Worth emulating
Alcohol and accidents are twin progenies of the modern age and they are inseparable. Irrespective of countries or religion, road accidents create horrendous problems to human lives and most of the accidents are fatal ("Mission warns Britons against drink driving," Gulf News, November 20). In this context the action of the British Embassy in Dubai by issuing a warning is highly appreciated. This example is worth emulating by other embassies. It will go a long way in curtailing the drink drive accidents and it will also support the various steps taken by the authorities to reduce road accidents.
From Mr K.N. Vasudevan
Dubai

Mediocre facilities
With reference to the news regarding the withholding of the fifth year MBBS results, the main issue of the students is that the college does not have any proper clinical facility of its own and it uses government facilities ("Gulf Medical College withholds students' results in fee wrangle," Gulf News, November 21). The medical camps conducted are just eyewash and its own hospital is mediocre. The authorities need to ensure medical colleges in the UAE follow proper guidelines.
From A Reader
Sharjah
Name withheld by request

Trial marriage
Pre-marital relationships ("Speak Your Mind", Gulf News, November 10) are similar to the free test drive you go for before you proceed to buy a new car or like a trial version of any software! It is not at all a bad idea! But pre-marital relationships should have some restrictions.
From Mr Javed Hossain
Sharjah

Rude and arrogant
Sharad Pawar being pushed by Australian players shows that whether they are on or off the field they are rude and arrogant; investigations will not help their behaviour ("Indian media split over the fiasco," Gulf News, November 10).
From Mr M.A. Shibly
Dubai

Unfair fees
It is pretty unfair that you have to shell out money to park your car in front of your own house. Restrictions are imposed on residents without providing any options. But I guess these are the fees that we pay.
From Mr M.F.
Sharjah
Full name withheld by request

Driving schools
I would like to suggest to the authorities to allow driving schools to train the people in the evenings or at night because most of the accidents take place at night. In that way we will be able to solve three problems in one go:
- Schools will not congest the traffic during the day.
- Driving schools will not lose students.
- People will learn how to drive at night.
From Mr Muzaffar Abbas Mahalwala
Abu Dhabi

Is this good enough?
Now that the CIA has found out that Iran poses no nuclear threat to the rest of the world, all that remains to be seen is whether that is good enough for George W. Bush. Or will he yet again, for the sake of humanity, pull a pre-emptive strike against another sovereign state? And will the rest of us again sit back and let it happen? Is there any country in the world today that can stand up to US aggression?
From Ms S. Hashmi
Abu Dhabi

Prevent malpractices
The cap on rent increase is welcome, but it is very likely that the landlords will find some loopholes to harass the tenants on one pretext or another. It is very likely that the landlords will give excuses to ensure that the old tenants leave the flats and then rent them out to new tenants at a much higher rent.
From Mr Jayram M.
UAE
Via e-mail

Dread to think
This is regarding the proposed toll tax to be levied on vehicles on Shaikh Zayed Road ("Toll system on Shaikh Zayed Road," Gulf News, November 16). I dread to think what will happen to these roads when they are burdened with more vehicles. How about an underpass from Mall of the Emirates up to the Trade Centre instead? It is about time a resonant, dynamic and exponentially growing Dubai finds a way to provide more roads, either underpasses or flyovers, since roads and traffic are the two biggest hindrances to life in Dubai.
From Mr Ajit Singh
Dubai

No solution
Will the toll ease traffic congestion? No. On the other hand it will worsen the situation. For example, when the toll is introduced at Garhoud Bridge, motorists will prefer Maktoum Bridge, resulting in severe traffic jams in the morning, which will affect all junctions from Al Mulla Plaza to the bridge. Further, the toll will be an extra burden on people struggling in the midst of rising rents.
From Mr Shanavas Mohammad
Dubai

Why accept this?
Most of the time civilian casualties in Lebanon by coalition and Israeli forces occur when there are errors in aiming. Where is the public disdain for the thousands of killings perpetrated? Where is the disdain for car bombings, kidnapping of teachers and workers, beheadings, mass execution style murders of innocents only because they are from another sect? Why should the craziness of terrorism ever be accepted?
From Mr R. Bollotta
Florida, US

Wasting time
I read about the matter of Brooklyn Free School and I am very disappointed to know that students are wasting their valuable years of studying ("No homework and no tests at New York school," Gulf News, November 20). They are wasting their parents' hard-earned money. They will be unable to fulfil their parents' basic necessities. I think they should shift to another school.
From Mr Dipen Ghaghda
Sharjah