CARELESS DRIVING IN THE UAE PERILOUS FOR ALL: The UAE has one of the best road systems in the world. The 16-lane superhighways, silk-smooth expressways are a joy to drive in this country. Unfortunately, some careless motorists seem to take these for granted and consider their own perceived needs to be on a higher level than others. As a result, distracted driving causes a number of avoidable accidents on the country’s roads. In Sharjah alone, 83 such cases were recorded last year. We should be grateful to our host country and respect its laws and others. Somshankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Editor
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ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS TURNING LIVES OF LEBANESE UPSIDE DOWN: With the Lebanese pound losing more than 25 per cent of its value over the past few weeks alone, to now trade at an unbelievable 15,000 to the dollar, small businesses are closing, firms are filing for bankruptcies and supermarkets and pharmacies are short of supplies. Ordinary people, who have lost jobs or are being paid salaries in Lebanese pounds - which are almost worthless - have suddenly been pushed into extreme poverty. Even those who were smart enough to put their savings in dollar accounts can only withdraw a limited amount. So, what is being done about this? Nothing, is the short answer. Astonishingly, Lebanon doesn’t even have a government since the last one resigned in August. The venal political class, embroiled in its own political games, couldn’t care less about the people. [COMMENT by Omar Shariff, International Editor]
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BRAZIL STRUGGLING TO CURB THE SPREAD: Brazil's coronavirus outbreak is spiraling out of control. 287,000 people have succumbed to the virus and 90,000 new cases are being reported every day. If things couldn’t get much worse, the country must also contend with a lack of staff in intensive care units. Medical professionals are unable to keep up with the endless flow of patients at hospitals and doctors working in the ICU are becoming a rare commodity. And with the youth reportedly not helping matters by flouting lockdown rules and attending parties without wearing masks, new infections will continue to grow. President Bolsonaro has also come under fire for downplaying the gravity of the pandemic. Much more will have to be done if Brazil is to curb the spread. [COMMENT by Imran Malik, Assistant Editor]
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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER ON RACIAL CLAIM: Finally some belated action on a sadly recurring theme as Uefa have announced they are investigating alleged racial abuse during Rangers’ Europa League clash with Slavia Prague. The Scottish club’s midfielder Glen Kamara complained of being racially abused by a visiting player in Thursday’s 2-0 defeat in Glasgow. Rangers were knocked out of the competition following a 3-1 aggregate loss in their last-16 second leg after having two players sent off in a heated encounter which saw a melee on the pitch and clashes in the tunnel after the game. Finland international Kamara was furious after Slavia centre-back Ondrej Kudela leaned into his ear and said something while covering his mouth, sparking the fracas in the final stages of the match. Kudela said in a Slavia statement that he swore at a Rangers player after being fouled, but denied using racist language. Slavia also alleged that Kudela was assaulted by Kamara after the game and have officially complained to Scottish police. Rangers boss Steven Gerrard called on Uefa to take action. [COMMENT by Matt Smith, Sports Editor]
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HARRY, MEGHAN'S TROUBLE WITH THE TABLOIDS: At what point does as an investigation into a story cross the line into media intrusion? Perhaps Prince Harry and Meghan’s outcry over the Sun’s tactics into unearthing private and personal details about the Duchess of Sussex’s life before her marriage serves as an example. According to a report published by the BBC, Daniel Hanks was hired by The Sun to obtain private details about the former Meghan Markle, which he did by providing the media outlet with the Duchess’ phone number, addresses and Social Security number, in addition to intel on her family, ex-husband and a former boyfriend. While some of this data was in the public domain, Hanks has revealed that he had to illegally obtain some of the information and The Sun was aware of this. The newspaper in question has, of course, denied any knowledge of the same. Irrespective of who is on the right side of this ‘he said, they said’ scenario, surely a public figure is still entitled to some level of privacy? There are some lines that should never be crossed based on simple ground of moral decency. But in a world where knowledge is power and clickbait headlines are the new norm, the Duke and Duchess appear to be fighting a losing a battle. [COMMENT by Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]
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