Brie Larson's been there, so has Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan joined the fold, too. And now, Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid has announced the imminent release of her own NFTs.
Called CY-B3LLA, it will be a collection of 11,111 non-fungible tokens that "serve as your passport to this new world", the celebrity wrote on Instagram.
"As we've been reminded too many times, the universe we live in is imperfect. But I believe this provides a true opportunity to build a meta community, sustained by peace, love, compassion and meaningful connections."
Hadid, who co-founded the collection with reBase, which sets up celebrity NFT collaborations, describes them as "invitations to a new global nation".
Each NFT features different 3D scans of Hadid, "designed to encourage travel, community, growth, fantasy and human interactions".
The plan, she says, is to grow "this new meta-nation" with real locations and events around the world in the coming months, where she plans to meet those in her online community.
She's set up a website, too, which features a video of Hadid's avatar set to an eerie soundtrack, teasing a "private society" and 10 locations. It simply says "more information coming soon" and asks people to register for the "whitelist".
Celebrities have been backing NFTs and cryptocurrencies for a while now, and have received some criticism for it.
Captain Marvel star Larson sparked a storm of criticism in February after a tweet about an NFT artwork. The tweet received comments that accused her of promoting a "Ponzi scheme", but also concerns about the environmental impact of NFTs and artists' intellectual property rights.
Larson’s post followed an episode of The Tonight Show in which the host Jimmy Fallon and guest Paris Hilton showed off their recent Bored Ape NFT purchases, created by the secretive collective known as Bored Ape Yacht Club.
The 77-second-long segment, a glaring non sequitur that followed a conversation about Hilton’s recent wedding, was described as “cringe”, “embarrassing” and “unbearable”, as Fallon declared: “We’re part of the same community. We’re both Apes.”
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
