo V. Salas, 35, a former bus driver of Baliuag Transit, wiping away his tears. He showed photocopies of cheques they signed to a bank and lending agency in Manila.



Some victims have already overstayed their visa period.

For each day that a tourist overstays a one-month visa in Dubai/UAE, he/she has to pay a fine of Dh200 (around 2,000 pesos) for the first day and Dh100 for each subsequent day.

The group that had arrived between January 29 and March 6, are currently staying in a flat near the Ajman garbage dump site.

Max Sumulong, 34, one of the victims, said last year CYM had offered him a job as a driver for Dh5,200 a month and he had given the agency 10,000 pesos (Dh1,000) as “processing fee”.

“The agency had asked each one of us to take out a 150,000-peso (Dh11,418) loan from a lending agency recommended by them and made us sign undated cheques worth 405,000 pesos (about Dh40,000) addressed to a bank and the lending agency, payable in 15 months,” he said.

Eliseo Maximo, who has worked for 11 years as a bus driver in Manila, said: “We’ve been collecting aluminium cans, selling them at Dh4 per kg in Ajman, just to have something to eat.”

Uncertain future

Arthur Hernandez, a bus driver for nine years, said: “I don’t know whom to believe anymore … An employee of Al Tomooh said hiring of bus drivers has been frozen. She said there are jobs open for taxi drivers. We’re told to go back to the Philippines. Nothing is clear.”

Virginia Calvez, Philippine Labour Attache and Head of Philippine Overseas Labour Office (Polo) in Dubai, said they were aware of the situation.

Calvez said they had requested the Manila government to stop processing drivers for RTA in 2008 after a similar case of illegal recruitment involving an agency had come to light. Carol Pestaño, a document specialist at CYM in Manila, said she didn’t know why the workers came on a visit visa.

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