Children’s plight in India is painful

It's heartbreaking that so many Indian children do not have the opportunity to play and go to school as they are breadwinners (The child breadwinners of India, October 12).

The Indian government must think seriously which is more important, an expedition to Mars or children’s welfare. These Children are the future of India. How can they be undervalued?

I am so glad that child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Prize. I hope he will help change their lives.

J Smith, Abu Dhabi

UK vote is crucial to push forward the Palestine issue

Two-thirds of UN member states have already recognised Palestine (British should send a strong message about Palestine, October 12). Israel is now concerned that future recognition by Britain and other EU member states will increase pressure on the Netanyahu government to dismantle its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

But, more than that, Israel also fears that a Palestinian state will seek to indict Mr Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court on charges of allegedly authorising war crimes against civilians in the recent attack on Gaza,

The Israel lobby is desperately trying to persuade British legislators in Westminster to change their minds on recognising Palestine.

Anthony Bellchambers, UK

Extremists can’t be seen as normal

In reference to Faisal Al Yafai's opinion article Frustration alone cannot explain the allure of jihad (October 9), I think jihadis should be viewed as one of two types: Firstly, criminals who are frustrated with the law in their own countries. They find in extremist groups like ISIL a great environment to practise their crimes freely. Alternatively, they should be viewed as mentally ill people, who have been pushed to the margins of society.

Name withheld by request

‘Fast lanes’ are most dangerous

I agree wholeheartedly that the lack of lane discipline is the most dangerous factor on UAE roads (Drivers need to know there is no such thing as the 'fast lane', October 11). It leads to more impatience, frustration, tailgating and undertaking – all of which can be fatal. Unfortunately, this practice is well ingrained into the psychology of most drivers, brought on by a kind of childish arrogance. Recently, I had the displeasure of such driving. At 140kph and with several cars to my right I had another car inches from my rear bumper. The customary flashes ensued. I couldn't move nor could I even speed up, so I took it upon myself to tap my brakes which, admittedly, was an almost equally idiotic thing to do. The driver behind expressed his dissatisfaction by attempting to box me in on the fast lane and waving what turned out to be a policeman's ID. To cut a long story short, I pulled over.

Name withheld by request

The rule in almost every country is that you give way to faster moving traffic – it doesn’t matter if they’re going three kilometres faster than you or travelling at 350kph. It’s your responsibility to watch behind you for faster moving traffic and to give way. This is how a motorway works.

The biggest problem are drivers who don’t monitor the road when using any lane and do not understand how to use mirrors, leave space in merging lanes, blind spots and respecting rights of way on roads, roundabouts and pretty much anywhere.

Sam Johnston, Abu Dhabi

Some changes in UAE are good

I have been here for a long time and have seen lots of changes. Some of them are good, some are not so good. I miss the natural beaches, which have become home to flats and villas. Now the concrete jungle seems to be swallowing the indigenous culture.

Christina Murphy, Abu Dhabi

MATCH INFO

Mainz 0

RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')

Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Company%20profile

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Electric scooters: some rules to remember

Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes

While you're here

Gavin Esler: Coronavirus offers stinging rebuke to protectionists

Kareem Shaheen: Pandemics can save us from waging wars

Sholto Byrnes: Why the climate change clash will get nastier

While you're here

Mugabe and Lee Kuan Yew: their different legacies

Marcos’s journey from dictator to hero is complete

In politics, genuine ‘saints’ are few and far between

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

Europe’s rearming plan

Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide

Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.

The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.

Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.