• Popular boy band Stray Kids show off their dance moves on the Jubilee Stage at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Miaad Mahdi / Expo 2020 Dubai
    Popular boy band Stray Kids show off their dance moves on the Jubilee Stage at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Miaad Mahdi / Expo 2020 Dubai
  • Stray Kids performing during the K-Pop concert on the Jubilee Stage. Photo Miaad Mahdi / Expo 2020 Dubai
    Stray Kids performing during the K-Pop concert on the Jubilee Stage. Photo Miaad Mahdi / Expo 2020 Dubai
  • Sunmi performs during the K-pop concert in honour of South Korea's country day at Expo 2020 Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Sunmi performs during the K-pop concert in honour of South Korea's country day at Expo 2020 Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Sunmi was once a member of the girl group Wonder Girls but left in 2010 to pursue her studies before returning to a singing career. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Sunmi was once a member of the girl group Wonder Girls but left in 2010 to pursue her studies before returning to a singing career. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Psy performs during the K-Pop concert on the Jubilee Stage. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
    Psy performs during the K-Pop concert on the Jubilee Stage. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
  • During his show, Psy announced that he is planning to release a new album this year. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
    During his show, Psy announced that he is planning to release a new album this year. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
  • Psy closes the event with a performance of his hit song 'Gangnam Style'. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
    Psy closes the event with a performance of his hit song 'Gangnam Style'. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
  • (G)I-dle perform at the K-pop concert in matching attire. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    (G)I-dle perform at the K-pop concert in matching attire. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Golden Child show off their moves. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Golden Child show off their moves. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Crossover act Forestella take to the stage. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Crossover act Forestella take to the stage. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The members of (G)I-dle post on stage. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The members of (G)I-dle post on stage. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Fans enjoy the K-pop concert celebrating South Korea's country day at Expo. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Fans enjoy the K-pop concert celebrating South Korea's country day at Expo. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Fans brave the rainy weather to enjoy the K-pop concert. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Fans brave the rainy weather to enjoy the K-pop concert. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Quartet Forestella perform at the K-pop concert. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Quartet Forestella perform at the K-pop concert. Chris Whiteoak / The National

K-pop stars Psy, Stray Kids and others impress crowds at Expo 2020 Dubai concert


Thoraya Abdullahi
  • English
  • Arabic

K-pop fans in the UAE were treated to live performances by Psy, Stray Kids, Sunmi, Golden Child, (G)I-dle and Forestella on Sunday, South Korea’s country day, at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Ahead of the concert, a media briefing was held with some of the acts. (G)I-dle, made up of five female members, shared their excitement about finally visiting Dubai and hopefully being able to “check out Burj Khalifa” as they have seen it in movies.

“We didn’t sleep the day before we came to Dubai, we were so excited,” Golden Child also said.

“Thank you for inviting us to this huge festival. It is an honour to be here with our fans.”

The 10-member boy band will make their comeback this year with a concert event titled Play, which will be both online and in-person. The band's solo concert debut was in 2020.

Golden Child speak to the media before the K-pop concert at Expo 2020 Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Golden Child speak to the media before the K-pop concert at Expo 2020 Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Many of the artists performed for the first time in the UAE, expressing their amazement at the turnout for the event, which was held during an unusually rainy day. The bands pointed out the differences between the weather in the two countries.

Rain and humidity were experienced throughout the day at Expo 2020, with the Korea pavilion advising beforehand that concertgoers bring rain jackets and umbrellas.

Stray Kids, who were named ambassadors of the Korea pavilion, had a very eventful day at the world's fair. They performed for the president of South Korea and the first lady at Al Wasl Dome and also toured the pavilions, later performing in front of thousands of people.

“We were looking so forward to this moment, ever since we were elected as ambassadors for the Korea pavilion,” Felix from Stray Kids said on stage.

I was so surprised because all of you know K-pop so much. I am so proud of you
Psy

“The water feature right in the middle of the Expo, I don’t know how they were able to build ... but it was really mind-blowing.”

The band then proceeded to watch TikTok dance challenges of their song Thunderous in a segment called "vibe together with a K-pop artist".

The event was brought to an end by singer Psy.

The hitmaker also announced he will make a comeback this year with a new album. “I haven’t been on a stage for the last two years. This kind of applause with a rare crowd, is speechless, really.

“My last song it came out 10 years ago and because of this song you guys all know me,” he said, before closing his show with the upbeat hit Gangnam Style.

Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
  • Wear a protective helmet
  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Letswork%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Almheiri%2C%20Hamza%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20co-working%20spaces%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.1%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20with%20investors%20including%20500%20Global%2C%20The%20Space%2C%20DTEC%20Ventures%20and%20other%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
MATCH INFO

Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')

Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')

Company info

Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PRESIDENTS CUP

Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:

02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland

if you go

The flights

Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.

The hotel

Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850

 Events and tours

There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com

For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art. 

More information

For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS

Biosafety Level 1

The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.

Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.

Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.

Used as teaching spaces.

Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.

Biosafety Level 2

These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.

Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.

Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1

Biosafety Level 3

These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.

Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.

Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.

Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.

Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.

Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.

Biosafety Level 4

The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.

All material must be decontaminated.

Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.

Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.

Entrance must be via airlocks.

UAE v Ireland

1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets

2nd ODI, January 12

3rd ODI, January 14

4th ODI, January 16

Updated: January 18, 2022, 4:34 AM