A mysterious monolith, similar to ones that have appeared briefly in the Utah desert, on a heath in the Netherlands, in Warsaw and on a Romanian hilltop, has now popped up in Toronto.
Canadian media said the four-meter (12-foot) tall shiny metal structure, which appeared to be hollow, was spotted on the city's shore on New Year's Eve.
Similar ones were also recently reported in Vancouver and in the midwestern city of Winnipeg.
Images posted on social media describing it as "Mono-terrific" showed Toronto's downtown including the iconic CN Tower in the distance.
Local residents were giddy, eager to get a glimpse of the installation that some suggested online was either "rogue art," left by aliens, or a promotion for an upcoming film.
Others worried that crowds would flock to the Humber Bay Shores neighbourhood in breach of public health officials' pleas to stay home during a government-ordered lockdown to slow the spread of the Covid-19 illness.
Nobody has claimed credit for the monoliths that have popped up around the world, and then disappeared.
By Friday morning, the Toronto monolith had been vandalised with red paint.
News of the first monolith in the Utah desert in November gained worldwide headlines, with many noting the object's similarity with alien monoliths that trigger huge leaps in human progress in Stanley Kubrick's classic sci-fi 2001: A Space Odyssey.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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