An incident in an Istanbul cafe is not the norm

Knife incident in Istanbul cafe

Referring to Lizzie Porter’s report Turkish man suspected of threatening Saudis with knife in Istanbul cafe (July 3): This is a very unfortunate incident. However, our experience was different. When we were there, my family found Turkish hospitality to be excellent and most people were very nice to deal with. There were a few conversations with taxi drivers where they got angry, but that can happen anywhere. A few angry voices do not represent the whole.

Mohammed A. Ahmed, Dubai

There is no excuse for such behavior, beating strangers with knives because they keep him awake, he says. All too often he feels like the world is becoming an increasingly frightening, hateful place. Thank God things have not taken a worse turn.

Ayesha Sorrab, Edinburgh, Scotland

The misery in Gaza is increasing

Regarding Adla Massoud’s article “Maelstrom of human misery”: More than 80 percent of Gaza residents have now been displaced, says UN official (July 3): All we hear is condemnation of Israel, but no serious sanctions or measures against the country. The tragedy in Gaza continues.

Barbara Lebar, Sharjah

The dangers of crowd mismanagement

Regarding Taniya Dutta’s report “My dead son was thrown into my lap”: Indian woman remembers the horror of the crush in Hathras (3rd of July): How could this happen? This is not the first time that such a crush has claimed lives. I feel for these poor people who were persuaded to attend this event by a so-called man of God or religious preacher who is now in hiding. What devastating losses, 122 people died in a tragedy that could have been avoided if the crowd had been better controlled. The victims, most of them women, could never have imagined that the day would end like this. May the families of the victims have the strength to deal with this pain.

Shagufta Abrar, Jaipur, Rajasthan

India’s glory in the Cricket World Cup after 2007

Read Ajit Vijaykumar’s report Indian cricket club prepares for change after T20 World Cup triumph (July 1): Millions of cricket fans, including myself, watched the Indian cricket team win the World Cup T20. Fortunately, the match was played in Barbados before the hurricane. Rohit Sharma was a brilliant captain and all the team members contributed to this great, nerve-wracking match which was a historic win for India after 17 years. Kudos to Indian captain Rohit Sharma and his men. As the article said, with this trophy in their pockets, it was the perfect time for Sharma and Kohli to announce their retirement from T20 internationals and for Rahul Dravid to sign up as coach for the World Cup. For the champions, it was indeed the farewell of their dreams.

K Ragavan, Denver, USA

Published: July 5, 2024, 03:00