From the Editors: A salute to Dubai Police

A SALUTE TO DUBAI POLICE: The development of a smart new device by Dubai Police to lift fingerprints at crime scenes is yet another benchmark of the force’s ability to stay ahead of the game. The device can immediately match the captured fingerprints with a special centralised database, thereby helping to save precious time in catching criminals. It can also provide solid physical evidence to serve justice. A big salute to Dubai Police for keeping the city safe and constantly pushing the envelope to be the best. {COMMENT BY: Sharmila Dhal, UAE Editor]

NORTH KOREA THUMBS ITS NOSE AT JAPAN-AGAIN: The Hermit Kingdom fired a ballistic missile from a submarine into the waters off the coast of Japan. It earlier described this missile as "the world's most powerful weapon". Pyongyang is specifically prohibited from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons by the United Nations. This missile test presents a clear and present danger to Japan and South Korea, two of Asia's most advanced nations. North Korea is an impoverished, totalitarian state. The economy of a district in Tokyo is larger than that of North Korea. But the fact that Japan - one of the foremost industrial powers of our age - could only react by branding the tests "very regrettable" is a sign of the times we live in. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

T20 WORLD CUP GETS IN FULL SWING IN ABU DHABI: The T20 World Cup is now officially in full swing in the UAE as Abu Dhabi Cricket held a record four ICC matches at the same venue on one day. On Monday, two qualifiers from the first round took place at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, while two other matches took place only a few hundred metres away at the new-look Tolerance Oval in the UAE capital. Ireland defeated the Netherlands at Zayed Cricket Stadium before Namibia made their T20 World Cup debut in defeat to Sri Lanka, while Afghanistan, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia all played official warm-up matches right next door. As Curtis Campher took four wickets in four balls to help Ireland to victory over Netherlands in the first game of the day, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma was setting the tone for his side’s 41-run win against Afghanistan at the same time. Then, as Namibia went down to Sri Lanka, New Zealand simultaneously lost out in the last over to rivals Australia. It sets the tone for some thick-and-fast action over the next month as we discover who will lift the trophy. [COMMENTBY: Matthew Smith, Sports Editor]

DISNEY RESHUFFLE SPELLS DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MARVEL FANS: Even as Disney rolled out the red carpet for a star-studded premiere of ‘Eternals’, news broke that the production juggernaut had reshuffled its roster of upcoming tentpoles, with several Marvel releases being pushed further down the line, with movies such as ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ deferred to a 2023 release date. While fans can heave a sigh of relief that the 2021 releases remain unaffected, movies such as ‘Doctor Strange in the Mulitverse of Madness’, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ have all been pushed down the pipeline, along with the ‘Black Panther’ sequel. While the wait for MCU’s Phase 4 continues, fans still have ‘Eternals’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ to get them through the long road ahead. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]