Mawaqif should recycle cards

A reader suggests that Abu Dhabi parking cards be reused. Other topics: the death penalty, Egypt and Myanmar.

A reader suggests that Mawaqif find a way to recycle its parking payment cards. Silvia Razgova / The National

Death penalty not the answer for Pakistan

I was disturbed to read Pakistan to reintroduce the death penalty (July 6).

No country in the world has eliminated crime or turned their nation into paradise through capital punishment.

I have read that Asian countries are the most likely to impose the death penalty and, according to Amnesty International, Pakistan has the highest number of people - nearly 8,000 - awaiting execution.

The judiciary is created by the people, for the people. Yet the type of offences that attract the death penalty in some places is beyond imagination.

A former Indian Supreme Court judge, KT Thomas, was on a panel that sentenced three people to hang for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

He later compared the death penalty to an act equivalent to murder, although it is protected by law.

I have also read about a man who was executed in America and was later declared innocent.

Ramachandran Nair, Oman

Money rush does not make sense

I don't understand the thinking behind Expats rush to send more cash home as value of dirham soars (July 7).

Unless it's absolutely necessary, why would anybody send money to a place where the currency is falling?

In a short amount of time, the money will be worth a lot less.

Sajjad Rizvi, Dubai

Difficult situation for villa residents

I refer to Villa residents in court victory over power authority after services cut off (July 1).

My family is living a similar situation, and we are getting different information every day.

We moved to our current villa three and a half months ago. The landlord told us to vacate because the Municipality had told him it would be cutting off the electricity.

When I asked him to return my money so I could move, he then told me it was OK to stay until my contract expired.

As I write, there is a notice on the doors that the electricity will be disconnected imminently.

When I tried to contact the owner about this, there was no response on either of his phones.

There are women and children living in the compound; how will they survive the heat of summer without electricity?

The authorities say the evictions are for our well-being, because the villas are unsafe, but without a refund of our money, we have nowhere to go.

Name withheld by request

Hopes for smooth transition in Egypt

I am writing in reference to ElBaradei heads new government of Egypt (July 7).

The reported appointment of the former International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, as interim prime minister was certainly a dramatic development.

I hope the situation will calm down in the coming days, and that Egyptians get a transparent government that will cater to their needs. I hope this world-famous tourist destination will soon return to normality.

K Ragavan, India

Myanmar is no place for holiday

Not so long ago, there was an article in a popular Abu Dhabi magazine promoting Myanmar as a tourist destination.

I found it odd that the author seemed to be oblivious to the ongoing ethnic cleansing in that country.

Perhaps in the minds of some writers, people being killed is not that important.

Joe Burns, Sharjah

Mawaqif should recycle cards

The last time I paid for parking in Abu Dhabi, I saw at least six used Mawaqif cards lying around the payment machine.

Perhaps Mawaqif could attach boxes to the machines to collect these cards for reuse.

Surely these are smart cards that can be reused simply by reloading the amount on the chip.

This would help clean up the city by leaving less discarded waste lying around.

Ankit Bhargava, Abu Dhabi