It's great that some leaders and countries in this region show the same tolerance and acceptability of other people's faiths as they expect to be shown elsewhere in the world (UAE committed to bridging gap between faiths, says Sheikh Nahyan at church rededication, October 10). Well done UAE.
Tina Campbell, Abu Dhabi
May God bless the UAE, which is a model of tolerance and coexistence. It hosts people of all religions and over 200 nationalities that live together in harmony. It is a beacon of hope in a turbulent region. I am so grateful and fortunate to have lived here for 32 wonderful years.
Linda MacConnell, Dubai
A shot in the arm for Emirates
I think the Emirates commercial was funny and different from the old glamour adverts (Everyone loves the new Jennifer Aniston Emirates advert – well nearly everyone, October 6). This is why it went viral. It has already given the airline a shot in the arm.
Mary-Jane Hartmann, Dubai
Controversy always sells. The longer we talk about it, the better it is for Emirates.
David W Blandford, US
Questions about oil prices
With reference to the news report UAE petrol prices to drop again next month (September 29), my only question is, when oil prices begin their upward trend would the subsidies be re-implemented or should we expect a longer period of low prices? Opec's monthly oil market report for September confirms the oversupply in the market, although US production is showing some decline.
Goldman Sachs is suggesting the price will fall to $20 (Dh73), while Opec has a more bullish forecast at $80 by 2020.
BP is not that optimistic and suggests lower longer prices at $50 for the next 15 years. Some oil and gas professionals are predicting $60 to $70 in late 2016.
With economic growth for India and China being downgraded for 2016, one could expect prices to remain soft, although OECD growth remains the same at 2 per cent for 2015 and 2.1 per cent for 2016.
What is clear is that neither has a crystal ball and it’s up to the fundamentals of supply and demand to set the prices.
Randall Mohammed, Dubai
Saving energy is not too hard
Real energy-saving is easy to achieve (Energy minister calls for Dh3.5bn savings in water and energy, October 8). We've looked at buildings where we can save more than 50 per cent of energy with two to three years' payback. The difficult part is in trying to educate building owners that this is a win-win situation.
Dave Pryce, Dubai
Cruelty tarnishes Saudi’s image
The incident where a maid from India allegedly had her hand chopped off by her Saudi employer for complaining about her work conditions is pathetic (India protests to Saudi Arabia after maid's hand is chopped off, October 10).
This kind of cruelty is shameful and, unfortunately, is conceived by many to be the norm in some countries in this region. Such people are the ones who portray the bad image, which is engraved forever in people’s minds, even though there are many compassionate and loving families who treat their help very well.
In my family we have maids who have been with us for more than 10 years and we love and appreciate them. This is just so sad and inhumane.
Abeer Al Nowais, Abu Dhabi