It's the stuff of Sci-Fi, which of course, is nothing new for Dubai. 

Facial recognition software will be tested at Dubai International Airport, allowing travelers to enter the country without waiting in line to show their passports. 

UK-based ObjectTech signed an agreement with Dubai’s Immigration and Visas Department to test its biometric border control system, according to Biometric Update. 

The cutting edge technology will simply allow travelers to pass through a tunnel, which will scan individuals' faces while they walk into the country, determining if they are granted access.

Using digital passport information, taken from the electronic chips contained in physical passports, the "biometric border" walkway uses facial recognition software to identify passengers in record time while they are still in motion.

"This is an identity that is fit for the digital age," Paul Ferris, co-founder and chief executive of ObjectTech, said, according to The Telegraph.

"Not only will it make international travel quicker and safer, but it also gives people back control of their personal digital data," he said.

In addition to facial recognition, the digital passports will contain information such as fingerprints and iris scans. The new technology also provides greater security, creating a "self-sovereign identity" ensuring that only the holder has full control of the data. 

ObjectTech also says the digital passports are more secure, harder to counterfeit, more accurate than current passports and cannot be lost. 

The aim is for individuals to be able to conveniently store more information on their passports in a private and secure way; including financial details, addresses or location data from a mobile phone. The testing phase of the technology will begin in Dubai later this year.

For the second year in a row, the Jordanian ministry of interior has decided to ban Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila from performing in Jordan, the group announced Tuesday night. 

Mashrou' Leila was scheduled to perform in the Jordanian capital on June 27, having gained approval from the country's tourism ministry and obtained all necessary licenses. 

Tens of ministers and members of parliament had reportedly signed a petition against the performance, only to be followed by an official decision by the ministry of interior.

This comes a year after Jordanian authorities decided to ban the band from performing in Amman, announcing the decision only a few days before the concert was set to take place on April 29, 2016. 

According to The New Arab, Interior Minister Ghaleb Zuabi said that the ban will curb "the exploitation of such performances for the implementation of certain agendas that may lead to internal disagreements". 

In an official response, the band wrote: 

"We were genuinely under the impression that the Jordanian authorities were taking a clear stand with regards to freedom of expression, and the internationally sanctioned human rights pertaining to the LGBTIQ+ community, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Jordan’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, HRH Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad Al Hussein has been supporting.

The inconsistency of the Jordanian authorities in this respect (inviting us, then banning, then cancelling the ban, then inviting us again, then banning us again - all within the course of 14 months - has culminated in a clear message, that the Jordanian authorities do not intend to separate Jordan from the fanatical conservatism that has contributed in making the region increasingly toxic over the last decade." 

The band added that despite the incident, it will continue to defend the Muslim community, all the while publicly supporting the LGBTIQ+ community. Mashrou' Leila assured that it "will not change anything about how we go about making and performing our music". 

Last April, Jordanian authorities banned Mashrou' Leila from performing in Amman, claiming that its music contradicts with "Islam, Christianity and the values of Jordanian society".

The ban was eventually lifted the night before the concert was supposed to take place, which made it impossible for the band to follow through with the concert.

With its lead singer Hamed Sinno being open about his queerness, Mashrou' Leila is known for championing sexual freedom. In 2010, Sinno raised the LGBTIQ+ flag during the band's concert in Byblos, publicly taking a stand with respect to homosexuality in the Arab world. 

Jordan is considered one of the Arab world most liberal countries, in which homosexuality is not illegal. According to the BBC, "The constitution stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state, but provides for freedom to practice one's religion in accordance with local customs unless this violates public order or morality."