I see five lessons in the US withdrawal from Iraq (US defence chief: Iraq war was worth the blood and money, December 16):
1) In international conflicts it is crucial to get the homework right. The invasion of Iraq was justified on incorrect grounds, without which the war could have been averted.
2) Understand the local cultural terrain before engaging. Americans won the military war easily but then Iraqi groups commenced extracting bloody vengeance from each other.
3) Models of governance cannot be imposed from the top. They have to evolve, bottom-up. While a democratic format of a government has been introduced in Iraq, it will be decades before democratic institutions evolve satisfactorily.
4) You must carry the international community with you. In Iraq the US and UK were at times highly isolated.
5) No amount of analysis will restore the lives of the thousands of Americans, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, who died.
Discretion is the better part of valour. Armed conflicts are best avoided as a means of resolving political strife and managing contentious leaders like Saddam Hussein.
Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai
Nice to have holiday choices
Thank you for the story Turkey with all the cut price trimmings (December 18), which was part of your food-price package.
It's good to know prices are low but as expatriates having our first December here, we are still dithering over whether to cook a turkey,
I say part of the experience of being here is foregoing the secular traditions - turkey dinner, decorated tree, gifts - which have grown up in the West around the religious holiday of Christmas.
But my husband replies that he wants to continue all the family traditions.
Our children, meanwhile, say they just want some presents.
Whatever we do, it is a pleasure to be living here where we have the options - and cheap food as well.
And the December 25 weather will surely be better than back home in Cleveland.
Carol MacNeill, Dubai
Solar-salt plant deserves attention
Thank you for Power play in Abu Dhabi (December 17).
I think Masdar should team up with local universities and technical institutes to get technologies such as this one researched and developed locally.
Even if it ends up costing a bit more, which I doubt it would, at least Masdar will have given the local R&D efforts (which are poorly supported by industries here) a much-needed boost, and it could still go on to sell the technology to other users.
Ziad Qushair, Abu Dhabi
This salt technology is the most useful kind of solar power.
And since the UAE is at least as sun-drenched as Spain, this technology should do well here.
Joe Burns, Abu Dhabi
Delaying Iran is not a bad idea
I refer to Israel's war drums over Iran drown out common sense (December 7).
The argument that an Israel attack will simply delay Iran's production of an A-bomb for a few years at best is oxymoronic. Isn't that better than being attacked with an A-bomb?
Also, the article argues that Iran is intransigent in the face of threats, but then suggests diplomacy, which makes little sense.
When all else fails, clubs are trump.
David Friedland, US
Chinese regime really a dynasty
I was struck by the latest story about Chinese people denouncing corrupt local officials (Defiant villagers rally against land seizures, December 19).
I am reminded that long before Communist rule, the Chinese had an aphorism about just such local corruption: "Heaven is high and the emperor is far away."
Alan Brassard, Dubai
US Muslims not depicted fairly
This is about your story TV show All-American Muslim aims to demonstrate average life (December 5).
I am not a fan of this "reality" show, for several reasons. Even its name is troublesome; the persons featured in no way represent all American Muslims.
The show fails to incorporate the multi-ethnicity so widely recognised on the American scene, and dismisses the African-American Muslim community.
Most American Muslims are Sunni, but the show emphasises Shia Islam. Also offensive is the attempt to "Americanise" Islam by showing that you can be a good Muslim but be scantily dressed and talk about premarital sex.
Name withheld by request
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Naga
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
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'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
RECORD%20BREAKER
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
