Fabulous Federer creating history as he goes
Roger Federer made history by winning the eighth Wimbledon title and his 19th Grand Slam title (‘Federer lives out his dream’, Gulf News, July 18). He defeated Marin Cilic in great style. It was simply amazing to see the Swiss ace not dropping a set in the whole tournament.
Federer’s longevity in tennis is the result of his sheer dedication, determination and an unquenchable thirst for titles, fitness and finesse. Even during the five years when his fitness level hit an all-time low and he could not win a Grand Slam, he remained positive and planned meticulously to regain ranking. His fame is more of grace, precision and fluidity rather than power. Winning many more Grand Slams is not a distant dream for this great sportsman.
From Ms Jayashree Kulkarni
Abu Dhabi
No fluke this time!
Congratulations to Federer for winning a record eighth Wimbledon title, thus becoming the tournament’s oldest champion. When he won the Australian Open this year, some called it a fluke. But this record win at Wimbledon should shut their mouths for some time. At this rate, I will not be surprised if he goes on to add the US Open, too, this year. Well done, Federer! Continue to entertain not only your fans, but even your critics.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
Mylapore, India
More to life
I guess I would enjoy this affluent life for some time, living like that, but over time this life becomes very shallow (‘How the ‘rich kids’ of Dubai are spending their fortunes’, Gulf News, July 18). How much more can you buy? How many places can you visit? Where is the taste of life? I hope these children have more purpose in life than to just hang out all the time, spending money.
From Ms Kristina Margit
UAE
Facebook comment
Never content
To some people it’s like a curse they will never be content no matter how much God has blessed them (‘Family of 21 in five cars arrested for begging in Saudi Arabia’, Gulf News, July 18). One day I was working under the very hot sun and I found a family of three – a father, mother and their baby packed into a Toyota Prado begging whoever passed by. They stopped me, speaking in a fake American accent, full of grammatical errors of how they ended up in there. I wondered why somebody would turn himself into a beggar?
From Ms Jane Mateeka
UAE
Facebook comment
They look helpless!
I’ve encountered this kind of beggar twice. I thought it was for real, because they looked helpless and needing some cash for their gas. They had a sick baby. After giving them Dh20, they got into their SUV. As I found out later from one of my friends, it was happening every day.
From Mr Alcon Sarmiento
Facebook comment
The real victims
It is shocking to read about these people begging. It is a gangster’s move to take money from the public, which should be nipped in the bud. It is an anti-social phenomenon and the innocent people are the victims of such cheats. I praise the police who are taking immediate steps.
From Mr Sunny Joseph
Mala, India
All for business
I remember when I was walking home from work, a white sedan pulled over beside me. I thought he was lost and just wanted to ask for directions. He opened the back window and I saw his wife and children inside and then he started saying that they were from Oman and they went for a shopping trip here in Dubai when he lost his wallet. All his cards and money were gone and they were running out of gas and the children were hungry. He asked if I could give them any amount of money. At that time I only had Dh30 and I gave it all. After I told my friend about it, he told me that it’s a scam. Those people are doing it for business.
From Ms Aminah Alam
UAE
Facebook comment
It’s fraud
Same thing happened with us. Two boys said they lost their card in an ATM. They said they have no fuel in the car. We were emotional fools – my colleague and I. We got carried away and I did not have change. They were asking for Dh100, but we didn’t have that much cash. My colleague gave Dh20. When I discussed this with my husband he said it’s fraud.
From Ms Nayana Patil
Sharjah
Facebook comment
God is watching
They also did this exact same thing to me! At that time I only had Dh200. I gave them Dh100, because I didn’t have change. If they were scammers, I believe God is always watching us every day. I believe that the more you give, the more you receive.
From Ms Aileen Malabad
Dubai
Facebook comment
Show you can stop them!
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be swallowing his words (‘States should take stringent action on cow vigilantism, says Modi’, Gulf News, July 17). One is forced to question his sincerity. He is responsible for giving communal colouring to the issue of cow protection. It was his own party, the ruling Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that promotes Hindutva. Hinduism is a philosophy, a doctrine of that allows one to have choices with regards to religious beliefs. Hindutva, on the other hand, is a militant imposition of beliefs and a political tool. We can solve the issue in a single day if Modi is sincere in his words and has the guts to arrest and put behind the bars the Sangh Parivar leaders who are responsible for attacks on minority communities in the name of cow vigilance and protection.
From Mr Michael Sebastian
Abu Dhabi
Video game effects
Nowadays, children are often addicted to the beckoning world of video gaming (‘Kids’ online gaming ‘must be monitored’’, Gulf News, June 22). Video games are gaining popularity, connecting millions over the world via the internet, allowing them to interact with one another through a cyber-portal for entertainment with varying genres of games. Games are evolving every year with better technology – more realistic and violent graphics, sound effects and scenarios. I think this can affect their behaviour, causing a drastic change in their personalities.
It mainly could cause an increase in aggressive thoughts and angry feelings, including increased heart rate, lessened empathy for others and anti-social behaviour, such as reckless driving.
In many circumstances, strategies applied in video games may not be feasible in the real world, which means it increases stubbornness in the persistent gamers. These teenagers turn quite impulsive, leading to increased hyperactivity. Thus, it is important here to state that video gaming may hamper the general performance of a healthy child to a great extent. Presently, this issue is of great concern, as we progress into a millennia of technological innovations. We do not desire our future enthusiasts to be driven to lunacy by a group of complex computerised contraptions.
From Ms Geethika Radhakrishnan
UAE
Unsung heroes
My son was telling me how the distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400km. He then said: “Can you believe that the taxi driver has covered an equivalent distance? In fact, even more than that.”
Having a penchant to numbers, he had noticed this when we took a taxi the other day. The summer is at its peak these days with temperatures soaring to 46 to 47 degree Celsius. When most of us shudder at the thought of stepping outside of our air conditioned homes, I would like to salute these unsung heroes! How often do we get to see them roaming for hours in search of a potential customer! One might argue that they are inside an air conditioned vehicle, but just spare a second to think that if we were to roam continuously day in and day out for eight hours continuously in those traffic jams.
Isn’t it a monotonous job too? At times, they strike a conversation with us for a few minutes and surprisingly people often complain about that, too! Aren’t we supposed to be thankful to these people? We get to enjoy a hassle-free ride without worrying about the signals and the fines, thanks to these drivers!
From Ms Radha Hari
Dubai
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