A true leader

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is a true son of the land — blessed with wisdom and honesty (“Mohammad certificate honours all mothers”, Gulf News, January 4). His gestures towards his people are exemplary and he is a role model in the true sense. May he live long.
From Mr Khurshid Qazj
Hail, Saudi Arabia

Thoughtful

I am very glad to hear about such a wonderful service from Shaikh Mohammad. It is a really good initiative. May you be blessed.
From Mr Hafeed Hassan
Chennai, India

Inhumane treatment

It is a pity to see such ignorance towards a girl who is 15 years of age and married and treated like an animal by her in-laws (“Tortured Afghan girl to go to India for treatment”, Gulf News, January 3). Even an animal is not treated as they treated the girl. It’s a shame that such heartless people still live in this world. We should find such beasts in society and put them behind bars. This case could be one of hundreds, who knows? This was covered by the media so we know about it, but many of the cases must have been hidden and have gone unnoticed.
From Ms Asna
Sharjah

Eradicate this behaviour

This sort of practice should not be accepted anywhere in the world. It indicates that women are still treated like commodities and not like human beings.
From Mr Aravind
Abu Dhabi

Punish the guilty

This is pathetic and shocking. The poor girl should be given justice and the government of Afghanistan should really work hard against such behaviour. Such acts should have no place in the modern world and should be punished with the harshest punishment.
From Mr Shafqat Ali
Abu Dhabi

Pray for peace

We all need to pray for peace in this world (“In US, growing talk of a possible war with Iran”, Gulf News, January 4). Everyone is caught up in the confusion of a prolonged recession that has not yet seen the end of the tunnel. Another political crisis will make the situation far worse, and the ordinary people are the ones who are going to suffer the most. Pray for peace.
From Mr A. Sam Mathew
Ringgold, United States

Use your brains

The US really needs to take a closer look at themselves before they can even speak about a regime change in Iran. All this talk is to build their popularity for the US elections. Don’t bring a war on our doorstep and murder more innocent civilians! Be strategic and use your brains, not your arsenal!
From Mr S.G.
Dubai

Enough people are dying

I agree with the reader S.G. It is needless to repeat that the US should use its brain more often and not its arsenal. People of this world do not want war even if it is with their enemies. Why is it that whenever the mention of attack or war comes up, the US is always there? We have enough people dying from earthquakes, tsunamis and man-made disasters. How long would it possibly take to regain consciousness that we are better than animals in thinking and loving each other. Why do we give away awards for peace? Someone should keep aside an award for war too, and guess who would be the winner?
From Mr Parvez
Abu Dhabi

Alternative gifts

Ketan Kumar’s friend must be praying hard for his mercy at the hands of Indian policemen (“Moonstruck man tries to hijack train as ‘gift for lover’”, Gulf News, January 3). If he gets beaten up then this would bring embarrassment to his girlfriend. What he did is definitely not a wise thing. He should have bought her some bangles or something. Why go through the trouble of hijacking a train? It’s crazy.
From Mr Amr
Dubai

21st century style

Back in the old days flowers and chocolates were given as gifts but this is the 21st century — train engines are given instead.
From A Reader
Peshawar, Pakistan

Excited to walk

Dubai always comes up with brilliant ideas and the link between the Metro station and Dubai Mall is one of them (“New walkway to link Metro to Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall in 2013”, Gulf News, January 4). This will surely be a great help, particularly with Dubai Mall staff, as they can save bus fare and reach work on time. As for mall goers and tourists, this is going to be exciting. I congratulate Dubai.
From Ms Jade
Dubai