If you're a globe-trotting explorer who yearns to see the world, the last year or so has been a savage repression of your wanderlust. Covid-19 has put an extraordinary brake on global travel; the World Tourism Organisation recently reported an 87 per cent fall in tourist arrivals in January this year compared to a year earlier.
Last year, Dubai had 5.5 million visitors, or a third of the number of visitors in 2019, according to Dubai Tourism. It’s been catastrophic for the tourism industry, and a disappointment for holidaymakers for whom international travel represents a form of escape.
A computer game could hardly succeed in replicating the luxury experience of a fortnight in the Maldives, but one game in particular has been bestowing its players with a little escapism, sightseeing and global knowledge. GeoGuessr, a game which places you in a 360º photograph taken somewhere in the world and challenges you to pinpoint where you are on a map, has had a surge in interest in recent months, as talented players build large followings on Twitch and YouTube.
Watching players such as the UK's Tom Davies (aka GeoWizard) and Latvian resident GeoPeter navigate their surroundings and make informed guesses against the clock is fascinating and strangely thrilling; you end up playing along with them, shouting at the screen as they mistake a Thai street sign for a Sri Lankan one and willing them to trounce their opposition. In the process, you get to see a bit of the world, albeit on GeoGuessr's terms. "It's gained such popularity because people miss travelling," says GeoPeter, who didn't want to give his real name. "It's is a great way to see the world virtually and explore different cultures without ever leaving your couch."
GeoGuessr celebrates its eighth birthday this week with ever-growing numbers of players and a general surge in interest. Devised by Swedish IT consultant Anton Wallen in 2013, it was designed to satisfy his own curiosity about the world, as the rapid expansion of Google Street View made it possible to take a look at Australian coral reefs, the back streets of Amman or the steppes of Central Asia.
Today, people sampling the game for free are shown photographs from the mapping service Mapillary, but the core of the main, paid-for game is still Google Street View; it lets you pan, zoom and move around looking for clues, whether it's signage, vegetation, architecture, cars or local fashion. It's a potluck game: if you're fortunate, you'll be parachuted into a road a few miles from where you happen to live. If you're unlucky, you'll find yourself in a featureless road in the Dominican Republic, and score zero as you erroneously stick a pin somewhere in northern Bangladesh.
The skills displayed by seasoned players on YouTube, TikTok and Twitch are highly impressive. As a player, you never truly know if your competitors have another browser window open and are Googling names on street signs to establish that they’re in a Transylvanian village, but streaming gamers have no such cheat sheet, and have built up a remarkable knowledge of how the world looks and feels. If the sun appears to be in the north, they never bother guessing anywhere above the equator. They know which countries drive on the left, that Mongolian street signs use the Cyrillic alphabet, that large collections of red-coloured houses probably point to Scandinavia. Knowledge of national flags is a massive bonus, as is familiarity with languages other than your own. (If you’re leaving a village and see a sign saying “viszontlatasra”, get that pin somewhere in Hungary, straight away.)
It's about being curious, going into the game's Explorer mode to see how countries are, to gain a little more understanding
Many computer games claim to be educational, but in this case there appears to be no argument. “Whether it’s what different countries look like, what signs they use, or anything else about their culture, I like to learn it all,” says GeoPeter.
Filip Antell, the head of customer services at GeoGuessr, says it’s always been about learning something about the world.
“It’s about being curious, going into the game’s Explorer mode to see how countries are, to gain a little more understanding,” he says.
Indeed, the game's potential as a teaching aid has recently resulted in the launch of an education programme.
“A lot of schools reached out to us wanting more of a platform where students could use the game without having to sign up,” says Antell. “And we wanted the teachers to be the ones with the reins, to be able to create maps for assignments. When I was younger, we’d be given text books telling us about countries. Today, you can actually see them.”
Aside from being educational, it very quickly opens your eyes to global imbalances. The random nature of the game means that you see stark economic differences in the space of a couple of minutes, with Los Angeles mansions followed by thatched shacks in Senegal.
The introduction of a Battle Royale mode to the game, where 10 people compete over several rounds to become the best geographer in town, has largely been responsible for booming interest on Twitch and TikTok.
"That happened in December, and we've really seen things take off – both in the number of streamers and the hours played," says Antell. But while GeoGuessr puts efforts into its gameplay, it's the progress of Google's mammoth Street View project which will ultimately expand the scope of the game. Currently, some countries are rather underrepresented – some because of legal reasons and local restrictions (e.g. Germany and India), others because the cameras simply haven't got there yet, a situation not helped by the pandemic. "Obviously we would like Street View to get better, but in the long run it won't be an issue," says Antell.
For now, there's still plenty to be going on with. One time, GeoGuessr unexpectedly transported me to a street in American Samoa and left me to my own devices. It's safe to say that this would have never have happened to me in real life, no matter how many air miles I racked up.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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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.
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French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
