Fast action on Goa killing will protect Indians in Nigeria

India’s first space mission launched on November 5, after the venture was blessed at a Hindu temple AFP Photo / ISRO

Letters to the Editor

Your article (Indian police arrest man over Nigerian's death in Goa, November 8) was good to read.

The recent killing of a Nigerian national by an Indian in the famous tourist destination Goa was sad. The Indian authorities are investigating the reason behind what seems cold-blooded murder.

There are increasing numbers of Nigerians in India – some are studying but unfortunately others are involved in drug trafficking.

I would expect the 35,000 Indians living in Nigeria will be protected by the Nigerian government, especially since this incident in Goa has made many Nigerians uneasy.

Will the Indian government speed up this case to protect nationals from both countries?

K Ragavan, India

Blessings are not new for space

This refers to your recent article, India's space agency chief brought down to Earth by divine blessing (November 8).

There is needless criticism from the president of the Indian Rationalist Association and the hue and cry from a section of the society over the visit of Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairman of ISRO, to the Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati to seek blessings of the deity for the success of the mission.

It is neither necessary nor unethical for a scientist to be an atheist. It also is not a precondition to work in space projects.

Many astronauts have penned their experiences. Neil Armstrong and his team did have a deeply religious experience on the moon’s surface.

It seems that before they emerged from their lunar module, co-pilot Buzz Aldrin pulled out a Bible, a small silver chalice, and some sacramental bread and wine. There on the moon, their first act was to pray and celebrate communion.

Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the first space crew to travel beyond the Earth’s orbit, looked down on the earth from 400,000km away and radioed, “I had an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us – that there was a God, that there was indeed a beginning.”

Earlier, Yuri Gagarin said: “An astronaut cannot be suspended in space and not have God in his mind and his heart.”

Thus, faith and belief is something that each individual has a right to practice or otherwise

C S Pathak, India

Helping divorced women ‘awesome’

Reading about the assistance and help given to divorced women to sustain and rehabilitate their lives (Ministry helps thousands of divorced women in Abu Dhabi 'find their way', November 8) is an awesome step.

Social support system for the Emiratis is extremely commendable as women do make a big chunk of society and unfortunately divorce exists and is indeed a trauma for both men and women.

But with help and economic assistance, things can be much better.

Zahra Khan, Dubai

Ms Marvel ignores Muslim pioneer

When I read your article Marvel Comics brings Ms Marvel back as Muslim teenager (November 7), my first reaction was that this is great.

The second reaction was... wait a minute! This is not the first female Muslim teenager in the Marvel universe.

So this is it? Marvel has decided to obliterate Dust from the X-men comics because she is Muslim and one year after that they do this?

Name withheld by request

Nothing to buy at this shopping site

I called in to the newly (albeit partly) opened World Trade Center in Markaziyah the other day to buy some much-needed useful, utilitarian items which I should be able to get cheaply in any well-stocked retail outlet.

Silly me! What do I find but floors and avenues of the same old things – expensive fashions, handbags, perfumes etc.

Opportunities to buy the necessities of life cheaply and opportunities for micro-businesses to start up are essential to the life of a city. Finding a genuine bargain in a traditional souk or visiting shops where character is more important than polish are enjoyable aspects of shopping which attract millions of tourists all over the world.

Vernon Dudley, Abu Dhabi

Floating book fair fails to inspire

Visiting the MS Logos Hope, with its floating library, (World's largest floating book fair docks in Abu Dhabi, November 7) proved to be a depressing exercise.

The shelves were packed with American self-improvement manuals, cutesy children’s books of dubious educational value and Christian evangelist propaganda.

Name withheld by request