UAE community cares for nature, and Morocco face Croatia in World Cup battle for third place, Gulf News Editors comment on the top stories of Dec 17

UAE COMMUNITY EXEMPLIFIES CARE FOR NATURE: Students, employees, officials – residents from all walks of life in the UAE are ever ready to pitch in for the good of the community. The ‘Clean UAE’ drive is a fresh demonstration of this spirit. It has just removed over 40 tonnes of trash from all seven emirates. More than 61,000 residents joined the nationwide effort, led by Emirates Environmental Group. The remarkable achievement is a reassuring affirmation that we in the UAE can count on each other to ensure a pleasant, clean and sustainable environment for all. Thank you to all volunteers. [By Faisal Masudi, Assistant Editor]

NASA’S LATEST MISSION TO HELP US PREPARE BETTER FOR NATURAL DISASTERS: Nasa has just launched the first-ever global satellite mission that will observe nearly all water on Earth’s surface, measuring the level of water in the planet’s lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean. The data sent by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will be used to enhance ocean-circulation models, bolster weather and climate forecasts and aid in managing scarce freshwater supplies in drought-stricken regions, researchers say. Nearly 20 years in development by the US space agency, SWOT was one of 15 missions listed by the National Research Council as projects Nasa should undertake in the coming decade. And any data that helps us better prepare for natural disasters is good news, (By Stephen N.R., Senior Associate Editor)

FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022: PROUD MOROCCO FACE CROATIA IN BATTLE FOR THIRD: Morocco coach Walid Regragui says his team should feel proud of their achievement at the World Cup. The Atlas Lions created history by becoming the first Arab-African team to reach the semi-final of the tournament. They eventually lost to France but gave the reigning champions a real scare with another gutsy performance. Today, they will play Croatia in the battle for third place in what will be their seventh game of the 2022 tournament. Prior to this, they had played six World Cup games in 20 years which proves just how remarkable their run in Qatar has been. “We would like things to have gone differently and played in the final,” said Regragui. “There is another game to play, we would like to be on the podium. If you told any Morocco fan we would be playing our seventh game on 17 December, they would be proud.” (By Imran Malik, Assistant Sports Editor)

BREAKING THE HOLLYWOOD FATIGUE: When news broke that a star-studded ‘Barbie’ movie was being made in Hollywood, many wondered what it might look like. The first teaser from the Margot Robbie (above) and Ryan Gosling-led movie, being directed by Greta Gerwig, shows just how weird and wonderful it is going to be. It is definitely a risky film to make, considering the wholesome history of the doll, and it needs to be entertaining and interesting but still light-hearted. It seems that Oscar-nominated Gerwig has another winner on her hands and might just succeed at making a movie that is not just another superhero blockbuster, but is fun and unique. (Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor – Entertainment)