A great moment for UAE women's football team

Readers say restaurants should offer local water, that property agents need supervision and complain that the European Central Bank is trying to save banks rather than countries and add that India is not the only country that has slums.

Members of the UAE women's national football team work out at a practice field in Pennsylvania during their visit to the United States. A letter-writer expresses enthusiasm for the team and the tour. Show more

I was there! The visit with the Philadelphia Independence women's professional team, reported in your story UAE female football team pick up tips on tour of US (July 11), was a great moment for the UAE women's team.
They are raising the bar for all women and I applaud the effort.
Inshallah, I will be attending the dinner reception being given for the team tonight [Wednesday] by Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US.
Suzanne Ryan, US (formerly UAE)
Make restaurants offer local water
Thank you very much for reporting about bottled water prices (Restaurants' charges for water 'wrong and illegal' (July 10).
I get irritated when a waiter says that the restaurant serves only imported brands.
That's just plain wrong and should be against the law.
We should support local products and force establishments to have at least one local brand on offer.
Name withheld by request
Of course restaurants charge more than supermarkets for water.
At a restaurant we pay for ambience, service, good cooking, and not having to do the washing up. Restaurants are being squeezed by food prices and price controls.
If you can afford a Dh200 meal, don't grumble about water.
Dominic North, Dubai
Euro zone pain will have to be shared
Frank Kane's column Greeks should take a leaf out of Dubai's book (July 12) explains what ails global finance - refusal to accept losses in practice while knowing that there isn't much choice.
Dubai certainly cleaned up its books quickly with everyone taking "haircuts" or losses, thus avoiding both moral hazard and painfully slow recovery.
Now it is obvious that the pain will have to be shared. The European Central Bank is still trying to save banks rather than countries, even though it knows the euro will not be saved this way.
Athar Mian, Canada
India is not alone in having slums
I refer to Dharavi no longer Mumbai 's biggest slum (July 7).
It is noteworthy that India's slums and severest poverty have always received rapt attention from the world outside.
This story is in the tradition of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Even the Oscar jury cannot say why only a depiction of slum life was worthy of an Academy Award for India.
We all are aware that poverty and disease exist. They are global phenomena. But why bring India into such sharp focus with stories that give it more than its share of importance in the global context?
Prakash Manhapra, Dubai
Property agents need supervision
What a pleasure to read that a licensing office for property agents is being considered (Renters complain of new charges, July 11).
I am trying to find accommodation but I get bait-and-switch tactics from property agents. I hear of people asked to sign before they know if they will have to pay for electricity and water. I see prices go up by Dh10,000 overnight.
Where does the poor consumer stands in all of this? This does not put Abu Dhabi in a good light. Anybody got a list of rules for me?
Name withheld by request
Why should a potential client pay to look at a flat that does not fit his needs? The number of bedrooms is not the only criterion people use. Sometimes a place just doesn't feel right.
A good agent will work with a client to meet his needs. But too many of them claim to have what you want and force you to pay a fee before viewing, then they show you an undesirable apartment so they can collect a fee for doing basically nothing.
Never pay a fee to view an apartment. There is always a way to see the apartment without paying.
Donald Glass, Abu Dhabi
Now that's real 'news of the world'
This refers to news report What next for News of the World journalists? (July 11, 2011). The unexpected fall of Britain's popular weekly News of the World was shocking.
After the phone-hacking scandal, media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch acted quickly to kill the title.
But he cannot even by this gesture justify the attempt to intrude on the privacy of others.
All of this has created doubt about the media and left the paper's staff unemployed. But it is certainly a bit of the "news of the world".
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
Now that the paper has folded, future generations will not understand the Beatles' lyric: "She's the kind of a girl who makes the News of the World".
Dave Bist, Dubai