This is a golden moment for Dubai and presidential elections underway in Brazil, our editors comment on the top stories of October 3

FOR DUBAI PROPERTY, THE ‘GOLDEN’ MOMENT HAS ARRIVED: Dubai has brought out another card to extend the dream run its property market has been having since early 2021. The Golden Visa programme – which extends the 10-year residency on a Dh2 million or plus property buy – comes in at the perfect time. Sales of homes in Dubai is veering strongly towards offplan purchases, because much of the ready and secondary property deals have already taken place in these 20-plus months. For new entrants into Dubai’s property market, the Golden Visa thus extends extra assurance – and not just for those who could afford Dh10 million investments in local property, which was the case earlier. The Dh2 million widens the intended buyer base, reinforcing the city’s credentials as the place to be. Truly, a ‘golden’ moment. (By Manoj Nair, Business Editor)

DUBAI POISED TO NURTURE CREATIVITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE: With all decks now being cleared for the implementation of the Al Quoz Creative Zone masterplan, Dubai will now set yet another fine example to the world. As one of the largest and most bustling cultural hubs globally, Al Quoz will attract the finest talent and help nurture creativity at its very best. The phased development of the district will not only provide the best-in-class infrastructure to artists and other creative minds but also the required push for their positioning and promotion. (By Sharmila Dhal, UAE Editor).

A LONG WAIT FOR BRAZIL: Brazil will have to wait for another month to find out who will lead the country after an inconclusive first round of presidential elections. Ex-president and frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva failed to garner the 50 per cent of votes plus one needed to avoid an October 30 runoff against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. The campaign ahead is going to be stressful with more doubts being sown about the country's electronic voting system. Passions will be high on both sides for the next four weeks. All we can hope for is a peaceful poll where the best candidate will be declared the winner. (By Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor)

MAN CITY’S HAALAND HAVING RECORD BREAKING SEASON: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland became the first player to net 3 successive hat-tricks in the Premier League when he dismantled Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium last night during the 6-3 derby thrashing. The 22-year-old has already scored 17 goals in just 11 games following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund. His 9 in his first 5 matches made him the top scorer in August of any Premier League season. He was also the first to score in his first 4 away games. He can smash the Premier League goals record of 34 by Andy Cole in season 1993-94 which was set when there were 42 league games. Now there are 38. With 8 already played Haaland has scored 14 and he needs a further 21 from 30 games. On the form he is in, it feels like a forgone conclusion that he’ll do it. (By Imran Malik, Assistant Sports Editor)

PRABHAS’ IS THE LATEST TROLL MAGNET: It looks like Prabhas of ‘Baahubali’ franchise fame is not having a good day. As soon as he rolled out the teaser to his much-anticipated period epic ‘Adipurush’, Prabhas has been attacked viciously for being a part of a project that has sketchy VFX and some terrible acting. While it’s unfair to judge a film based on a teaser, Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan are being brutally attacked and mocked. A large section of the social media users are comparing it to a cheap video game and a badly-done anime. Here’s hoping that Prabhas, who’s still balking from the failure of ‘Radhe Shyam’, will prove his distractors wrong. But like they say, proof is in the teaser and it’s not looking good. (By Manjusha Radhakrishnan Entertainment Editor)