With regard to Sara Ruthven, Patrick deHahn and Tim Stickings's report Donald Trump claims magnificent victory in 2024 election (November 6): Undoubtedly the world was more peaceful under Donald Trump. Trump promised to end wars. I hope his election victory marks an end to the atrocities in Gaza. We'll have to wait and see.
Sevilay D, Antalya, Turkey
The much-talked-about US presidential race and the recent results have brought a dramatic shift in American politics. Several analysts and debates had favoured the Democrats, but the actual outcome turned out to be quite different. In any democracy, one must accept the people's verdict, and this serves as a valuable lesson in humility and the risk of overconfidence. Hopefully, the US will continue to uphold its bilateral relationships with allies and maintain strong ties with other nations. Kudos to President-elect Donald Trump on a spectacular win.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India
UAE alleviating Palestinian suffering
With reference to The National's report UAE evacuates 210 patients and relatives from Gaza (November 7): It makes me happy to read this. It's a great step and I hope all of them receive the treatment and healing they require at this time to recover from more than a year of such extreme trauma.
Genine Batusta, Abu Dhabi
Is the Indian cricket team's performance fair to fans?
With regard to Ajit Vijaykumar's report Writing on the wall for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as India brace for Test transition (November 4): The performance of the Indian team that lost all three test matches against New Zealand has been miserable and indifferent.
Spectators buy expensive tickets to see their players score 50s and 100s or pick up wickets. However, the team crumbles, to the utter disgust of avid fans. Test matches scheduled for five days get abbreviated to three to four days. Is this fair to the fans?
One issue is that most top cricketers have become celebrities. They make a huge amount of money through endorsements of products and via posts on Twitter, now X. Many cricketers own restaurants or fashion labels, etc. Not all depend on playing good cricket to earn a living, as was the case a few decades ago. It would appear that some cricketers are becoming indifferent to their performances on the field.
India has groomed around 50 talented cricketers. While this gives the selectors several options, there is often a lack of adequate continuity. Players do not know whether they will be selected again, even if they perform well in a series. Whenever there is lots of money or fame involved, sport can become politicised. Indian cricket is no exception to this rule. Hence, many ignored Indian players will seek opportunities abroad, as cricket becomes more popular overseas, in Gulf countries and even the US.
Rajendra Aneja, Dubai
