From the Editors: Lebanon descends into chaos, yet again

DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN AGAINST COVID-19: Number of COVID-19 cases in the UAE has reduced significantly in October, thanks to the safety measures and vaccination campaign by the authorities concerned. UAE announced 116 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday from the 320,554 PCR tests conducted across the country. The latest number of COVID-19 cases is a clear sign of UAE recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. However, the health authorities have urged community members to bide by precautionary measures and ensure social distancing for everyone’s health and safety. It is important to remain vigilant to win fight against the pandemic, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices to protect others and ourselves from COVID-19. [COMMENT BY: Ashfaq Ahmed, Senior Assistant Editor]

LEBANON DESCENDS INTO CHAOS, YET AGAIN: A long-simmering conflict over the lead judge probing last year’s monster blast in Beirut port has erupted into hours-long deadly clashes on Thursday, turning parts of Lebanon’s capital into a warzone. The judge, Tarek Bitar, had in recent days been in the sights of Hezbollah and Amal in particular for insisting on subpoenaing top officials in his probe. The latest bloodshed not only adds to the woes of a country suffering one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns, but could derail Najib Mikati’s month-old government. The exchanges of fire along a former front line from the 1975-90 civil war involved pistols, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, and were reminiscent of that conflict. After driving the country into bankruptcy and devastation, are the politicians steering the country into another civil war? Now is the time for the government to act to avoid destabilisation of the country. [COMMENT BY: Stephen N.R., Senior Asociate Editor]

WILL CHENNAI COME OUT ON TOP IN TONIGHT'S IPL FINAL, OR KOLKATA?: All roads leads to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium tonight as Chennai Super Kings face Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2021 Indian Premier League final. Chennai have been the more consistent side this season and were in the top four for most of it while Kolkata rose from second from bottom to make the play-offs and seem to have hit form at the right time. MS Dhoni’s Chennai are aiming to secure their fourth IPL title while Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata will hope to win their third. The two teams met in the 2012 final and on that night Kolkata took home the coveted trophy after a five-wicket win. Both sides have quality players that can turn a match in the blink of an eye. Will it be Dhoni, Gaikwad and du Plessis celebrating tonight or will it be Morgan, Narine and Iyer? We’ll find out soon enough. [COMMENT BY: Imran Malik, Assistant Editor]

MORE BOLLYWOOD STARTS SUPPORT ARYAN KHAN: Shah Rukh Khan’s 23-year-old son Aryan Khan currently sits in jail after a court reserved its order in a bail hearing until next week. He was arrested early in October after a drug bust, and it seems Bollywood stars have been increasingly irked by the proceedings and the lack of bail for Aryan, who according to reports was not found with drugs nor has a history of criminal activity. Actress Swara Bhasker tweeted: “Pure harassment!” Things don’t appear to be black and white in this case, and the hope is that this young person gets a chance at justice without any prejudice. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor]