UAE | General
Hopes & Fears
As we begin a new year hoping it will bring peace and prosperity for everyone, we also reflect on 2007.
- Gulf News Report
- Published: 01:07 January 1, 2008
- A fisherman packs his net into his boat at sunset after the last catch of 2007 at Buteen fishing harbour in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
- Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
As we begin a new year hoping it will bring peace and prosperity for everyone, we also reflect on 2007.
The past year witnessed major events that will undoubtedly influence 2008 and beyond.
Many of these issues have made their impact on the lives of Gulf News readers. Locally, people could not stop worrying about the rising rents and spiralling cost of living.
Surprisingly, traffic worries were pushed back, and the talk of the town centred on salaries and the dirham's peg to the dollar.
On the Middle East, our readers carried on with their hopes of stability. In the past few months the security situation in Iraq improved, but readers believe it will be a long time before the war-torn nation can recover fully.
For the other regional hotspot, Palestine, even though the year started with infighting, it is the hope of many that 2008 will bring lasting peace.
Beyond the region, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto highlighted the ongoing clash between conservatives and liberals.
The tragic death of this popular leader will obviously influence Pakistan's politics in 2008.
Few world figures left the arena in 2007 and they were replaced by leaders who will influence global events in 2008.
As President George W. Bush winds down his final year in office, the seemingly fierce US election campaign is going to dominate the news.
But 2007 will be remembered by many as the year when the world gathered in Bali to find ways to curb global warming.
While the majority of Gulf News readers expressed pessimism
in their overall outlook for 2008, they do see a glimmer of hope and would like to see an end to conflicts in the world
Gulf News wishes its readers a happier and more prosperous New Year.
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week
Latest news
- Man held in Dubai with drugs
- Thousands step out for a cause
- Striving for peace
- Haj pilgrims required to get vaccinated
- Kalimat launches children's book
- Man flees without informing employer
- Housemaid gets one-year jail for theft
- Cleaner to serve 6 months for rape
- Father and son charged with theft
- Three arrested for hosting 31 infiltrators
- Car rental violations net Dh541,000
- Men urged to report erectile dysfunction
- Check-ups are key to keep silent killer at bay
- Expats observe Remembrance Day
- The right moves for peace
Community Reports
-
Public transport is the way to go
Residents must stop complaining about feeder buses taking up parking space
-
Be kind to animals
Mistreated Labrador and puppy need new home filled with love
-
Help me find my precious cat
Raif, my cute eight-month-old ‘fur ball', went missing in Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen area last month
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
