From the editors: Kids need protection online, Republican attack reveals nasty fight for White House

CYBERCRIMINALS ARE WATCHING YOU: Don’t be fooled that with all your virus scans, you’re safe. You’re not. Recent data from Sharjah Police show cybercrime is on the rise. While the authorities are doing their bit in monitoring the web, we need to be vigilant in our behaviour as well, especially with all the remote working and remote learning going on during the times of COVID-19. Online games, chat rooms, social media apps are found to be most popular spots for these criminals to launch their attacks. Stay safe, stay vigilant. Protect your children.[COMMENT BY: Somshankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Editor]

REPUBLICANS UNLEASH ATTACK ON DEMOCRATS AT CONVENTION: A week after the Democrats lashed out at US President Donald Trump and his administration for all the woes afflicting the country, it was the turn of the Republicans on Tuesday morning to return the favour. Trump and his allies defended his political record and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. Hours after Trump was formally nominated for a second term, the Republicans laid out a bleak vision of how American life would change for the worse under a Biden administration. There will be plenty more as the convention progresses this week. Stay tuned.[COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor]

A NEW AVATAR FOR FOOTBALL: Bayern Munich returned home to a subdued reception on Monday after a dominating performance to win the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon the night before. The club had already warned fans to stay away from Munich airport to avoid the risk of coronavirus transmissions. For a game that thrives on spectator support, football has embraced a new dimension to thrive. It may not be ideal, but in a COVID world, this is perhaps the best compromise. [COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

A MASKED FUTURE: Even when faced with stark risks – and warnings – human nature leads us to some moronic actions. A failure to comply with the COVID-19 enforced safety guidelines should, in an ideal world, should have everyone reaching out for their masks… and keeping it on through the entire stretch of the journey (and that includes not just time spent on the flight). But then human nature gets in the way. We need to question, create all sorts of distractions, and then end up paying the consequences. There’s a readymade solution to avoid all of that – just have the mask on.[COMMENT BY: Manoj Nair, Business Editor]

A WIN FOR STREAMING PLATFORMS: Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has said he enjoyed being able to explore a new type of role in his debut web series, ‘Breathe: Into The Shadows’. In the thriller, Bachchan’s character suffers from split personality disorder. With cinemas in India shuttered indefinitely, many stars have flocked to web platforms for projects and have reveled in the fresh way of doing things. Whether it’s being able to tell a story better due to the longer, series format, or being cast in unique roles unlike those in traditional Bollywood flicks, streaming platforms (and there are so many of them now) seem to have the upper hand at the moment.[COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor - Features]