From the Editors: Dubai vaccination campaign gets shot in the arm

DUBAI VACCINATION CAMPAIGN GETS SHOT IN THE ARM: Dubai’s already robust vaccination programme has received a shot in the arm as the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), has begun conducting vaccination drives across the city through mobile clinics. Deployed as part of its Wellness on Wheels (WoW) initiative, the campaign has already inoculated 7,688 people over the last month. Such initiatives will ensure we rapidly return to a phase of normality and put the horrors of COVID-19 behind us. [COMMENT BY: Somshankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Editor]

DECADE OF WAR HAS DESTROYED SYRIA, TRAUMATISED SYRIANS: Syria’s nightmare continues 10 years since it first began. An uprising against the regime of Bashar Al Assad in March 2011 turned into a unbelievably brutal and complex civil war that has since killed more than 400,000 people, displaced more than half the country’s pre-war population, and has seen people being thrown into the dungeons of the regime, where hundreds of thousands have been tortured and tens of thousands have died as a result. It is a war that has attracted extremists and terrorists from around the world, and also involved military intervention from global superpowers and regional powers. It is a war that has been played out on social media, where mind-numbing videos of regime and extremist brutality have been posted regularly. Syria, a beautiful, timeless land, is now a shadow of its former self. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor[

US MAKES SMALL START TO OPEN HOMES: Almost a year after the coronavirus pandemic gripped the US, federal health officials are allowing vaccinated Americans to meet in small groups without masks. The move comes a week after some states allowed people to stop using masks altogether. The decision by the premier health agency is an attempt to begin the next phase in the fight against COVID-19. But there are still risks associated with the decision. Researchers are still trying to understand the working of the virus and newer variants are being found regularly. The US decision to start small is good, but staying safe is better. Wearing a mask is a small price to pay for keeping out of harm's way. [COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham Senior Associate Editor]

COMPETITION WARMS UP IN DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS: The absence of crowd is hardly making any difference to the quality of competition – if the first two days at the WTA event at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is any indication. Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza had to sweat to hold off a solid challenge from qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday night to win 6-3 7-5 and move into the second round. Muguruza, who reached the Dubai semi-finals in 2015 and 2018, has earned more wins than any other player on the WTA Tour this year, and she arrived in Dubai after losing to Petra Kvitova in the Doha final. [COMMENY BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

MEGHAN’S GROWING RIFT WITH HER FATHER: In the 24 hours since the Prince Harry, Meghan interview has become a talking point around the world, new footage has emerged from the Oprah Winfrey sit down where the Duchess of Sussex is seen addressing her rift with her father. Meghan spoke of Thomas Markle’s betrayal ahead of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, when he gave interviews and staged photographs for the UK tabloids behind her back. As Meghan awaits the birth of her second child, it looks like history is about to repeat itself with ‘Good Morning Britain’ host Piers Morgan now announcing that Thomas Markle will address the ‘betrayal’ in a tell-all interview of his own. Needless to say, the tabloids lie in wait for another feeding frenzy, but sometimes, a dignified silence is all that the world needs. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]