From the Editors: Dubai Media City turns 20, IPL in UAE gets a predictable win

DUBAI MEDIA CITY COMPLETES 20 YEARS: Dubai Media City, the emirate’s free zone dedicated to media firms, on Thursday marked 20 years of its existence. These last two decades have been momentous for the global media scene, as the internet has revolutionised the way news is disseminated and consumed. The growth of Dubai Media City has mirrored this development, and from purely being a hub for international news organisations to being a home to social media networks, with digital news being the focus. The coming years is likely continue to reflect this trend. (COMMENT BY: Somshankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Editor)

KEEPING OURSELVES SAFE IS PRIORITY: With all eyes on the US presidential poll results, we seem to have forgotten about the coronavirus. Europe has become the epicentre of the epidemic with more infections than any other region - 11.6 million since it first emerged in China late last year. The virus has so far claimed 1.2 million lives worldwide and is continuing to play havoc around the world. England has started a second lockdown and several other countries have imposed new restrictions to curb spread of the coronavirus. The EU says a second wave of the pandemic has stalled a nascent recovery in Europe, warning that the economy will not return to pre-virus normality before 2023. For now, keeping ourselves safe continues to be a priority. (COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor)

SO PREDICTABLE: Mumbai Indians’ domination throughout the league stages of IPL 2020 in the UAE was, well, almost boring. They only extended it with arguably one of the most one-sided victories in the play-offs when they mauled Delhi Capitals by 57 runs in the first Qualifier and be the first team to make the final on November 10. It could well be possible that these two teams can still meet in the final, but then Shreyas Iyer’s Capitals – which was one of the most consistent teams in the league barring a brief dip – will be scarred after their humbling experience in Dubai. (COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor)

UNFORTUNATE MOMENT: Police say an 18-year-old man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of `The Kids Are All Right’ actor Eddie Hassell during a random robbery at a suburban Dallas apartment complex parking lot over the weekend. It’s a grim reminder of the fleeting quality of the present and the uncertainty of life; Hassell was just in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’. (COMMENT BY: Karishma Nandkeolyar, Assistant Online Editor)