From the Editors: Let us not forget our responsibility to fight Covid

LET’S NOT FORGET OUR RESPONSIBILITY: That UAE is among the countries with the lowest death rates when it comes to COVID-19 is perhaps no coincidence. It is testimony to the excellent infrastructure and care that is available in the country to combat the coronavirus. These testing times have gone on to reaffirm how UAE healthcare has come a long way since the early years, with state-of-the-art facilities setting international benchmarks. However, while the authorities are doing all they can, let’s not forget that the responsibility of checking the spread of COVID-19 in the first place remains with us. [COMMENT BY: Sharmila Dhal, UAE Editor]

ARREST OF EX-GOVERNOR SHOWS SCALE OF CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: The arrest of Nawfel Akoub, who was sacked as governor of Iraq’s Nineveh province in March 2019 after a ferry sank killing 150 people, for embezzling a whopping $64 million, shows the scale of the graft problem confronting Iraq. Since the 2004 US invasion, an unbelievable $450 billion have vanished from state coffers into the pockets of corrupt officials and businessmen. Iraq, literally saturated with oil reserves, should have been as prosperous and peaceful as the Gulf states. Instead, limitless corruption and nepotism have added to ethnic strife and terrorism in Iraq, with the country regularly appearing at the bottom of international corruption indices. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

AIR POLLUTION TAKES TOLL ON NEWBORNS: A new study has revealed that 116,000 infants in India died in the first month of their life in 2019 due to air pollution. Half these deaths were caused by an increase in outdoor particulate matter, and others were linked to the use of charcoal, wood and animal dung for cooking. Although the shutdown due to COVID-19 helped reduce air pollution around the globe for a few months, chances are that if we do not take adequate measures to protect the environment, we are endangering the lives of many more people. [COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor]

ROBOTS REBOOTING JOBS AND EDUCATION: A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) study has found robots will destroy 85 million jobs over the next five years as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates. Survey of nearly 300 global companies found four out of five business executives were accelerating plans to digitise work and deploy new technologies. A tectonic shift is underway at work place and places of learning that looks irreversible and no school, no university, no factory, no office is likely to be spared. In the new norms of division of labour between man and machines, humans are seen losing the edge. Doesn’t that look like the start of the real creative destruction? [COMMENT BY: Babu Das Augustine, Business Editor]

DHAWAN’S HISTORIC TON FAILS TO DENY KINGS XI PUNJAB: Shikhar Dhawan made IPL history with his second century in a row, but it was not enough to fetch victory for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 game as Chris Gayle (29 off 13 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28) powered Kings XI Punjab’s chase with a blistering array of strokes. Punjab won with five wickets and an over spare. More importantly, Tuesday’s win at the Dubai International Stadium revives their bid for a spot in the play-offs. [COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

Veteran actor Anupam Kher has shown gratitude to COVID-19 frontline workers after meeting some of them at his home in Mumbai. The star thanked them for the “selfless services to the city of Mumbai”. His open praise for these workers, and his plea for people to continue to wear masks as the pandemic is still very much active in India is a good move. A major, influential star such as Kher can inspire people to be more careful and fight the good fight. Let’s honour the efforts of millions of workers around the world. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor – Features]