The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature has announced the next batch of authors who will be attending the event in March. Leading the pack is acclaimed Lebanese novelist Hoda Barakat, and Emirati children's author and illustrator Maitha Al Khayat. Also appearing will be travel writer and historian Justin Marozzi, whose latest work, Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood, won this year's prestigious Ondaatje Prize. British novelists Ann Cleeves and Freya North will also attend, along with poet Helen Dunmore, children's author Chris Haughton, fantasy writer Garth Nix, Arabist John McHugo, Arab literary scholar Youssef Ziedan, historian John Man and translator Marilyn Booth. The festival runs from March 8 to 12 at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City. – The National staff
Kim asks to be able to edit tweets
Kim Kardashian has come up with a way to make Twitter better for users – and the site's co-founder says he thinks it is a wonderful idea. Don't worry, it doesn't involve having her selfies automatically attached to every post users make – she simply wants an edit function so that spelling mistakes can be corrected. "I just emailed Twitter to see if they can add an edit feature so that when u misspell something u don't have to delete & repost Let's see…", she tweeted. OK, so it may not be the most original idea, but Twitter has been around for almost a decade now with no sign of an edit function, despite requests. But when a high-profile user – Kardashian has almost 34 million followers – asks for something, people take notice. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey – who has a mere three million followers – responded: "Great idea! We're always looking at ways to make things faster and easier." Whether that means an edit function is something that will be added remains to be seen. – The National staff
Journalist seeks credit and compensation
Pakistani journalist Chand Nawab wants to be "compensated" for inspiring Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character in Salman Khan's latest blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan. "People have said that I should be compensated for inspiring the character of the reporter in the film," Nawab told Hindustan Times. "I am also hoping I will be compensated." He added, however, that it was up to the filmmakers and he would not demand payment or take legal action. Nawab, 52, who works with Karachi-based Indus News TV channel, became a YouTube star after colleagues posted a clip of him trying to present a live broadcast at a railway station as commuters walked in front of him. A similar scene appears in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, one of Bollywood's biggest box-office hits of the year. – The National staff
Katrina Kaif: I am not engaged
Actress Katrina Kaif has denied recent rumours that she was engaged to Bollywood heart-throb Ranbir Kapoor and says she has no plans to get married in the near future. "I'm glad you asked that but I'm definitely not engaged. I know you guys are so sweet and you seem to want me to get married but there are no such plans now. So please bear with me being not married for some more time," said the 32-year-old, who was at the launch in Mumbai of the trailer for her film Phantom. The movie, which also stars Saif Ali Khan, is due out in the UAE on August 27. – IANS
Video gamers to be tested for drugs
Drug testing is common practice in professional sports – and now it is coming to e-sports. The Electronic Sports League said it will begin randomly testing players at its competitive videogame tournaments. It plans to work with the World Anti-Doping Agency to create and enforce rules surrounding the use of performance-enhancing drugs. “The growing visibility and popularity of e-sports, as well as increasing prize pools, make it not only more tempting for teams and players to break the rules, but also more damaging to our sport as a whole when they do,” the organisation said. The announcement came after a competitor said in a YouTube video posted last week that he and his team had used the drug Adderall during an ESL tournament in March, where players competed for US$250,000 in prize money. ESL said the random drug tests would begin at its One Cologne tournament in August. ESL, in common with other e-sports organisations such as Major League Gaming, bans the use of drugs and other performance enhancers but has not previously tested for doping. ESL, which was founded in 1997, is the largest e-sports league, with more than 5 million registered players. – AP
artslife@thenational.ae
