Emirates ‘green’ flight trip, Dubai’s latest traffic management and England’s form ahead of World Cup, our editors comment on the top stories of Jan 30

EMIRATES STARTS ON THE ‘GREEN’ FLIGHT TRIP – HOW SOON CAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY FOLLOW? Dubai’s Emirates has just set a sustainability milestone today – a test flight running on 100% Sustainability Aviation Fuel (SAF). Emirates joins a handful of other carriers to have made headway with the green fuel. This is the trip that the airline industry will soon be embarking on in full. It becomes a question of how soon can the switch of fuels be made. Moreover, can it be made at fuel rates lower or on par with conventional jet fuel? If the price barrier is broken, adoption rates will soar, for want of a better word. What Emirates did today over the skies of Dubai was to bring the future of a greener airline industry closer… (By Manoj Nair, Business Editor)

RAPID INTERVENTION DURING INCIDENTS ON MORE ROADS IN DUBAI WELCOME: The launch of the second phase of the Traffic Incidents Management Project by the Roads and Transport Authority and Dubai Police will no doubt be very beneficial to motorists. With the project covering 15 highways and key streets, the rapid intervention of the authorities during mishaps or vehicle breakdowns will quickly help clear these vehicles, prevent secondary incidents and ensure smooth traffic flow. Roads with high traffic intensity have been deliberately chosen in order to make a discernable difference. (By Sharmila Dhal, UAE Editor).

ENGLAND’S FORM AHEAD WORLD CUP A CONCERN: England have lost five consecutive ODI matches and the alarm bells are ringing for the team’s limited-overs coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler. This run of poor results simply is not good enough. The Three Lions failed to defend 342 last night against South Africa to go 2-0 down in the three-match series. Buttler did his part with a brilliant unbeaten 94 but bowlers Chris Woakes, Reece Topley and Moeen Ali all struggled. These are worrying times for England who will be trying to defend their World Cup title later this year in India. The team needs to show a massive improvement and get back to winning ways if they are to have any chance at all in eight months’ time. On a brighter note was the performance of 23-year-old Harry Brook who has already made an impression in T20I and Test cricket. England will hope he can be their star man in the 50-over format. (By Imran Malik, Assistant Sports Editor)

IT’S RAINING BLOCKBUSTERS IN HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD: Take a bow, Shah Rukh Khan and James Cameron. These two titans have single-handedly brought back box-office cheer with their blockbusters ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ and ‘Pathaan’. While ‘Avatar’ is an all-time money spinner, having collected a whopping $15.7 million in the US alone last weekend, ‘Pathaan’ is also doing brisk business globally. This is good news for an ailing industry like Hollywood and Bollywoood that took a massive hit due to COVID-19. With footfalls low in the cinemas, everyone was looking for a miracle of sorts. Both SRK and Titanic director Cameron has saved the day and we are hoping that 2023 will see similar success for other films too. (By Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Entertainment Editor)