New Zealand will use its participation at Expo 2020 Dubai to "reconnect with the world", according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
New Zealand responded to the coronavirus pandemic with procedures that included border closures, compulsory quarantine for travellers, contact tracing and snap lockdowns.
As a result, New Zealand recorded about 2,000 confirmed cases and 26 deaths since last March, when the pandemic began.
In Auckland on Thursday, Ms Ardern said Expo 2020 represented a chance for New Zealand to re-establish its presence on the world stage.
"We're here to really kickstart New Zealand's presence and Expo 2020," Ms Ardern said at the launch event.
"This – in a post-Covid world – will be a chance for New Zealand to reconnect with the world."
New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O'Connor said the timing of Expo 2020 Dubai meant many New Zealanders would be vaccinated by October.
"We're aware of the danger of travelling internationally – but we expect by that time many would have had access to the vaccine,” he said.
New Zealand started its national campaign for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last month and expects to have inoculated its entire population by the end of the year.
It initially ordered 1.5 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 750,000 people, but recently announced plans to buy an additional 8.5 million doses, which are expected to reach the country in the second half of the year.
The country has a population of about 4.85 million people.
New Zealand at Expo – what to expect?
New Zealand announced in December that its pavilion, located in the Sustainability District of the Expo 2020 site, was 95 per cent complete. It is expected that the building, including its feature facade, will be completed in mid-2021.
The New Zealand Pavilion was designed by Jasmax architects to increase efficiency through its use of sustainable materials, including Abodo New Zealand eco-timber, which will be a striking aspect of the pavilion’s restaurant and venues.
The pavilion's facade will be a highlight of the structure. Made from Kaynemaile, a lightweight material made in New Zealand from recycled materials and is itself 100 per cent recyclable.
The New Zealand pavillion theme is kaitiakitanga, which refers to the care and connection between land and people.
It was inspired by waka taonga, which are receptacles made by Maori to safeguard items of considerable value.
Choreographer Parris Goebel was announced as the creative director for New Zealand's Expo 2020 entertainment and cultural programme.
It will feature a focus on youth and will reflect New Zealand’s Expo 2020 theme, which revolves around sustainability and stresses the importance of looking out for future generations.
The launch event in Auckland announced that Six60, one of the country's biggest bands, will play at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The band played to about 23,000 people in Christchurch's Hagley Park last month, which was the biggest audience in the world to attend a live concert since the pandemic began.
Six60 is the first to be unveiled as part of a hand-picked line-up of New Zealand talent, which will include singers, dancers and artists.
“Our entertainment and cultural programme, which is curated by Parris Goebel, includes a diverse range of New Zealand talent from dancers and singers to artists and cultural performers with a particular emphasis on those with Maori and Pasifika roots," said Clayton Kimpton, New Zealand’s commissioner-general to Expo 2020 Dubai.
"We’re working with some very new, up-and-coming young talent right through to the established groups like Six60 and we know visitors will be thoroughly entertained."
In pictures – Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Tips%20for%20travelling%20while%20needing%20dialysis
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Company%20profile
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STAGE%201%20RESULTS
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
