Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
September 21, 2021
Since its inception 170 years ago, the World Expo, an event that showcases humanity's most important inventions, has been associated with advanced engineering. In 1851, it was held in London's Crystal Palace, a glass structure so impressive that an entire area in the UK capital is named after it. In 1889, France commissioned the Eiffel Tower for its Exposition Universelle. Its worldwide fame and the genius of the entrepreneur behind it, Gustave Eiffel, makes it the most popular tourism destination in France, which is still the world's most visited country.
But after decades at the top, the Eiffel Tower has a rival in the UAE. According to new data from the luxury travel company Kuoni, Dubai's Burj Khalifa is now the most desirable landmark to visit in the world.
The timing could not be more symbolic. The news comes less than a fortnight before the UAE opens Expo 2020 Dubai, part of the same tradition behind the Exposition Universelle that led to the creation of the Eiffel Tower more than 130 years ago.
Delayed for a year by Covid-19 restrictions, Expo 2020 Dubai will open on October 1 and run for 182 days. Pictured is the canopy of the Sustainability Pavilion, one of the impressive buildings to have been built for the event.
Alif – The Mobility Pavilion blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital world.
Hjayceelyn Quintana, the Philippines’ ambassador to the UAE, visits the Bangkota Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site.
Multi-coloured tubes wrapped around the Russian Pavilion will draw visitors into the three-storey structure.
The Finland Expo Pavilion resembles an Arabic tent made of snow
'Hugs' by Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. One of the artworks installed in Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion.
ENOC Group announces the construction of its pavilion at Expo 2020 is complete.
A replica of the Space X Falcon 9 rocket outside the USA Pavilion.
Construction work on the French Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai was finished in April.
Dubai Cares Pavilion focuses on the transformative power of education on children.
Scores of stylised metal birds depict the migratory route taken from Poland to the Arabian Peninsula and form the centrepiece of the country's Expo 2020 Dubai Pavilion.
The Austria Pavilion will be a striking addition to the sprawling Expo 2020 site
The Morocco Pavilion under construction in the Opportunity District
The Italy Pavilion features an innovation observatory.
Solar cells will be placed in the skylight of the Dutch Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai to provide electricity. The skylight will allow sunlight to filter through to help grow edible plants.
The outside of the Oculus at the Ireland Pavilion.
Early construction photos of work on the Luxembourg Pavilion.
The Swiss Pavilion reflects the Alpine country’s diversity – from magnificent landscapes to innovative projects and ideas for a sustainable future.
The international fame of Emirati landmarks is an aspect of the country's identity that won it the candidacy to hold the event. More than just the Burj Khalifa, visitors will be a short journey from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the largest places of worship on the planet, which was named after Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father of the UAE. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, now one of the Middle East's most famous examples of modern architecture, as well as the emirate of Sharjah's House of Wisdom, a library that is home to more than 300,000 books, also have growing international reputations. There are many more examples across all seven emirates.
Buildings at the Expo 2020 site itself are feats of engineering. The Dutch pavilion, for example, will comprise a giant cone covered with edible plants and a solar-powered rain shower to highlight the issue of water and food scarcity.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris. Photo: Fabien Maurin
The heart of the Expo 2020 site is Al Wasl Plaza which will host its opening ceremony. The list of performers has recently been announced. They include opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Golden Globe-winning actress, singer and songwriter Andra Day, platinum-selling British pop star Ellie Goulding, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and four-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo. There will also be performances by regional artists including the "Artist of Arabs" Mohamed Abdu, much-loved Emirati singing sensation Ahlam Alshamsi and Emirati artist and Expo 2020 Dubai ambassador Hussain Al Jassmi, a trendsetter on the Khaleeji music scene. It will be one of the biggest concerts the world has seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
All this is happening at a site with hundreds of modern architectural concepts, in a city that can now lay claim to the world's most desirable landmark, in a country that over recent years has commissioned some of the world's most ambitious buildings. The core of World Expo has always been a sense of global spectacle, and the UAE's built environment is well placed to give it just that.
Red flags
Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
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.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
