It's interesting to learn that a Dubai restaurant is accepting Bitcoins (Dubai pizzeria claims to be first UAE restaurant to accept Bitcoins, February 16). You will not find this phenomenon in many countries.
The UAE being a business hub, this is good in one way, but there are many dangers hidden in the Bitcoin. Moreover, a large number of people here do not know about it, while many are sceptical about them. However, there is no harm in experimenting.
Radha M, Abu Dhabi
Institution’s name missing from list
I am commenting on the article UAE's Ministry of Higher Education announces list of recommended online universities (February 16).
It is interesting to note that Deakin & Curtin Universities in Australia are on the list, but their distance programmes have often been done in collaboration or partnership with the Open University (a recognised world leader in online education) based in the UK, which is not on the list.
Jim Buckingham, Abu Dhabi
Why breed birds for hunting?
I was delighted to read the first part of the article UAE donates thousands of houbara to Qatar breeding centre (February 17), but when I felt why is it necessary to breed birds for hunting? We need to learn from Dubai's Ras Al Khor sanctuary how to conserve and not to farm birds for hunting.
Nejimon Ph, Dubai
Muslim world is truly tangled
The opinion article The idea of a 'Muslim world' is more tangled than many realise (February 15) is insightful. Of course, the same point could be applied to any macro-cultural area, including the Arab world – a vast area comprising people of different religions, ethnicities, languages (including mutually incomprehensible dialects of colloquial Arabic), gender relations, economic conditions, and political systems.
In several countries counted as part of the Arab world, either a majority of the population or a substantial portion thereof are not Arab or Arabic-speaking. So this, too, is a geopolitical cultural construct with its own history, and one that is similarly relatively recent and tied to responses to European and US imperialism.
Akram S, Dubai
Target youngsters to change society
The report Children should be taught road safety, parents told (February 17) emphasises the commitment of the Government to road safety.
I think education on road safety should be made mandatory for schoolchildren.
Parents can obviously contribute a lot towards this effort. If this effort becomes part of childhood education, it will definitely be easier to inculcate a culture of safety among the younger generation. A recent road-safety awareness drive in the region brought some serious issues into focus, such as not wearing seatbelts and extensive use of smartphones while on the move. It’s here that parents’ role plays an important part.
The objective of this education should be to enable the younger generation to realise the value of safety in daily life. Road-safety awareness would also help to instil a sense of discipline among the children. An early awareness of the hidden dangers in life will help them change their attitudes in later life.
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
Is there a message in the weather?
The weather in the UAE is unusually cool and wet this time of the year (UAE weather: Traffic chaos as residents wake up to lightning and rain, February 12).
This is very nice. I am sure everyone is enjoying this weather and wishes that it remains like this throughout the year. But the question is whether this untimely rain is induced by the change in the global weather pattern owing to global warming, which is thought to be the case with the cold spell that swept the United States last month. If so, this is actually a sign of impending danger. What can we do to prevent such threats?
Neeraj Salve, Abu Dhabi
Don’t ignore paternity leave
I refer to the article Parents in the UAE call for longer maternity leave, (February 14). I think men also deserve proper paternity leave. It's a common practice in many communities where after giving birth women spend the first month at their parent's homes for additional support, after which they return to join their husbands.
Ideally, a man should have the option to take a month-long paternity leave at this point so that he can help his wife to take care of the newborn.
Men need to be given the option to take active roles in childcare. France, for example, allows leave for both parents. Three days’ paternity leave for men is less than adequate.
A Almarri, Abu Dhabi
