I write to you in reference to your article Turkey presses assault on Syria's Kurds as thousands flee the fighting (October 10): the latest twist in the Syrian civil war is certain to have dire consequences, not just for the country but for the region and perhaps even the world.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to send troops into north-eastern Syria has been met with worldwide condemnation. If little is done to stop the further incursion, more lives will be lost and many more people will be left homeless and seeking refuge in other countries.
As the story says, there is also a very serious threat of terrorist cells such as ISIS taking advantage of this chaos and flourishing once again, despite the fact it has not been long since its so-called caliphate was destroyed.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru
Drivers should undergo training courses every year for awareness
I write to you in reference to Patrick Ryan's article Campaigner calls for minibus drivers to require special licences to boost safety (October 10): despite the traffic laws put in place, it is drivers who are accountable for road safety, not the roads or the infrastructure. In my experience, motorists here live dangerously. It is a challenge using the roads in the UAE. While driving to work on Al Garhoud Bridge recently, it was a shock to me to see three buses going slowly in the fast lane, for example.
Driving can also be a challenge because the amount of traffic has not ceased while driving etiquette is found wanting. It is not just smart infastructure but a smart way of driving that is the need of the hour. You can have great technology but unless there is good practice on the roads, they will still be a hazard. For this reason, drivers ought to be made to undergo a training course for better traffic awareness every year.
Mathew Litty, Dubai
Erdogan will create the basis for another three million refugees
I write to you in reference to your article US base comes under fire in Syria as Turkish operation intensifies (October 11): to create a buffer zone for 3.6 million refugees, why do you have to go to war? Surely it could have been done via a UN peacekeeping force. By going to war, the Turkish president will create another 3.6m displacements.
Jayanta Majumder, West Bengal
Restoration of Iraqi churches is another reason to love UAE vision
I write to you in reference to Mina Aldroubi's article UAE to restore Iraqi churches destroyed by ISIS (October 10): this is yet another reason to love our government's vision.
Tanya Milbourne, Dubai
Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
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More Iraq election coverage:
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
