From the Editors: Importance of respecting government employees in UAE

Public must respect government employees at their service: The UAE government has reminded members of the public to behave while visiting the government offices and dealing with the employees on duty. According to the law, any person who uses force, violence or threat against a public servant to unlawfully compel him to perform or omit any of his duties, shall face jail sentence for no less than one year. It is the foremost duty of the visitors to the government offices to follow the law and avoid pressuring the employees to perform their duties. The government employees do their best to serve the community for the good of the business and the country. Everyone must cooperate with them. [COMMENT by Ashfaq Ahmed, Senior Assistant Editor]

National budgets become hostages of pandemic: The US government ran a record budget deficit of $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year ended in September reflecting the government’s effort to support the economy ravaged by the COVID-19. The deficit at an estimated 15.2 per cent of GDP is the largest since the World War II. Total outlays were $6.55 trillion, while receipts totaled $3.42 trillion, revenues dropped substantially and expenditures ballooned. No doubt that the government will have to return to a sustainable deficit path, but irrespective of who comes to power in November elections, the tax hikes and spending cuts needed to accomplish this goal will likely to remain elusive until the pandemic subsides. [COMMENT by Babu Das Augustine, Banking Editor]

One year since start of protests, Lebanon in despair: In October 2019, Lebanese took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to protest against a myriad of issues - limitless corruption, alarming economic conditions, and epic political mismanagement. Today, more problems have been added to the existing ones, primarily the COVID-19 pandemic and the unbelievable explosion at Beirut’s port on August. Despite this, the protests have almost ended. The real reason for this is that confessional political system that divided Lebanon has proved to be difficult to let go off. Politicians know that the Lebanese people, too, fear that changing this system could lead to other sects gaining more power at their cost. Such is the tragedy of Lebanon. [Omar Shariff, International Editor]

The Kolkata Knight Riders are in flux. When there’s a captaincy change barely hours before a crucial game in the Indian Premier League, it reflects poorly on the team. Voluntarily handing over leadership is a nice way to put it. But the inescapable fact is there had been some pressure. Dinesh Karthik merely succumbed to it, and his wretched form didn’t help. Eoin Morgan is a fine captain. He’s got a World Cup triumph to underscore that. And he’s been in good nick. So the change can only be good for Kolkata. Friday’s miserable loss to the Mumbai Indians has nothing to do with Morgan’s captaincy. It was born out of inept batting. Consistency hasn’t been the forte of Kolkata batsmen this season, and the classy Mumbai brutally exposed it. [COMMENT by Shyam Krishna, Senior Associate Editor]

‘Before Sunrise’ actor Ethan Hawke has voiced a special audio edition of acclaimed novel ‘Gilead,’ by Marilynne Robinson. He’s not the first big star to lend their voice to an audio book, but his participation has shed light on the apparent boom that audio books have experienced in the recent past, and especially during the pandemic. Maybe it’s the comfort of listening to another human being, or maybe it’s the convenience of being able to “read” on the go that’s making them so popular. Whatever it is, audiobooks are promoting the written word and that’s a good thing. [COMMENT by Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor - Features]