From the Editors: UAE's sky pods offer a shape of things to come

SUSPENDED SKY PODS A SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: It is indeed heartening to know that the day may not be far when Sharjah will roll out a high-speed sky pod transport system for passengers and cargo. The suspended transport system, which has driverless pods on “strings”, is currently being tested at Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park. Once all safety-checks are done and the system is ready for public use, it will be yet another major step on the part of the UAE to ensure a 100 per cent environment-friendly mass-transit system, very much in keeping with the cutting-edge technology and zero carbon footprint mass transit solution that the driverless Dubai Metro stands for. [COMMENT BY: Sanjib Kumar Das, Assistant Editor]

BIDEN TAKES HIS PLACE ON WORLD STAGE: As US President Joe Biden leaves Washington on his first foreign trip as president, all eyes are on what is expected to be an uncomfortable face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Geneva. The meetings also include the G7 summit, and one with NATO partners. Biden is expected to present the case for America’s traditional multilateral approach, for which his predecessor had contempt. The meeting with Putin will be tense, and both sides are expected to push for achievable goals, like the New START nuclear arms treaty, and on Iran, over which Russia has some influence. But, the tensions between both sides are significant, though. On issues such as cyber-attacks, and Russia’s alleged meddling in the US election. Adding to this is Moscow’s backing of leaders like Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. The list is long. But with this visit, Biden intends to inform everyone that the US is back on the world stage. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

MEDVEDEV’S NUMBER ONE DREAMS WILL HAVE TO WAIT: Daniil Medvedev’s world No.1 dreams was shattered by a straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter fianls of the French Open in a late match. The Russian, could have become No. 1 had he won the title or even by reaching the final without current No. 1 Djokovic reaching there, but he will have to wait for now. Tsitsipas, who won 43 receiving points against just 23 by Medvedev, will now face world No. 6 Alexander Zverev who had earlier on Tuesday defeated Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.[COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

FAKING IT: South Indian actor Prithviraj gently told off a person who had impersonated him on the popular app Clubhouse; the man spoke with the celebrity’s fans for a long while. Prithviraj had to clarify that he was not on the app, but went easy on the impostor. The problem of people posing as celebrities for personal gain is not a new one. Many fans might fall for tricks online in the hopes of making a personal connection with the person they admire. It’s important to be vigilant on social media and question things that seem too good to be true. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor – Features]