Daniel Korski, a businessman who has called for London to be modelled on Dubai’s open to the world market-led approach, has been shortlisted as a Conservative candidate for the mayoral race in the UK capital.
The former No 10 political adviser has built his campaign on a pledge to “restore the London dream” – and said the city should be looking to the UAE for inspiration.
Mr Korski, who worked for former prime minister David Cameron before entering the tech sector, said a fresh approach that “embraces new ideas, new technologies, and a positive, entrepreneurial spirit” is needed to give London a boost. He said on Sunday night he was “delighted” to enter the next stage of the race.
His bid become mayor of London has been backed by several Tory MPs, including Foreign Office minister Tom Tugendhat and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.
The Conservatives announced their shortlist for mayoral candidates on Sunday, naming Mr Korski, London Assembly Member Susan Hall and barrister Mozammel Hossain following a selection process.
Paul Scully, the minister for London, failed to make the cut.
In a social media post that included a photo of Dubai earlier this year, Mr Korski said: “The UAE feels like the new capital of the emerging markets these days, where you’re more likely to meet a Turkish architect, an Indian clean energy expert or a Nigerian businessman than in London, let alone Paris.
He said he has been visiting the UAE since 2004 and praised its “extraordinary transformation”.
The likely front-runner in the race to be the Tory candidate in the election praised Emiratis’ approach to clean energy and emerging markets as he pushed his campaign online.
He is the co-founder and chief executive of Public, a government-focused tech firm which helps clients build digitally-enabled public services.
Mr Korski was born in Denmark to Jewish parents who fled Poland in the 1960s and serves as vice president of the Jewish Leadership Council.
Mr Scully announced his candidacy last month and was seen as a front-runner for the nomination. He said he was “disappointed” by the decision but praised the “incredible” support his short-lived campaign had received.
Seen as an ally of Boris Johnson, Mr Scully had said he would look to follow in the footsteps of the former prime minister in a bid to “reach out beyond” tribal lines if he was selected.
The contestants will face off in a hustings from Monday until July 3 before Conservative Party members are given the chance to vote for their preferred candidate between July 4 and 18.
The chosen candidate is expected to be announced on July 19.
Labour’s London mayor Sadiq Khan, who was first elected in 2016, is vying for a historic third term in City Hall in the May 2024 election.
Mr Korski said Mr Khan has been “neglecting what makes our city so brilliant” and vowed to usher in a new era of prosperity and “restore the London dream” if he gets into office.
“To achieve this, we need a fresh approach,” Mr Korski said. “One that embraces new ideas, new technologies, and a positive, entrepreneurial spirit.
“That's why I'm standing to be your candidate for mayor. So we can have a London mayor with the experience, the tenacity, and the forward thinking to supercharge and unlock the full potential of our magnificent city.”
Mr Korski has said if he becomes mayor he will cancel Mr Khan's decision to expand Ulez, the controversial ultra-low emission zone, to all 32 London boroughs from August 29. Under the scheme about 700,000 more drivers will face a daily £12.50 ($15.72) fee.
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
