The beauty of Egypt's Ramadan lanterns

A copper workshop in Old Cairo. The lanterns are made from scratch in the workshop which is owned by Ahmed Mattar, 65, whose family has been in the copper-making business for four generations. Mahmoud Nasr / The NationalShow less

I am writing to you about Kamal Tabikha's report Egypt's Ramadan lantern-makers struggle to adapt to changing industry (April 5): this is a beautifully crafted, sensitively authored short documentary. Most impressive. Thank you.

Jim Buckingham, Muscat, Oman

I loved reading about the generations of craftsmen and their skill to mould these beautiful copper lanterns. Nicely reported.

Badriyah Solihin, Kendal, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

People need to learn that owning a pet is a commitment

With reference to Patrick Ryan's report Fujairah animal shelter overwhelmed by surge in abandoned pets (April 13): people need to be educated more so that they don’t buy pets without thinking of the lifetime responsibility it carries.

Rachael Ryder, Abu Dhabi

Macron's future as president rests on the French people

With reference to the editorial Macron could build a better France (April 13): this was a thought-provoking piece. As rightly mentioned, despite President Emmanuel Macron's limited contributions to his homeland, his efforts at the global level, especially in the Middle East, have been commendable. But we will have to wait and see what the voters in France think. Their displeasure might cost Mr Macron, but how much him staying in power will change French politics, that too remains to be seen. The alternatives are candidates too far to the right. And we can't yet rule out the scope of France electing a female president. Ultimately the French will have to weigh their options and decide on their leader.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India

Pakistan is divided about Imran Khan

This refers to Johann Chacko's op-ed Is Imran Khan's fight for a 'new Pakistan' only just beginning? (April 10): dislodging a sitting prime minister with about a 150 elected legislators of his own party and replacing him with a candidate who has only 83 legislators in the house (shored up by over a dozen smaller political parties with conflicting ideologies but a single agenda) has been rejected by the people, as seen by the number of Pakistanis and the Pakistani diaspora flooding out on to the streets across Pakistan and abroad on Sunday night itself.

Which country allows politicians facing corruption cases, who are out on bail, to sneak back into power? Imran Khan's party PTI has done well to immediately resign from the assembly, refusing to provide a fig leaf to the engineered farce. In my view, general elections should be called immediately. The will of the people must prevail if Pakistan is to not suffer the indignity of being labelled by many, a banana republic.

Mohammad Hamza, Dubai