• Attendees are seen through the ‘Spectra’ art installation during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. EPA
    Attendees are seen through the ‘Spectra’ art installation during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. EPA
  • Taliban fighters attend the death anniversary event of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late leader and founder of the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters
    Taliban fighters attend the death anniversary event of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late leader and founder of the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters
  • Travellers wait in a departure hall at Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam, a day after a strike by KLM luggage handlers which caused many flights to be cancelled. AFP
    Travellers wait in a departure hall at Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam, a day after a strike by KLM luggage handlers which caused many flights to be cancelled. AFP
  • Iraqi Special Forces members sit in a helicopter during the 'Solid Will' military operation against ISIS in the Anbar desert in Iraq. Reuters
    Iraqi Special Forces members sit in a helicopter during the 'Solid Will' military operation against ISIS in the Anbar desert in Iraq. Reuters
  • Visitors view artworks from the 'Max is in the Army' series (2022) by Ukrainian artist Lesia Khomenko, in the Ukrainian pavilion at the International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. EPA
    Visitors view artworks from the 'Max is in the Army' series (2022) by Ukrainian artist Lesia Khomenko, in the Ukrainian pavilion at the International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. EPA
  • Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen leaves the pit during a practice session in Imola, Italy, ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix. AFP
    Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen leaves the pit during a practice session in Imola, Italy, ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix. AFP
  • Tyson Fury celebrates after winning his World Heavyweight Title fight against Dillian Whyte in Wembley Stadium, London. Reuters
    Tyson Fury celebrates after winning his World Heavyweight Title fight against Dillian Whyte in Wembley Stadium, London. Reuters
  • A long exposure photo shows Christian Orthodox pilgrims holding candles as they walk around the monastery of St. John the Baptist in North Macedonia. EPA
    A long exposure photo shows Christian Orthodox pilgrims holding candles as they walk around the monastery of St. John the Baptist in North Macedonia. EPA
  • Internally displaced people wait for food to be distributed in a bunker at a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine. AFP
    Internally displaced people wait for food to be distributed in a bunker at a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine. AFP
  • A family from Myrne, a town which is currently occupied by Russian forces in Ukraine, wait to register with police at an evacuation point for people fleeing. Getty Images
    A family from Myrne, a town which is currently occupied by Russian forces in Ukraine, wait to register with police at an evacuation point for people fleeing. Getty Images
  • Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action against Karen Khachanov of Russia during their semi-final match at the Serbia Open tennis tournament in Belgrade. EPA
    Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action against Karen Khachanov of Russia during their semi-final match at the Serbia Open tennis tournament in Belgrade. EPA

Today's best photos: from Coachella art to Novak Djokovic in action


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More from The National:

Saturday's best photos: from a sandstorm in India to iftar in Iraq

Friday's best photos: from Boris Johnson in India to the Rio Carnival

Thursday's best photos: from Queen Elizabeth with her ponies to the Elvis Express

Wednesday's best photos: from Venice Art Biennale to a hot air balloon crash

Tuesday's best photos: from a paper plane championship to a jousting tournament

Monday's best photos: from Easter parades to cherry blossoms

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
FIXTURES

Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney

Note: d/n = day/night

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Stree

Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

THREE
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Updated: April 24, 2022, 12:50 PM