It's not only real estate that's experiencing another boom in the UAE, it seems that virtual property is also back in demand. As The National reported yesterday, a British man has sold the abudha.bi domain name – to a buyer in Dubai – for "well above" its asking price of Dh12,000.
The sale is reminiscent of the initial “dot-com landrush”, when domain names were selling for enormous prices – hotels.com fetched $11 million (Dh2.99m) in 2001 – and so-called cybersquatters were pouncing on names they thought would be valuable. The strategy has had mixed success, because some celebrities, including Madonna, have successfully taken legal action to claim their dot-com names as intellectual property.
While the trade remains buoyant – as recently as 2010, Facebook paid $8.5m to secure fb.com – large windfalls for sellers are the exception.
The name abudha.bi, which employs the country code for the African nation of Burundi, would not seem to be especially relevant to the UAE, which has its own .ae signifier. It’s also counterintuitive to the modern practice of searching for information rather than typing in web addresses.
In any case, the true value of any name lies in the strength of the brand behind it, not an unusual online identifier. And Abu Dhabi, the city and emirate, needs no help in that department.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
