What Hassan Rouhani is doing to improve his country's international image is admirable. But he must not forget his people (Rouhani must keep an eye on home front, January 23).
President Rouhani made many promises to his people before assuming power, but nothing has changed yet and the people are still looking forward to more freedom.
Websites like Facebook and some chat apps such as Wechat have been recently banned in Iran.
While proceeding with nuclear negotiations, Mr Rouhani must acknowledge the fact that he made promises to open up Iran’s society. Iran’s nuclear talks, if successful, can ease political tension in the region, even in the world. But such agreements can only be reached if the people of Iran are happy.
Ebrahim Al Harbi, Abu Dhabi
Achievements reflect UAE’s vision
The UAE has proven its worth once again (UAE tops list for public trust in government, January 25).
It’s always so exciting to see the extraordinary progress of the UAE in a world that too often focuses on old ideas about Arabs and Muslims. Those ideas and beliefs are simply not applicable to the realities of today.
Thirty-three years ago, when I first came to live in the UAE, from Beverly Hills, California, people thought I must have gone crazy. When I made predictions in various newspapers that the UAE would become a major world leader and that Dubai would become a “megatropolis” that would pale typical cosmopolitan cities in expansive development and economic progress, some people laughed at me. But who has had the last laugh?
The UAE is unique in so many ways, and it is certainly not simply a matter of their having trillions of dirhams in oil income, because there are many other countries that have reaped similar profits from their oil wealth. They don’t necessarily use those revenues to improve their societies and adequately support the needs of their people, which the UAE has so efficiently done.
In the UAE, the first steps towards excellence were taken by Sheikh Zayed. But it’s the current leadership that has filfilled his dreams.
Salee-Amina Mohammed, US
Good to punish errant drivers
I refer to the article One in eight UAE drivers slapped with black points in 2013 (January 19). Cracking down on violators is a good thing as long as it doesn't become a source of revenue for the government like it has in the US.
Name withheld by request
Get tough with errant motorists
It is extremely sad to read that within a week's gap another major multiple-car collision happened on the UAE roads (Heavy fog on Abu Dhabi to Dubai motorway causes mass vehicle pile-ups, January 24).
Obviously the weather is not the culprit, as similar conditions are experienced by people in many other countries across the world. The main culprit are the drivers themselves.
A lot has to be done in terms of driving practices and attitude of drivers, especially during such unfavourable weather conditions. I would suggest the authorities implement new rules incorporating mandatory reduction of speed limit by 40 per cent during inclement weather conditions.
At the same time, fines should be doubled or tripled with compulsory community services for errant motorists.
A strong sense of road safety should be cultivated through sustained efforts. More police presence and warning signs could also be part of the solution. Meanwhile, one could follow the simple principle: start early, drive carefully, reach safely.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
Driving instructors cause confusion
Good luck with getting driving instructors who would teach learner drivers the road signs related to trams, when some of the worst drivers I have seen on the roads are the driving instructors themselves (Drivers learn new road signs to navigate around Dubai Tram, January 21).
I wonder why most of the driving instructors insist on teaching learners that if you are in the right-hand lane at the roundabout and you want to go straight ahead, you must signal that you want go left.
This can particularly confuse the person who is in the middle lane in the roundabout because he will have no idea whether that driver is just in the wrong lane and is likely to cut across and possibly cause an accident, or whether the person indeed wants to turn left or has just forgotten to turn off the indicator after the last lane-change, or that he has learnt the wrong rules of the road in the first instance.
Name withheld by request
