Micro-edits: Eid holidays, Buttler in fine form, South Indian content on a roll

LONG EID HOLIDAY IN UAE WILL BE A BREAK FROM ROUTINE : Next weekend will mark the start of an extended holiday for Eid Al Fitr, the festival marking the end the Ramadan. UAE federal government entities will enjoy, in total, a nine-day break, while private sectors will get four to five days off (depending on Ramadan being 29 or 30 days). With the weather still pleasant in the morning and evenings, and the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions, residents will be able to enjoy the Eid break at leisure, be it visiting friends and family, going out or just unwinding at home. Also, by starting the break from Ramadan 29 this year, it has become easier to make holiday plans in advance, as the start date will not depend on moon sighting. [By FAISAL MASUDI, ASSISTANT EDITOR]

GUNS WERE NO.1 KILLER OF US CHILDREN IN 2020 : For the first time in the US, more children and teenagers were killed by guns than any other cause in 2020. More than 4,300 died of firearm-related injuries that year — a 29 per cent increase from 2019. Gun killings, which disproportionately affect younger Americans, went up by 33 per cent from 2019 to 2020. Guns surpassed car crashes as the top cause of death in America for those aged 19 and under in 2020, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday. A separate study in February found that 7.5 million US adults became first-time gun owners during the pandemic. This exposed 11 million people, including five million children, to household firearms. This tragic situation must raise the alarm bells. The safest home for a child is one without guns. But who can ensure this? [By STEPHEN NR, SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR]

BUTTLER KEEPS FINE FORM WITH THE BAT GOING IN IPL : Following his 103 against Kolkata Knight Riders and 100 against Mumbai Indians Jos Buttler smashed his third century of the Indian Premier League 2022 season last night for Rajasthan Royals to keep his incredible form with the bat going. The Englishman smashed nine fours and nine sixes on his way to 116 runs from 65 balls against Delhi Capitals and has become just the second player in the IPL to score three tons in one season. Virat Kohli was the first to achieve the feat in the 2016 campaign. 31-year-old Buttler has now got 491 runs in seven innings in the 2022 IPL – that is an average of 81.83 – and with seven more games to play in the group stages and then the possibility of more matches in the play-offs he could beat Kohli’s record of 973 runs in a single season. [By IMRAN MALIK, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR]

SOUTH INDIAN CONTENT IS ON A ROLL : Recent South Indian movies ‘RRR’ and ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ have been raking in the big bucks in India for their dubbed Hindi versions, and seem to be drawing in fans in drove. What could be the elements bringing in such support? Is it that the storylines are superior? The bombastic acting? Or is it the over the top action scenes? It’s probably a mix of all this and the originality that often comes with movies from South India. Bollywood has even become infatuated with remaking South Indian stories. Here’s to South Indian media getting its laurels. [By JENNIFER BARRETTO, ASSISTANT EDITOR – FEATURES]