From the editors: UAE's builders’ new gameplans, Bicycle-friendly Dubai to promote healthy lifestyle

DUBAI TO BE BICYCLE-FRIENDLY SOON: Cycling is one of the most effective means of staying fit and losing weight. Recently, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, blazed a trail as he toured Dubai on a bicycle. Last week, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has issued directives to transform Dubai into a bicycle-friendly city. This will not only promote a healthy lifestyle, but also reduce pollution, as evidenced by similar steps in other parts of the world. [COMMENT BY: Somshankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Editor]

UAE'S DEVELOPERS START ON NEW GAMEPLANS: UAE developers are clearly thinking out of the box… and not a moment too soon. The old ways to try and sell/rent and win over customers will no longer hold up. If that means Aldar Properties allows residential tenants to pay rents by credit cards, then so be it. If Dubai South, one of the city’s biggest master-developers, extends rent-to-own schemes at its projects, all the better. Because the property market has to move on from extra-long payment plans to shore up offplan numbers. Today, it needs to be about the end-user and the long-term resident in the country. That’s the buyer out there… and developers will do well to cater to them. [COMMENT BY: Manoj Nair, Business Editor]

AMIT SHAH BACK IN HOSPITAL, INDIA COVID-19 CASES RISE: India’s home minister Amit Shah was back in hospital on Tuesday after he complained of fatigue and body ache, just days after saying he had covered from the coronavirus. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi said in a statement: "He is comfortable and continuing his work from the hospital," adding he had now tested negative for COVID-19. On Monday, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the head of pharmaceutical company Biocon Ltd that makes COVID-19 medicines, said she too had tested positive. India’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, registering 2.7 million on Tuesday. India has reported the world's third-largest number of infections after the United States and Brazil, with cases topping 50,000 every day since July 30. [COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor]

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION OPENS WITH ATTACKS ON TRUMP: It was an unconventional opening of a convention, an event pushed into cyberspace by the pandemic. The four-day Democratic National Convention opened with party leaders ripping into US President Donald Trump over his mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and stoking of racial divisions. Former first lady Michelle Obama led the attack: "Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country.” Joe Biden, who will accept his party's presidential nomination on Thursday, appeared in video snippets from earlier campaign appearances.[COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor]

BARCELONA SACK COACH SETIEN: The first head rolled at FC Barcelona following last week’s 2-8 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich when they sacked coach Quique Setien on Monday night. Setien had joined Barca as coach on January 13 this year. During his seven months in charge, the breakdown of his results across all competitions were 16 wins, four draws and five defeats. Lionel Messi, the Argentine genius, is reported to be looking for other pastures. [COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

NETFLIX HIT: Toss a coin in thanks as the cast and crew of ‘The Witcher’ have finally returned to sets on August 17 in the UK, according to The Wrap. Netflix announced in June that the Henry Cavill-led video-game adaptation would pick up filming again in August after being shut down due to the coronavirus in mid-March. ‘The Witcher’ will return with its main cast: Cavill as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as sorceress Yennefer and Freya Allan as Princess Ciri; and will also reportedly follow a linear timeline as opposed to season one. Season one of ‘The Witcher’ launched on the streaming platform towards the end of 2019 and was a huge hit among viewers and was reportedly the most watched show on Netflix ever. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor, Features]