Our health needs to be a priority!
For many Dubai residents, day-to-day life is a chaotic race against time. Juggling between work deadlines and family commitments, there is hardly any spare time for health awareness or medical check ups of any kind. Rarely are diagnostic tests covered by medical insurance provided by employers, which only adds to our woes. We keep gorging on the large variety of fast food available around us, by either being ignorant of their devastating effects on our waistlines or most probably, indifferent.
The result is almost an entire population vulnerable to lifestyle diseases like hypertension and diabetes, irrespective of age, sex or nationality. This doesn’t mean that regular medical check ups alone can do the trick; the need of the hour is a change in lifestyle by accommodating a balanced diet with moderate physical activity and good sleep. Nobody is too busy, it’s just a matter of priorities.
From Ms Sheethal Manoj
UAE
Noble initiative for marine wildlife
I am impressed with the scuba divers in the UAE, who were cleaning up garbage off the seabed through their awareness initiative (‘Clean-up campaign aimed at preserving marine life’, Gulf News, October 12). Now, this is what we call dedication! Way to go. Thank you for restoring the environment.
From Ms Atieno Stephanie
UAE
Facebook comment
Be respectful
Congratulations and thank you to the divers for their effort. I wish people would be more aware and respectful before they mindlessly pollute the sea. This is about taking care of our beautiful environment.
From Mr Gash Madrid
Al Ain
Facebook comment
Invaluable experience
I took part in the event and it was a tiring day, but the feeling after diving and doing our part was absolutely priceless!
From Ms Mitch Cantillana
Dubai
Facebook comment
Circling aircraft
With regards to the Emirates airline that was circling Dubai, I spotted it at around 7am, but I must admit, I was really worried because it was a passenger aircraft and I thought that maybe there was a technical problem (‘Emirates plane seen circling over the sea’, Gulf News, October 13). I was worried about the passengers and prayed for their safe landing, but now I’m happy it was only for the purpose of filming several scenes, and that the aircraft’s journey was completed successfully without any unpleasant turn of events.
From Sanamjan S.
Dubai
Facebook comment
Don’t throw cigarettes
Every morning, I collect at least one cigarette butt from my 13th floor apartment balcony in my 40-storey building (‘Still homeless after Sharjah tower fire’, Gulf News, October 12). That cigarette would have been thrown by some irresponsible smoker from one of the flats above. Who can educate these careless people about stopping such acts and preventing pain for so many of their neighbours?
From Mr Subin Paniker
UAE
Website comment
Safety of tenants
I like the way the facility managers in buildings say that the building in fully insured, but they do not know the details of the policy. First of all, if the fire alarm and sprinkler system did not work and this was known to them, then the insurance coverage would have most likely been void. It is sad to see how some building owners and facility management companies accept rent, but don’t care about the safety and lives of their tenants. Thank God, no one died in this incident in Sharjah.
From Mr Patrick Schelfhout
Dubai
Facebook comment
The world must act together
It looks like the recent involvement of Russia in the troubled Syrian territory is further complicating the situation on the ground (‘CIA-backed Syrian rebels under Russian blitz’, Gulf News, October 11). Russia’s record, both in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, has been questionable, so its latest intervention raises a lot of suspicion. The Russian intervention in Syria may change the tone of the ongoing conflict and it could escalate. Moscow says it is targeting key militant groups fighting in Syria, but most of its strikes have hit other factions fighting the pro-government regime.
Russian intervention has upended the strategy of the administration of US President Barack Obama, which has led a separate bombing campaign against the militants for a year, but has failed to establish strong ties with moderate fighters on the ground.
I wonder why a collective effort led by the US could not halt the spread of terrorism across the region and beyond. Security being a global issue, the countries across the world must have uniformity in their approach to tackle the troubles facing them.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Bring them to justice
A Palestinian woman was shot dead in occupied East Jerusalem after an Israeli colonist harassed her and when she retaliated, the attacker shot her at point-blank range. The Israeli regime accused said that the woman had a knife and stabbed the colonist, but according to eye witnesses, there was no blood on the scene before the woman was shot. In the recent past, another woman was also shot in her abdomen and chest by Israeli forces. They claimed that the woman had a metal detector and did not stop despite their warnings.
The violence in occupied Jerusalem has been increasing at an alarming level. The new measures taken by Israel include the destruction of Palestinian homes and the erasing of Muslim identity. The killing or genocide of women, children and worshippers is a cowardly action and is tantamount to gross violations of human rights. Israel has been deeply and repeatedly involved in such activities and is a blatant violator of various United Nations (UN) peace resolution acts as well as the Oslo Accord.
I request the UN to call upon Israel in the court of law, to face criminal charges for the killing of innocent people in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
From Mr Mumtaz Hussain
Dubai
Stop Israel’s aggression!
The UN is showing their false power, stunted supremacy and their silence when faced with inhumane acts, by taking no action against Israeli aggression (‘Pregnant woman killed in Israeli air strike’, Gulf News, October 12). Please, they need to get serious and stop Israel.
From Mr Syed Shehreyar B.
UAE
Facebook comment
Civilians in fear
I don’t understand why these acts — attacks against innocent civilians — don’t classify Israel as terrorists. They are like termites, eating what is left of Palestine. Shame on them for killing innocent civilians. Shame on the UN for not taking any action against Israel.
From Mr Mohammad Imran Shaikh
UAE
Facebook comment
Isn’t this terrorism?
Where is the word ‘terrorist’ or ‘terrorism’ now? Is it only used for those in Palestine who fight for their land and freedom?
From Mr Mohammad Hassan
Dubai
Facebook comment
Abominable crimes
They are assassins who have not paid for their abominable crimes for more than 50 years now. They create massacres, but I think a day may come when they will get what’s coming to them.
From Mr Laouar Issam
UAE
Facebook comment
Needing solidarity and peace
The recent terrorist attack in Turkey brought the number of casualties up to 86 last week (‘Twin blasts rock Ankara’, Gulf News, October 11). What happened last Saturday was condemned. The attack was done by Syria and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the railway station. Will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s appeal to the people for solidarity and peace happen? Terrorism is highly unacceptable and the entire globe is facing the same struggle. I hope in the coming days, the world-famous tourist destination will come to normalcy and the people will carry on with their day-to-day routine without fear.
From Mr K. Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
A change of direction
The article in Weekend Review of Gulf News about road trip adventures, made for an interesting read (‘No, we’re not lost!’, Gulf News, October 9). We also had a similar experience and hence, were able to enjoy and relate to the article. Only, we did not lose our way, but deliberately changed the direction mid-course.
My wife, son and I were in India on our way to Shirdi by car from Pune, which is about a four-hour drive. On the way, my son saw a board showing the way to Bhimasankaram. We didn’t know how far it was, had no clue about the route or how much time it would take. We only knew it is one of a group of twelve important temples of Shiva, a Hindu deity. We changed our direction and started making enquiries about the direction to the temple. The road was rough, winding its way through the hills and dales and after a tiresome journey, we reached the place in a nondescript village with no decent place to stay. But, once we saw the temple and had an invigorating bath at the well nearby, our joy knew no bounds. Later, we resumed our journey, tracing our way back, and reached Shirdi late in the night.
My son, who is working in Dubai, comes to India when he can, and takes us on trips around the country during every visit. God willing, we might now be able to visit all the twelve sites, all because of changing direction midway to Shirdi!
From Mr S. Ganesh
Dubai
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