From the Editors: Dubai takes a huge step forward in ensuring carbon neutrality

A HUGE STEP TO ENSURE CARBON NEUTRALITY: Today, Dubai takes yet another decisive step towards a more environment-friendly life in the emirate with the compulsory levy of a charge of 25 fils on all single-use carry bags handed to customers at retail establishments across the city. The charge in Dubai is mandatory for all retail stores, restaurants, pharmacies, e-commerce services and delivery services. This comes close on the heels of Abu Dhabi banning all single-use plastic bags from June 1, 2022. A complete ban on these single-use carry bags will be imposed from 2024 in Dubai, too. [COMMENT BY: Sanjib Das, Assistant Editor]

MUSIC FOR SALE: Universal Music Group has announced an agreement to acquire rock guitarist and composer Frank Zappa’s catalogue of music, recordings and film archive. The past few years have seen many artists sell their catalogues to companies in order to enjoy the fruits of their labour in the form of huge payouts. It’s known that the streaming game has impacted artists, who only get paid per a small amount per stream. So it’s only natural that musicians, especially older ones, might want to cash in and not battle it out for money and relevance on these apps. It’s also a signal that the streaming model should be improved to favour the people making the music. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto Assistant Editor – Features]

A honour that Bumrah deserves: Cricket is heavily loaded in favour of the batters, be it the rules of the game or getting the accolades and responsibilities for their efforts. Very rarely that a bowler gets the recognition for his services with a position in the team. It is so rare that Jasprit Bumrah is the first fast bowler to become Indian captain after the legendary Kapil Dev in 35 years. Though it is rare, the wily bowler deserves the honour after being the wrecker-in-chief of Indian bowling attack in the last six years in all three formats. [COMMENT BY: A.K.S. Satish, Sports Editor]