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NRIs warned against taking cash to India
NRIs warned against taking cash to India Sajila Saseendran / 6 September 2013 The Central Bank of the UAE has asked banks and exchange houses operating in the country to advise their customers travelling to India to abide by the laws on carrying cash to India. In a notice issued on Tuesday, the Central Bank also asked the banks and money exchangers to warn their customers of the consequences of failing to do so. “The penalties stipulated in the new law include confiscation of money, prosecution and imprisonment,” the notice said. It advised the firms that the Indian Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had implemented a new Law on 22/05/2013, criminalising bringing cash in Indian currency into India. As per the law, foreign travellers to India are strictly prohibited from carrying cash in Indian currency into India, while Indian nationals are permitted to carry cash not exceeding Rs7,500. The law also stipulates that all travellers to India must declare all cash in foreign currencies they might be bringing into India, including the UAE dirham, where its value exceeds $5,000. Foreigners should also make a declaration when the aggregate value of all foreign bills in the form of currency notes, financial instruments, travellers’ cheques etc. is equal to or exceeds $10,000, the notice added. The Central Bank’s move follows another advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi in March. The mission advised non-redident Indians staying in the UAE against carrying Indian currency notes when they visit their homeland. According to the mission, there is a general misconception that NRIs are allowed to carry Indian currency and there had been some instances when NRIs were found carrying large amounts of cash in the form of Indian currency while visiting India and faced problems at the airport. “In some cases, the currency being carried by NRIs has even been found to be counterfeit,” the Embassy had said. Its counterpart in Oman had also issued a similar advisory after “cases of counterfeit Indian currency involving Omani visitors” which the mission described as a cause for concern for the Indian government. When contacted, Indian Ambassador to the UAE M.K. Lokesh denied the Embassy requesting the UAE Central Bank to issue any advisory on the law. Promoth Manghat, vice-president of global operations at UAE Exchange, confirmed receiving the notice from the Central Bank. “We have already started informing our customers about this law when they come for Indian currency. The new law hasn’t had much of impact in the market.” A section of the Indian expatriates feels they should also be allowed to carry a minimum amount of cash in Indian currency for emergency use after landing in India. However, officials point out that NRIs can exchange the UAE Dirham or any other foreign currencies with the Indian rupee on arrival in India, where there is a better system to check counterfeit Indian currency. – sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Pedalling for diabetes
Pedalling for diabetes Asma Ali Zain / 6 September 2013 Three people from the UAE are pedalling across five countries in Europe for 13 days as part of a live observational study on diabetes. The tour is said to be the first of its kind live observational study that will answer important questions on diabetes and exercise as well as raise awareness and funds for the disease. Up to 36 riders from the world over — linked directly or indirectly with the condition — will be checked for the effects of multi-day endurance exercise on blood glucose levels. They will ride 2,100km with more than 22,000 metres of climbs to help demonstrate innovative solutions to the challenges of managing diabetes and enabling people to lead active lifestyles. Data from the ride is being captured using glucose monitors attached to the riders’ skin and transmitted to a research centre in the United Kingdom. The three participants from the UAE are part of a group of eight employees from Etisalat’s global operations who are taking part in the GSMA mHealth (mobile health) Grand Tour that took-off in Europe on Thursday. The UAE team is also representing Dubai Expo 2020. “The cycle tour is aimed at testing mobile technology and raising awareness of diabetes,” explained Stephen King from Etisalat while speaking to Khaleej Times from Brussels, Belgium. The group, led by Mobily’s Ali Al Shehri from Saudi Arabia represented ‘Team Etisalat’ at the starting blocks for the first stretch of the tour. By Thursday, 36-year-old Al Shehri had just headed east from Brussels, riding through Ardennes before crossing Luxemburg and meeting the Rhine near Saarbrucken, Germany. He was expected to hand over the pedals to colleagues from Tanzania and UAE who will take the team onto the next stage through the Black Forest and Alps mountains. Shehzad Ahmed and Mohammed Khairy along with Stephen will be taking over in the following stages until the tour ends in Barcelona on September 18. “The idea is also to raise awareness about mHealth or wellness applications that can be used through smart phones,” said Stephen. “This technology for managing diabetes could, at a later stage, be introduced in the UAE, as well,” explained Stephen. For the tour, Professor Mike Trenell from Newcastle University is working with people taking part in the tour, from elite athletes with Type 1 diabetes to people without diabetes. Volunteer riders are equipped with Garmin bike computers to track performance and a heart rate monitor to track heart rate throughout the tour. They have also been given state-of-the-art continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMs) to look at how blood sugar levels change in athletes with and without diabetes. Professor Mike and his team will explore how riding affects blood sugar levels during the day and at night; how different athletes manage their diabetes (insulin and glucose); how high-performance athletes with Type 1 diabetes manage their diabetes compared with non-competitive athletes with Type 1 diabetes and how people with diabetes can teach athletes without diabetes about how to prevent low blood sugar levels during a ride. At least 18.9 per cent of the UAE population are living with diabetes. The tour is supported by International Diabetes Federation European Region. asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
US says Russia holding UN Council ‘hostage’ on Syria
US says Russia holding UN Council ‘hostage’ on Syria (AFP) / 6 September 2013 The United States on Thursday accused Russia of holding the UN Security Council “hostage” over the Syria chemical weapons crisis. With the White House pushing Congress to approve military strikes on Syria, US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said she could see no way to seek Security Council approval for action against President Bashar Al Assad because of Russia’s blocking. Amid mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow, Power said Russia’s protection of Assad has put the whole Security Council system of handling international crises under strain. “Even in the wake of the flagrant shattering of the international norm against chemical weapons use, Russia continues to hold the council hostage and shirk its international responsibilities,” Power told reporters as Russia hosted US President Barack Obama at the Group of 20 summit. Power, who took over as US envoy to the United Nations one month ago, said the UN Security Council system, in which the five permanent members — Russia, the United States, China, France and Britain — can veto any resolution, had failed the Syrian people. “Instead the system has protected the prerogatives of Russia — the patron of a regime that has brazenly staged the world’s largest chemical weapons attack in a quarter century,” Power said. The envoy spoke after US officials briefed other UN members on evidence that Assad’s forces carried out an attack using banned poison sarin gas near Damascus on August 21. She said the evidence “overwhelmingly” points to an attack by Assad forces. The United States says more than 1,400 people died in the attack, which the Assad government, supported by Russia, has blamed on Syrian rebels. Since an uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011, Russia and China have vetoed three western-proposed resolutions that would have aimed to increase pressure on Assad, without imposing sanctions. The Russian president said this week he would be ready to consider Security Council action if he could be convinced that Assad forces staged the August 21 attack. Power said she did not believe Putin would budge however. “We have seen nothing in President Putin’s comments that suggest that there is an available path forward at the Security Council,” the US envoy said. The Obama administration is seeking approval from lawmakers for military strikes, which could be joined by France. Power’s comments reinforced Obama’s stance that he was ready to order strikes without UN approval. And she stressed US exasperation at the repeated blocking of Security Council resolutions and statements. The resolutions had been proposed hoping that “our common security and our common humanity might prevail,” she said. “Unfortunately, for the past two and half years the system devised in 1945 precisely to deal with threats of this nature did not work as it was supposed to. It has not protected peace and security for the hundreds of Syrian children who were gassed to death on August 21. It is not protecting the stability of the region.” She added: “To stand back would be to endanger not only international peace and security, not only US national security, but, we also believe, the very international system that we have been working these decades to build.” Continue reading
