The UAE launches the Arab world’s first mission to Mars
The story about UAE's Mars mission on gulfnews.com was a good read (“Why the Mars Mission makes UAE residents proud”, Gulf News, July 20). It will help many schools and universities across the globe. Hope Probe will orbit Mars for seven months and conduct a detailed examination and study of the Martian atmosphere. Congratulations to the UAE government for its untiring efforts to make this mission a huge success amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Mr K.Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
Cricket: Time to review the International Cricket Council’s umpire policies
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was left miffed with ICC umpire Daryl Harper calls during the Kingston test, which our team won (“Cricket: Foundation for all MS Dhoni did was laid by Sourav Ganguly, feels Kumar Sangakkara”, Gulf News, July 14). Of course, he was in the limelight for his decision of "shoulder before wicket" against Sachin Tendulkar during the 1999 tour of Australia. Another umpire who was biased against the Indian team was Steve Buckner. Who can forget his goof-ups during the famous "Monkey Gate" Sydney test during Indian Australian tour in 2007-08? Thankfully both are retired, and our team started winning more tests. Incidentally, though Steve Buckner has regretted his follies, Harper still felt his shoulder before a wicket decision was right.
From Mr Narayan Mahadevan
Chennai, India
COVID-19: What will it take to stop the pandemic?
We are facing unprecedented times of insecurity all over the world (“Trump willing to work with China on COVID-19 vaccine for US”, Gulf News, July 22). The need of the hour that is international cooperation does not seem to be forthcoming. Humankind has never had a more urgent task than creating broad immunity against the coronavirus. Some political leaders have suggested that society will return to normal soon, especially if a vaccine becomes available by the end of the year or early in 2021. Some vaccines are currently in early-stage trials, but that timeline would still be very optimistic. However, it is important to remember that a vaccine is like many other products: What matters is not just that the product is available but also how effective it is. Collaboration between the world leaders is of utmost importance these days when the pandemic is ruling the roost.
From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel
Kerala, India
