From the Editors: Ain Dubai - Yet another feather in Dubai’s cap

AIN DUBAI: YET ANOTHER FEATHER IN DUBAI’S CAP: The much talked-about observation wheel, Ain Dubai, is now open to the public and it has already turned out to be a huge draw among residents and visitors alike. With Expo 2020 Dubai drawing the attention of the global audience, the inauguration of Ain Dubai has only added to the buzz around the mega event and the emirate. At 250 metres, Ain Dubai towers above the 167-metre High Roller at Las Vegas and the 135-metre London Eye and is the largest and tallest ferris wheel in the world. Offering a 360-degree, panoramic view of Dubai and its skyline, this engineering marvel is yet another addition to a city and a country’s legacy of offering best-in-class infrastructure for tourism, leisure and entertainment. [COMMENT BY: Sanjib Kumar Das, Assistant Editor]

ACTION TO INTENSIFY AS T20 WORLD CUP SUPER 12S BEGIN TOMORROW: The T20 Cricket World Cup action will really heat up from tomorrow when the Super 12s begin with two very tasty clashes to look forward to. South Africa face Australia while England get their campaign under way against West Indies which will be a repeat of the 2016 final that England so painfully lost. With the trophy virtually in Englands hands, Carlos Brathwaite smashed four consecutive sixes in the last over to give Windies their second title. England will be looking for revenge and Eoin Morgan’s side are one of the favourites to win the tournament. They are already the 50-over World Cup champions and will be aiming to add the T20 title to the list. But in Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, Windies will be a tough team to beat and England will be without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran. It’s a tall order but anything can happen in T20 cricket. [COMMENT BY: Imran Malik, Assistant Editor]

HEALTHCARE WORKERS MUST BE PRIORITISED FOR VACCINES: The world has lost up to 180,000 healthcare workers to COVID-19 between January 2020 and May of this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. What’s more disturbing is that in Africa, less than one in 10 health workers have been fully vaccinated while in most high-income countries, more than 80% of health workers are fully vaccinated. Though G20 nations have pledged to donate more than 1.2 billion vaccine doses to Covax, a scheme created last year to ensure that vaccines are made available around the world, so far, only 150 million have been delivered, according to WHO. Leaders of the G20 leading industrialised nations who will meet this month-end must discuss this issue and ensure equitable access to vaccines. The backbone of any healthcare system is its workforce. So these workers must be prioritised for vaccines. [COMMENT BY: Stephen N.R., Senior Associate Editor]

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES ON-SET, WHO IS TO BLAME?: Despite it being 2021, when presumably there are enough precautionary measures and guidelines in place, a deadly accident has occurred on the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie. The actor fired a prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The investigation is still on-going and no arrests have been made so far. But how could such an accident even take place? Film sets have to safeguard staff, especially when dangerous equipment is being used. Such a senseless death could have been avoided. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor - Features]