Houthis and government must reach a solution

Our readers have their say about the war in Yemen, Qatar and Opec and George HW Bush

Nurses change the dressings on the severe burns covering Monir al-Sharqi, at the Marib General Hospital in Yemen in this July 25, 2018 photo. The Yemeni lab technician disappeared for a year and some in his family and other activists believe he was detained and tortured by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who finally doused him with acid and dumped him in a stream. His torture was so extreme he has lost his memory and can barely speak, mumbling unintelligibly when asked questions.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
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I write in reference to your article Houthi rebels arrive in Sweden to participate in UN peace talks (December 4): I hope and pray that peace returns to Yemen. Both parties must make sincere efforts to find an amicable solution that will put and end to this unwarranted bloodshed, famine, poverty and illness.

Name withheld by request

Time will tell whether Qatar’s Opec pullout will matter

I refer to your editorial Qatar's Opec pullout hinders GCC unity (December 4): The National's editorial was an excellent read. Qatar has already isolated itself from its Arab neighbours and is now pulling out of Opec. This might be due to the fact that GCC countries severed ties with Qatar because of its links to terror groups. But ultimately Qatar has lost its friendship with GCC countries and looks increasingly alone on the international stage.

Time will tell, though, whether Qatar’s pullout from Opec will have any global impact.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru

Dubai ruler's actions are typical of Arab generosity

I write in reference to your article Dubai Ruler pays medical expenses of Russian mother who died suddenly (November 25): what better example could you find of true Arab hospitality and compassion, as well as demonstrable feeling for others in distress? This is highly commendable indeed.

Name withheld by request

Other US presidents could learn from George HW Bush

Please refer to your article George HW Bush was the perfect embodiment of an old elite and another era (December 3): with the death of former US president George HW Bush, the world has lost a great statesman and a wise leader. Along with the leader of the erstwhile USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, he ended the cold war that had plagued the world for decades. Even after making friends with Russia and ending the Cold War, Bush did not gloat but made efforts to assimilate the former USSR countries into the global community of nations. He also helped Kuwait to fight the Iraq invasion, with full sanctions from the United Nations. Successive US presidents could learn many a lesson from him.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai

It’s not just mobile phones that kill on the roads

In reference to your article Distracted drivers using phones on the road pose a deadly danger (December 6), it is worth remembering it is not only phones that are the danger. Using a phone while driving, especially for messaging, makes one a bad driver.

Dave Pryce, Dubai