From the Editors: Free COVID-19 PCR tests a big relief for parents in the UAE

Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) has announced free COVID-19 PCR tests to students at its screening centres across the UAE. Students can do tests on a walk-in basis, without prior appointment. Seha says the initiative aims to support the country’s ambition to ensure a safe return to school. Free PCR testing offer is a big relief for parents in the UAE who are already burdened with too many school expenditures. [COMMENT BY: Ashfaq Ahmed, Senior Assistant Editor]

WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR? Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue secured a small place for himself in history by becoming the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. After 20 years of war, $2 trillion spent, hundreds of thousands of Afghan lives - and thousands of American lives - lost, the war came to an end when Gen. Donahue boarded the last C-17 carrying US troops. The US entered Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban, and now it leaves a victorious Taliban behind, totally in charge of Afghanistan, after the shocking collapse of the Afghan government and its so-called army. This has left people asking one important question: What was it all for? [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

BRINING BACK SELF-BELIEF A PRIORITY, SAYS NAOMI OSAKA: Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who made a winning start at US Open on Monday, says her priority is to build self-confidence and belief while trying to be less of a perfectionist on and off the tennis court. The defending champion beat 87th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1, in 93 minutes to reach a second-round match-up with Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic. Osaka said she didn’t feel pressure but was nervous nonetheless as she tries to make life changes. ‘’I tell people I'm a perfectionist. For me, something that's less than perfection, even though it might be something great, is a disappointment,’’ Osaka said, adding: ‘’I don’t really think that’s a healthy way of thinking, so something that I really want to change,’[COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

WHY DEEPIKA PADUKONE’S HOLLYWOOD MOMENT IS A WIN FOR DIVERSITY: Deepika Padukone greenlighting her second Hollywood project four years after ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ released in 2017 speaks a lot about the push for diversity in some of the most powerful film studios in the industry. Even as the world goes woke, Hollywood has been moving at a snail’s pace in expanding its vision. Path breaking films such as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ (2018) and ‘Black Panther’ (2018), with its predominantly Black cast, have changed the tide in Hollywood, but real reform has been slow. As we sit days away from ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ to release in UAE cinemas, with Marvel’s first Asian superhero flexing his muscles on the big screen, it has taken a lifetime and a pandemic for studio heads to finally agree that diversity is the key to success while appealing to a global audience. As Padukone celebrates her moment in the spotlight, let’s also not forget all those who came before her in making this dream a reality. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]