Tag Archives: technology
Mers claims first victim in the UAE, confirms WHO
Mers claims first victim in the UAE, confirms WHO Staff Reporter / 31 August 2013 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the recent death of an 82-year-old Emirati man suffering from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (Mers-CoV). The news of the latest UAE death follows the confirmation on Wednesday of a further eight Mers cases in Saudi Arabia, of which one person died on Friday. It is the first locally confirmed death and the patient did not have any travel history, said the WHO. The man was brought to a hospital in Abu Dhabi in July, which led to the isolation of at least four health workers who attended the patient, after fears they had contracted the virus. Two had mild symptoms, while a further two were asymptomatic. No reports have been issued on their current health condition. To date, the UAE has reported six cases and two deaths including the recent one. In March, a 73-year-old Abu Dhabi man died in a German hospital from the Sars-like virus. In Saudi Arabia, which is at the centre of the outbreak, the death toll has already touched 43. Of the eight new reported cases, three women and two men are still alive. All but one of the eight have or had underlying medical conditions. Meanwhile, on Thursday the WHO announced two other cases of Mers were confirmed in Qatar. Both patients are men and had underlying medical conditions. Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 104 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers-CoV including 49 deaths. Based on the current situation and available information, the WHO has advised health care providers to maintain vigilance. However, no travel ban has been recommended by the world health body as yet. Last month Khaleej Times reported that unified local and national guidelines on how to deal with the suspected cases were being readied by the country’s health bodies. In Abu Dhabi, all healthcare providers have been briefed on the necessary notification and reporting mechanisms of any suspected coronavirus cases. That includes clinical assessment, isolation and collection of specimens for laboratory tests. The identified symptoms of Mers include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath and muscle pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea and vomiting. These symptoms are aggravated if the patient has any other underlying medical condition. Recent medical research has shown Mers links to both camels and bats, though investigations are ongoing. The WHO has recommended people to avoid contact with sick animals. asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Oil slick after diesel tanker overturns
Oil slick after diesel tanker overturns Ahmed Shaaban / 31 August 2013 An Asian man sustained several injuries after the diesel tanker he was driving overturned, spilling its contents, in Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday night. According to a senior police officer, the traffic accident, the second in a month, damaged part of the concrete median of the Etihad bridge where the tanker overturned. Lt-Col Ahmed Al Samm Al Naqbi, Acting Director of the RAK Traffic and Patrols Department, said the tanker driver was to be blamed for the mishap as he was the one who lost control over the steering wheel and crashed into the concrete median. “He veered off the road, ran into and broke part of the concrete median of the bridge, and overturned on the left side.” The Central Operations Room of the RAK Police, on being alerted about the accident, dispatched the police, traffic patrols, and rescue teams to the scene. “The rescue team safely pulled out the injured driver who was stuck in the damaged tanker, and shifted him to the hospital for treatment and medical care.” Lt-Col Al Naqbi said all the diesel that the tanker was carrying spilled on to the road, covering a wide area. “The concerned authorities, in collaboration with the RAK Civil Defence department, swiftly swung in action and cleaned the road, ensuring a smooth flow of traffic.” The authorities closed the road under the bridge after the accident and shifted the tanker hanging up from the middle on the bridge wall. Al Naqbi urged all motorists and truck drivers to be more cautious and attentive on the road and abide by the set rules and regulations. “Heavy truck drivers are advised to take enough rest when they feel tired, sleepy or unwell so as not to put their lives or the lives of other road users in danger.” Earlier this month, a collision between a water tanker and pick-up truck, had damaged a 55-metre-long concrete part of the Etihad Bridge, in the direction of Al Faisal Road. The pick-up driver, a 75-year-old Emirati man, received several injuries due to the accident. Director-General of Central Operations at the RAK Police Brigadier Ghanem Ahmed Ghanem, said the 33-year old driver of the water tanker, also received minor injuries and was to blame for the accident. A tougher unified traffic law with higher fines and a black points system was implemented in 2008 all over the country, in order to encourage safer driving, especially amid the high incidence of traffic accidents involving heavy duty vehicles. ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee
India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee (AFP) / 30 August 2013 India’s premier warned the nation on Friday to brace for higher prices because of the rupee’s plunge to record lows, but he forecast the economy would pick up in the second half of the year. Manmohan Singh, addressing parliament for the first time since the rupee went into a tailspin this month, called the currency’s worst slide against the dollar in nearly two decades “worrying” and a “concern”. But he said actions by his left-leaning Congress-led government to reduce “the unsustainably large” current account deficit, which has undermined the currency, would bear fruit. “We are no doubt faced with important challenges but we have the capacity to address them — it is at times like these that a nation shows what is truly capable of,” he told lawmakers. He warned Indians that the weak rupee “will no doubt lead to some further upward pressure on prices” because of the rise in import prices, especially of fuel. Singh, a reknowned economist hailed for lighting the fuse for India’s fast growth in the 1990s as finance minister, has been under fire as premier with his government hit by a string of corruption scandals that have sapped foreign investor confidence. He skirted opposition charges that the rupee’s woes were due to the government mismanagement and blamed the fall on tensions over Syria and a pick up in the US economy that is expected to lead to an end to the Federal Reserve’s stimulus. Seeking to put a positive spin on the volatile exchange rate, he suggested that the currency’s decline could prove a blessing as it would make India’s exports cheaper and help revive economic growth. Growth data for the first financial quarter to June, due later Friday, would be broadly unchanged from the previous quarter’s 4.8 percent, he said, but the economy would accelerate in the second half. “Growth will pick up in the second half barring extreme unforeseen eventualities,” he said, adding the strong annual monsoon would boost harvests and help reduce food inflation. “The stabilisation process which should support the value of the rupee is underway… the currency markets will recover,” he added. Foreign exchange markets have a “notorious history of overshooting, this is what is happening in relation to the rupee,” he said, adding, it is important to recognise that “the fundamentals of the Indian economy continue to be strong.” After his speech, the rupee was trading at 66.64 to the dollar; down from its day’s low of 67.80 rupees and still comfortably stronger than the record near 69 rupees it touched on Wednesday. Continue reading
