Ministers and members attend the third session of the 15th FNC legislative chapter yesterday.
Ministers and members attend the third session of the 15th FNC legislative chapter yesterday.

FNC tackles new child adoption law



ABU DHABI // FNC members sparred with a government minister for more than seven hours yesterday over a new adoption law, with a heated debate on whether abandoned children should be taken first to police or to healthcare professionals.

The marathon discussion at the third session of the 15th FNC legislative chapter covered each clause of the law point by point, with members and the Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam Al Roumi, often disagreeing.

One key issue, members said, was protecting the person who found an abandoned child, weighed against the need to save the child's life if it was in danger.

Article four of the law originally stated that when children are found, they must be taken immediately to the nearest police station.

But after consulting experts, the Health, Labour, and Social Affairs Committee amended the article to state that the child should be taken to either the nearest police station or to a health institute, depending on their health status.

It was a change with which the minister disagreed. "To give the child to a health institute — it is a big responsibility," she said.

She said hospitals did not have procedures to accommodate abandoned children and to take down the details of the person who found the child. Police, on the other hand, had been dealing with the issue for decades.

Hamad Al Rahoumi (Dubai) said police could not help a sick child. "If he is in a terrible condition, then he needs to be taken to hospital, not the police," he said. "A baby around two or three hours old is unlikely to be in a stable health condition."

Ms Al Roumi said police were better equipped to document the child and collect details of whoever found him. "The law is to ensure the protection of the person who found the child," she said.

Ahmed Al Amash (Ras Al Khaimah) agreed with the minister. He said handing the child to police was a better idea because it discouraged people from abandoning children. Ms Al Roumi said allowing hospitals to handle abandoned children could "open doors" to an increase in cases.

The minister said that even if the council united in seeking to have abandoned children taken to hospitals rather than police, the ministry would object at Cabinet level.

Dr Amal Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi), pointed out that receiving medical services without having medical insurance was difficult, and the case would be even worse for an abandoned child. Therefore, Dr Al Qubaisi said, the child needed to be referred to the hospital by police.

The council in the end voted for police to be informed first, before the child is taken to a hospital.

The minister also objected to a new article added by the FNC committee requiring all cases of abandoned children to be reported in news media. She said that would present a negative image of the country.

Mr Al Rahoumi, however, said that such publicity could reduce the number of abandoned children.

According to research conducted by the committee, there are between three to four abandoned children a month, about 48 per year.

The committee found that the number was increasing as more nationalities entered the country: more single workers meant more illegitimate children.

Members feared that the law, which provides greater rights for orphans, would encourage more families to abandon their children, particularly those who were illegitimate.

They suggested that DNA tests should be introduced to find the biological parents of the children.

"We need to find a solution to this problem first of all," said Mohamed Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi). "It is possible with ID cards to find the family."

In other parts of the 24-article law, the council agreed with the ministry's provision that abandoned children would be given a name followed by three surnames, but none that would relate to a known family name in the UAE.

Members said the names should be Emirati, not just Arabic, to increase patriotism in children. But the minister said the names would be like other common names in society.

The minister and the council disagreed on whether children should be told they were adopted. The members said that if children were not told at an early age, it could shock them later in life.

The minister, however, said a child should not be told without the ministry being informed, and it should occur in the presence of ministry officials.

As part of the law, the ministry will also monitor foster families by sending social workers to their homes. However, it disapproved of the idea that some of the visits should be unannounced, because male social workers might cause complications, the minister said.

The council added an article ensuring that orphans have opportunities to acquire university degrees and jobs before they are removed from a shelter for abandoned children.

Dr Abdulrahim Al Shaheen (RAK) asked the minister how the law would be executed, as laws often take a long time to be implemented. The minister assured him that the budget had already been set.

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The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

RESULTS

1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard

2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman

4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.

RACE CARD

6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

7.05pm: Meydan Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (Turf) 1,000m

7.40pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (D) 2,200m

8.15pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,900m

8.50pm: Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m

10pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Third Test

Result: India won by 203 runs

Series: England lead five-match series 2-1

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

Green ambitions
  • Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
  • Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
  • Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
  • Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water 
NBA FINALS SO FAR

(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106

Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland

Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5

Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder /  3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km

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