From the Editors: UAE’s Green Visa is a game changer

UAE’S GREEN VISA IS A GAME CHANGER: The new two categories of visas –Green visa and the Freelance visa – announced by the UAE on Sunday are game changer initiatives. Green visa holders will be self-dependent and will not be attached to companies. They will also be able sponsor their parents and their children up to 25 years instead of existing 18 years. It will attract and retain highly skilled expats including investors, entrepreneurs and top students. The Freelance visa has also been launched to attract special talents to the country. It gears towards attracting self-employed individuals, experts, retirees and people with special talent. The new visa categories will allow more opportunities to expats to grow in the UAE. [COMMENT BY: Ashfaq Ahmed, Senior Assistant Editor]

IMMINENT FALL OF PANJSHIR MEANS TOTAL TALIBAN CONTROL: The total fall of Afghanistan’s final anti-Taliban bastion of Panjshir Valley has either happened, or is only a matter of time. Witnesses have said Taliban fighters have overrun eight districts of Panjshir overnight. The hardline group itself has said Panjshir has fallen, though the defenders of the Valley dispute this. But, given Taliban military prowess, and the fact that they have seized massive amounts of weapons and munitions from the American-supplied Afghan army that collapsed in a matter of days, it is difficult to see how the tiny sliver of territory can hold on for long. The fall of Panjshir would mean total Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

FARCICAL SCENES DURING BRAZIL VS ARGENTINA MATCH AS PLAYERS ACCUSED OF COVID-19 VIOLATION: It should have been one of the great games of football but instead the Brazil vs Argentina World Cup qualifier last night will be remembered as a total farce. Just three minutes in, COVID-19 health officials wandered onto the pitch to object to the participation of three Argentine players who they say had broken quarantine rules and after much chaos the match was abandoned. It was a dramatic intervention with Brazil's health authorities saying the England-based players - Emiliano Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Giovani lo Celso, Cristian Romero - had sidestepped Brazilian rules which state travellers who have been in the UK, South Africa or India during the previous 14 days are forbidden from entering the country. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said, “At no time were we notified that they couldn't play the match. We wanted to play the match, the Brazilian footballers too.” The match will need to be rearranged but no date has been set yet. [COMMENT BY: Imran Malik, Assistant Editor]

SIDHARTH SHUKLA’S DEATH TRIGGERS APPEALS BY CELEBRITIES: As a fan of Sidharth Shukla slipped into partial coma upon hearing about the Indian TV actor’s death, the late star’s celebrity friends have taken to social media to appeal to fans about taking care of their mental health. Shukla, who died last week aged 40, commanded a large fan following since his glory days on the TV show ‘Balika Vadhu’ and ‘Bigg Boss’. What many fear is a spate of fan incidents similar to what followed in the wake of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020. A string of fan suicides raised the alarm last year, prompting celebrities such as Deepika Padukone to speak out about mental health problems. While Shukla reportedly died of a heart attack, celebrities such as Kavita Kaushik are hoping fans don’t act out and end up hurting themselves in the process. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]