• A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Grindavik, Iceland. Reuters
    A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Grindavik, Iceland. Reuters
  • A supporter of Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and leader of the Union of Democracy and Social Progress party, at a campaign rally at Sainte Therese, in the Ndjili district of Kinshasa. AFP
    A supporter of Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and leader of the Union of Democracy and Social Progress party, at a campaign rally at Sainte Therese, in the Ndjili district of Kinshasa. AFP
  • A burnt out railway carriage allegedly set on fire by opposition activists, in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. At least four people were killed in the blaze. AFP
    A burnt out railway carriage allegedly set on fire by opposition activists, in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. At least four people were killed in the blaze. AFP
  • An image of the Earth taken by a camera installed on a North Korean Hwasongpho-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, during a test launch. AFP
    An image of the Earth taken by a camera installed on a North Korean Hwasongpho-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, during a test launch. AFP
  • Spanish police officer Eduardo Rodriguez, known as Edu Balboa, waves at a young patient while dressed as Spiderman, after dropping in at the Materno Infantil hospital in Malaga, Spain. Reuters
    Spanish police officer Eduardo Rodriguez, known as Edu Balboa, waves at a young patient while dressed as Spiderman, after dropping in at the Materno Infantil hospital in Malaga, Spain. Reuters
  • Residents prepare to return to flooded areas in Cairns, north-eastern Australia, after raging waters submerged roads and brought crocodiles into towns. AFP
    Residents prepare to return to flooded areas in Cairns, north-eastern Australia, after raging waters submerged roads and brought crocodiles into towns. AFP
  • Worshippers at the door of the Kaaba during their Umrah, at the Grand Mosque in the holy Saudi city of Makkah. Reuters
    Worshippers at the door of the Kaaba during their Umrah, at the Grand Mosque in the holy Saudi city of Makkah. Reuters
  • A Rohingya refugee woman and child at a temporary camp on Sabang island, in Indonesia's Aceh province. AFP
    A Rohingya refugee woman and child at a temporary camp on Sabang island, in Indonesia's Aceh province. AFP
  • Migrants cross the Rio Bravo from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico into the US, to request asylum. Reuters
    Migrants cross the Rio Bravo from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico into the US, to request asylum. Reuters
  • A cook prepares harissa, a traditional Kashmiri meat and rice dish, on a cold winter's morning in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. EPA
    A cook prepares harissa, a traditional Kashmiri meat and rice dish, on a cold winter's morning in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. EPA

Today's best photos: From a volcano in Iceland to harissa in Kashmir


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More from The National:

Monday's best photos: From Whirling dervishes to German farmers

Sunday's best photos: From Foggy morning in Iraq to Chhayanaut group perform in Bangladesh

Saturday's best photos: From starlings flying over Somerset to abandoned trains in Bolivia

Friday's best photos: From ski jumping in Switzerland to virtual reality in Hungary

Thursday's best photos: From pyramids in Abu Dhabi to smog in Lahore

Wednesday's best photos: From the UN General Assembly to Cop28

THE BIO

Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist

Age: 78

Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”

Hobbies: his work  - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club

 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Ballon d’Or shortlists

Men

Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)

Women

Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)

 

 

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Everything Now

Arcade Fire

(Columbia Records)

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

SPEC SHEET

Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support

Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR

Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps

Audio: Stereo speakers

Biometrics: Touch ID

I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)

Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular

Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue

Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)

Updated: December 19, 2023, 10:34 AM