The slate landscapes of north-west Wales has been added to the illustrious World Heritage List.
Stonehenge, Avebury and associated sites were added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1986.
Hadrian's Wall in Scotland, once a frontier of the Roman Empire, is included on the World Heritage List.
Caernarfon Castle was included in 1986 as part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd, Wales.
The Severn River passes through Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, another Unesco World Heritage Site, on its way to the sea in Bristol.
The mines at Botallack in Cornwall, England are included in the World Heritage List as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape entry.
Durham Castle and Cathedral have been on the heritage list since 1986.
The Forth Bridge in Fife, Scotland, was designed by two English engineers, Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, and built by Sir William Arrol of Glasgow.
Unesco lists the Heart of Neolithic Orkney in Scotland, as a World Heritage Site, which includes the settlement at Skara Brae, pictured.
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Saltaire in Yorkshire, England, is a Victorian model village.
The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is listed, along with the surrounding Causeway Coast.
Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, England.
The Dorset and East Devon Coast, including Durdle Door, pictured, is included on the list.
Canterbury Cathedral in England.
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape in Wales.
Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
The East Silk Mill in Derbyshire. England, part of the Derwent Valley Mills listing.
The English Lake District in Cumbria.
Bath, in England, is included in the Great Spas of Europe.
Jodrell Bank Observatory in Chesire, England, features the 3,200 tonne Lovell telescope.
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal in Wales.
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London are popular with local and international visitors.
New Lanark, Scotland, is considered a milestone in urban planning and development.
Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey in London.
City of Bath, England.
Maritime Greenwich in London.
The isolated St Kilda archipelago is in the North Atlantic, off Scotland.
The slate landscapes of north-west Wales were on Wednesday added to the illustrious World Heritage List.
Snowdonia’s ashen and craggy landscapes join such world-renowned sites as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu on the UN register.
Three prestigious sites closer to home are the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Blaenavon Industrial Landscape and the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd.
The World Heritage Committee convened in China this week to adjudicate the merits of the slate quarries and a host of other contenders. It had already inscribed 30 new sites before the slate landscapes anointment, while the Great Spas of Europe, the Dutch Water Defence Lines in the Netherlands and the Trans-Iranian Railway were added earlier in the year.
The committee assesses bids on their outstanding universal value, uniqueness and cultural, historical or physical significance.
The Welsh slate landscape is found in the picturesque Snowdonia National Park. Getty
Slate’s significance in Wales rivals that of coal. The Welsh slate industry was the undisputed world leader in the 18th Century, at one stage accounting for almost half of the income in the north of the country.
In the 19th Century the industry was said to have roofed the world, but slates use in construction far predates this period. The Romans used the metamorphic rock to build a fort at Segontium, Caernarfon, in 77 AD.
It was also used in buildings such as Westminster Hall, the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Copenhagen City Hall in Denmark.
Those behind the successful bid, which has been 15 years in the making, were keen to emphasise that it is about more than the “remains of the slate industry”.
“It’s also about ... the role the industry played with Welsh language with the communities, the money that flowed through this to then invest in north Wales itself,” Luke Potter, assistant director of National Trust Cymru, told BBC Radio Wales.
Snowdonia: a planet for Hollywood
Whilst aesthetics aren’t a primary criterion for World Heritage inscription, the landscapes of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Llanberis, Bethesda and the Nantlle Valley were noted for their “breathtaking beauty” by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson when the bid was announced last year.
They’ve also caught the eye of Hollywood, with scenes from Harry Potter, Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans and Tarzan all shot there.
It also has a link to the world’s most famous locomotive – Thomas the Tank Engine.
The stories of the spirited steam engine were inspired by writer the Rev W Awdry’s time as as a volunteer at Talyllyn Railway in the 1950s.
The narrow-gauge railway was used to transport slate through Snowdonia before becoming the world’s first preserved railway in 1951.
This train at Tan-y-Bwlch station on the Ffestiniog Railway, Snowdonia, would have one been of many used to transport slate. Getty
UK's 33 Unesco World Heritage Sites
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape (2000)
Blenheim Palace (1987)
Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church (1988)
Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (1986)
City of Bath (1987)
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape (2006)
Derwent Valley Mills (2001)
Dorset and East Devon Coast (2001)
Durham Castle and Cathedral (1986)
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (1986)
Gough and Inaccessible Islands (1995, 2004)
Gorham's Cave Complex (2016)
Heart of Neolithic Orkney (1999)
Henderson Island (1988)
Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda (2000)
Ironbridge Gorge (1986)
Jodrell Bank Observatory (2019)
Maritime Greenwich (1997)
New Lanark (2001)
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (1995)
Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret's Church (1987)
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (2009)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2003)
Saltaire (2001)
St Kilda (1986, 2004, 2005)
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (1986)
Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (1986)
The English Lake District (2017)
The Forth Bridge (2015)
The Great Spa Towns of Europe (2015)
Tower of London (1988)
Welsh Slate Landscape (2021)
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
