Liverpool's not just about yesterday

A reader says the city that gave birth to the Beatles has many other claims to fame. Other topics: beaches, pregnancy and the Indian rupee.

The Beatles started their rise to fame at Liverpool's Cavern Club, which is now a major tourist attraction, but a reader notes that the city has more to offer than just being the home of the world-famous pop group. Peter Byrne / PA
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All emirates share in progress being made in the UAE

I am writing about Dh16bn Northern Emirates development on track (August 20).

I love everything the UAE is doing - the innovations, the great work for communities and the environment, and the wish to create a genuine oasis of peace in a chaotic Middle East.

And none of the seven emirates is being left behind.

Brigitte von Bulow, Dubai

Delayed decisions drag down rupee

I am writing in regard to India's policies fail to stop rupee's free fall (August 20).

The decline of the Indian rupee to 64 per US dollar underlines the deep inertia in the Indian economy.

A slowdown in decision-making in the country is leading to a flight of capital from India and is deterring further foreign investment. The nation's GDP growth rate is now expected to be around 4.5 per cent.

It is time the stalemate in decision-making ends and the government launches initiatives to lure foreign investment.

In the past, efforts to lure capital have run into rough weather. The proposal to welcome foreign investment in retail was met with such opposition that few global retail chains wanted to invest in India after the furore.

Foreign investors are lured by a market of one billion consumers, but are put off by the persistent corruption, delays and procrastination in decision-making.

So the current decline in the value of the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar is due to errors in decision-making and poor governance over the past few years. The depreciation of the rupee will also lead to inflation, because imports will be more expensive.

The common person in India will bear the brunt of the inflationary spiral.

Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai

Husband should help in pregnancy

This is about the "Desi Girl" column Why it's best to just keep calm and carry on (August 19) and the man who said he wished he could be pregnant so he could leave work early.

Being pregnant can be a good time in a woman's life - provided that her husband is supportive and not lazy.

I am waiting for my wife to be pregnant so I can make her feel that pregnancy can be special.

Moiz S A, Sharjah

Liverpool is more than the Fab Four

As an expatriate Liverpudlian (someone born in Liverpool, England), I thought it was great that you gave coverage of the importance of the Beatles, both economically and culturally (Liverpool, home of the Fab Four, finds all you need is love, August 21).

It doesn't stop there, though.

Liverpool was the "second city of the empire" and as such was a centre for Victorian enterprise and innovation.

It had one of the world's first railways, and it has the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

It was home to the first UK mosque, which opened in 1889. Today it has world-class museums alongside the World Heritage waterfront, the area from which so many emigrants left for the New World a century ago.

I suggest to your readers that on their next trips to the UK they should go beyond London and discover this fascinating city. Real estate there is much cheaper than in London, too.

Peter Eggington, Dubai

Corniche beaches should be for all

I am happy to read that Abu Dhabi never stops upgrading the Corniche (Abu Dhabi to have new luxury beach club, August 20).

I have lived nearby for five years and I am amazed at the great job they have done: greenery everywhere, numerous playgrounds, cafes with nice terraces, beautiful pedestrian ways with flowers where we can go jogging or walk with our kids and friends, showers and family beaches with amenities for a mere Dh10.

Everybody feels free to enjoy it in his or her own way in a friendly multicultural atmosphere. For me this is Abu Dhabi, caring for the well-being of its residents and tourists.

But now the terms "club", "membership" and "hotel guests" tend to dampen my enthusiasm. I hope the new amenities will not take away part of what has been available for free to the public.

I find it shocking that in some places one needs to pay up to Dh200 just to lie on a tiny hotel beach.

Why not just integrate these amenities into the public space and make them available at a certain price when people want to use them?

Nathalie Gillet, Abu Dhabi