Peter Hellyer

In the UAE, with its intense summer heat and winters that are rarely more than slightly cool, the leaves in their many shades of russet, yellow and brown do not fall from the trees in autumn, to be replaced by new growth in the spring. That's no reason, though, why more effort couldn't be made to make our cities more attractive.

The Urban Planning Council's programme lays stress on public transport but there is a need for the protection of, and enhancement of, the open spaces that exist in the capital.

Sheikh Zayed was of the view that the media not only had a role to play as a source of information for the public but also that it should seek to put forward comments, suggestions and - yes - criticisms.

I read Sultan Al Qassemi's column this week, where he suggests that "some" long-term expatriate residents should be given permanent residency status, with interest.

Luxury tourist developments are fine - well, sometimes - but they're not of much benefit to the people of the ordinary communities nearby.

Billy's father came from a relatively poor Irish background in Manchester, in the northwest of England. He had educated himself and set out, like many before him, to make a new life in the Americas.

I have no objection to fine new buildings (although I wish more reflected an authentic Arabian architectural tradition), and I welcome, for example, the user-friendly gardens along the Corniche. But I fear that in a year or two Abu Dhabi will become a city that has virtually nothing left of its heritage.

Driving along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai the other day I was struck - and not for the first time - by some of the rather remarkable architecture