Saudi will play pivotal role for peace in region: Dubai Ruler

Muscat, Jan 11: Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said has died, Aljazeera reported citing state television on Friday.

Qaboos was 79-year-old and was ill for a long time. He has served as the ruler of Oman since 1970 when he ousted his father in a bloodless coup.

Qaboos had no children and has not publicly named his successor.

Sultan Qaboos travelled to Belgium for a week in December for what was described then as "medical checks." He returned to Oman but speculations of his deteriorating health were rife.

Dubai, Jan 16: The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Wednesday announced that it has banned the import of birds, some eggs and meat products from Hungary and Slovakia.

The ministry said the decision was taken following a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N2, in the two countries.

Accordingly, the ministry has banned "the import of all species of domestic and wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs, meats and meat products and non-heat-treated wastes from Hungary and Slovakia".

It has also regulated the import of poultry meat and non-heat-treated products, requiring a health certificate for the export of meat and meat products from the two countries to release consignments into the UAE.

A health certificate will be needed for the import of eggs, the ministry added.

However, thermally-treated poultry products (meat and eggs) have been cleared for import from all parts of Hungary and Slovakia.

Kaltham Ali Kayaf, Acting Director, Animal Development & Health Department at the ministry, said: "These measures reiterate the ministry's keenness in achieving its strategic objectives including enhancing bio-security levels and eliminating pathogens before they enter the country. In doing so, the ministry prevents the bird flu virus and related risks and impacts on the country's poultry health and safety, in addition to protecting public health and well-being."

Abu Dhabi, Apr 26: Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor says he is appalled after the bodies of three Indians flown back to India were returned to Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The three deceased Indian nationals had died of non-coronavirus causes and were flown to Delhi on Thursday but were promptly returned by authorities there.

“We are appalled at what has happened,” Kapoor told Gulf News. “We do not know if the bodies were returned because of coronavirus-related restrictions, but we are obviously not sending the remains of people [who have passed away from COVID-19],” he added.

“[As we understand], it happened because of new protocols at the airport and we are trying to sort it out,” he said.

Sent back a few hours later

“The remains were not offloaded from the plane, and were sent back a few hours later,” Kapoor explained.

The deceased were Kamlesh Bhatt, who passed away on April 17, and Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh who both died on April 13.

According to reports in Indian media, Kamlesh Bhat was 23 years old, and hailed from Tehri Garhwal district. He allegedly died of cardiac arrest. Along with the remains Kumar and Singh, Bhatt’s body was initially repatriated on an Etihad Airways flight, then sent back, even though his relatives had been on their way to collect them.

Kapoor explained the procedure through which remains are normally returned to family members back home, saying that the worker’s employer typically makes arrangements with cargo companies to repatriate bodies on cargo aircraft.

The employer applies for a No Objection Certificate from the Indian Embassy, which is granted once the Embassy ensures that all local formalities have been completed. The cargo company then applies for airport clearance, and the airline obtains approvals from the receiving airport.

“If airport protocols have changed, it means cargo companies have to be more careful about the clearance they’re getting,” Kapoor advised.

Additional costs
The ambassador added there may eventually be additional costs to repatriate the bodies but that it is first necessary to sort out the concerns.

The global coronavirus outbreak has spawned difficulties in repatriating mortal remains as a result of the travel restrictions imposed by countries. Remains of people dying from COVID-19 are not being sent back, but the caution surrounding the handling of bodies often affects the repatriation of those who succumb to other causes.

As Gulf News reported, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan reached out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for intervention in bringing back the bodies of Keralites who have died in the Gulf from non-COVID-19 causes.

“I would like to draw your attention to the grievances received from Non-resident Keralites Associations (NRKs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on the delay caused in bringing home the mortal remains of NRKs who had expired due to reasons other than the COVID-19 infection,” read the letter by the CM.

“It is learnt that a ‘clearance certificate’ from the Indian Embassies is required to process the application of bringing home the mortal remains of the dead. The Embassies are [further] insisting on the production of a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi. To enable to bring back the bodies of the NRIs whose deaths occurred due to reasons other than COVID-19 infection, without necessary procedural hassles, I request your kind intervention,” Vijayan has requested.