The parents of children who are so obese that they need bariatric surgery should be prosecuted for child abuse (Parents call on experts to help obese children, April 10).
The idea that a 13-year-old can reach 150 kilograms is quite shocking. It’s time for the police and social services to get involved.
Dwayne Williams, Abu Dhabi
Parents calling on personal trainers and experts to help with their obese children? Who fills the grocery trolleys with unhealthy rubbish? Who pays for it? Who allows it in the child’s home and fails to monitor its consumption?
The food that is making their child larger than normal does not leap off the shelves and get into the car of its own volition.
Perhaps what is needed are some parenting classes starting with one that teaches: “no means no” when it comes to sweets, fizzy drinks and fast food. An obese child has a problem for life.
Why saddle a child with a debt in the form of poor health, ridicule and discomfort because you want to avoid the wheedling and keep them “happy” now?
Judith Finnemore, Al Ain
Rising rents will cause problems
Regarding the news report Uncertainty among Abu Dhabi shopkeepers as rents rise up to 150 per cent (April 11), the problem that may occur is that these places will go unoccupied, which will result in a lack of cash flow for landlords. Their desire for a higher income might actually prove to be painful for them in the long run.
It doesn’t look like there is any strategy for strong and steady growth. The market won’t bear this out if oil prices continue to stay low.
Steven Paul O'Brien, Abu Dhabi
There should be a rent cap. I can’t understand the property owners’ mindset. Why do they become so greedy even when they have a steady income? This will not help anyone. Since the 5 per cent cap has been lifted, everything is in chaos.
Syed Raqib, Abu Dhabi
Radars can’t make roads safe
A road-safety strategy that relies only on radars will never work (Traffic issue is all about rule of law, April 12). It has to be much more than this: from rethinking licensing and awareness campaigns to policing, enforcement and a tougher point system. Radars should be the last tool.
Samer Bou-aoun, Dubai
Green initiatives need planning
The green initiative is remarkable (SME profile: Founder of Future Earth Dubai embraces all things green, March 26).
However, care should be taken with small wind turbines on or near domestic properties as wind can cause turbulence. Also, a turbine fixed on a roof (regardless of its efficiency) will barely produce any energy at all. In addition, the vibrations can be felt throughout the building.
Wind turbines should be installed in large open areas with consistent wind.
Richard M, Abu Dhabi
Airport fees put strain on us
The Dh35 fees to be levied on passengers leaving Sharjah airport is regrettable (Sharjah follows Dubai with exit fee for airport passengers, April 6). So far Sharjah has accommodated people living on modest income. But it seems that people like us will soon have to look for options farther away from the emirate where rents are on the rise.
We live in Sharjah and use Sharjah airport at least twice a year. The airport fees will put a strain on our finances, especially as we are a large family and my husband is the only earning member.
I would request the authorities to reconsider the decision.
Humera Khatoon, Sharjah
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Hamilton’s 2017
Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
