TRENDS
Blue Card: Football should crack down on abuse of referees
While the proposed 'blue card' after the familiar yellow and red card may create complications, the brow-beating of referees, especially by players during games but also by managers afterward, is a disfiguring feature of modern professional soccer
TRENDS
The Grammys aside, music is still a man’s world
Women made up only 34.8% of the 164 artists who appeared in Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end chart for 2023. This is an increase from 30.2% in 2022. But of the 441 songwriters credited on that list, only 19.5% were women. And of 217 producers, the proportion of women is smaller still: 6.5%
TRENDS
Monkey Man: Dev Patel's new film owes debt to Amitabh Bachchan, not Keanu Reeves
In the US, the film's trailer has drawn comparisons with the John Wick franchise. But Patel’s new movie owes more to Bollywood than Hollywood. India will instinctively know Patel's name in the movie: Vijay. That name is associated with the character of a Bollywood staple, the “angry young man,” personified in the 1970s and 80s by the greatest of all Indian movie stars, Amitabh Bachchan
TRENDS
Awards shows like the Oscars are doomed
Last year’s Oscar night brought in 18.7 million viewers, a 12% increase but still among the lowest ever. A return to the golden days of the 1990s and 2000s when audiences in excess of 40 million were the norm looks impossible. The 1998 peak of 55.25 million seems a wild fantasy
TRENDS
T20 World Cup 2024: American cricket has a bonanza coming
Afghanistan's remarkable performances in the just concluded ODI World Cup came with none of the advantages now accruing to American cricket. Given that Afghanistan broke into cricket’s top tier less than a decade ago, there’s no reason the US team can’t improve from its current world ranking of 2022, with much better funding, infrastructure and playing opportunities
BUSINESS
Arab states have use-or-lose leverage for a two-state solution
The Arab states should make it plain that they will only help in cleaning up the mess left by the war — rebuilding Gaza’s political institutions as well as its physical infrastructure — if Israel commits to the two-state solution and a timeline. In return, they should guarantee that Israel will not face a threat from Hamas
WORLD
Israel-Hamas War: Turkey is key to solving the Gaza crisis
Is it too late for Biden to talk to Erdogan? Not necessarily. The Turkish leader desperately wants to be involved in solving the crisis. He is the sole regional leader having formal relations with both sides: Turkey has recently mended frayed diplomatic relations with Israel and provides sanctuary for the political wing of Hamas
WORLD
No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas
To expect Gazans to rise up against Hamas is to require them to risk their lives and livelihoods, to face down a terrorist group that has repeatedly demonstrated willingness to slaughter Palestinians as well as Israelis. All Gazans can expect from the wider world is qualified sympathy — and unreasonable expectations
BUSINESS
Indian single malts could turn the table on Scotch: Bobby Ghosh
In little over a decade, several brands from India have made their way onto the shelves of liquor stores all over the world, sharing counter space with whiskies of long renown that, only half a generation ago, were beyond the reach of most Indians
WORLD
Iran doesn’t want Hezbollah fighting Israel
Since Hezbollah is the most valuable of Iran’s assets, Tehran is reluctant to have it damaged and degraded, as it would inevitably be in a direct confrontation with the Israel Defense Forces. The other reason Iran needs to keep Hezbollah fighting fit is that it props up Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria
BUSINESS
Israel-Hamas War: No, Palestinians can’t just leave Gaza
Why don’t they just leave? As Israel’s furious retaliation for last weekend’s Hamas attack devastates large swathes of the Gaza strip, killing hundreds and maiming thousands of Palestinians, it is not unreasonable to wonder why the 2.3 million civilians living in the tiny enclave don’t flee to safer ground
BUSINESS
Hamas has already lost the war of images
The Hamas videos of captured women drew widespread revulsion and reprobation. Because of the videos, Hamas lost any right to claim the attack was a manifestation of 'legitimate resistance'. Instead, the group was exposed before the horrified world as the terrorist organisation it has always been
TRENDS
TikTok's privacy problem may be marketing gold for Hollywood
For studios, the hope is that because of its huge user base in the US, TikTok, like YouTube, can serve as a platform to raise awareness and create buzz for their new movies, whether through legitimate trailers (movie marketing campaigns now routinely include a TikTok strategy) or illegally uploaded clips
BUSINESS
Can an EV really be a muscle car?
A charger for a Charger? That just doesn’t sound right
BUSINESS
Biden can push Netanyahu to protect Israel's democracy
Netanyahu’s plan to enfeeble the judiciary, popular with his right-wing base, has drawn strong and sustained condemnation from much of the Israeli establishment, including military reservists and business leaders. They fear this will compromise the rule of law and make the economy unattractive for investment. Biden can use US clout in Israel to prod Netanyahu to backtrack
BUSINESS
Erdogan and Sisi end their feud 10 years too late
If not for a pointless dispute, Turkey and Egypt might have forged the Middle East’s most powerful economic partnership. What can they salvage now?
BUSINESS
Erdogan stands in the way of Turkey's EU membership
Though a breakthrough on Sweden's entry into NATO seems to have been achieved, Erdogan’s attempt tp tie it to Turkey's EU membership should be taken by the US and its European allies as further proof that he is not a reliable ally within multilateral organisations. Erdogan's policies have pushed Turkey farther from the EU door than at any time in the past 50 years
BUSINESS
Can Satya Nadella sell cricket in America?
Investors in the US Major League Cricket are making two bets. The first is that the Indian diaspora in America has reached the critical mass required to sustain a cricket league in the country. The second is that fans of the sport worldwide will watch televised games from the US. The first bet is the surer of the two
BUSINESS
Sudan’s war will test the new Arab diplomacy
It would be easier to cheer the Middle East’s new diplomatic activism if so many of the problems it hopes to solve didn’t start out as “own goals"
BUSINESS
Twenty Years of the US Invasion of Iraq: How America snatched defeat from victory
Within days of winning the war, the US made many strategic mistakes. Disbanding the Iraqi armed forces instead of re-hiring the vanquished professional soldiers to keep the peace and dismissing thousands of government employees who could have served in the new administration were cardinal errors
BUSINESS
Volodymyr Zelenskiy must rewrite Russia’s narrative in the global south
Ukraine has won the West’s support in the war against Russia. But to ensure victory, it will need the developing world’s, too
BUSINESS
Pelé was the most important soccer player of all time
The Brazilian superstar helped to expand the sport’s appeal and turn it into a multibillion-dollar business
BUSINESS
Iran’s ruler faces a formidable new foe — schoolgirls: Bobby Ghosh
Does Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dare set his attack dogs on children?
