With about six million users, VERO, a social media platform co-founded by Dubai-based Ayman Hariri, is ready to take its next step.
“We’re looking forward to launching subscriptions in 2024,” said Mr Hariri, son of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri.
VERO, owned by VERO Labs, was launched in 2015, touted as an ad-free and algorithm-free alternative to social networks such as Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.
"We haven't turned on subscription yet because it's part of a bigger plan that we've had for this platform since day one and it's taken a while for us to build the full vision," he said.
The subscription model, however, will not affect the existing users, who will continue to be able to use the social platform for free.
The app prominently features photos, videos, links, music and films near the top of the screen, while providing a feed showcasing content from other users, similar to the look and feel of other social media apps.
When asked why the world needs another social network, Mr Hariri disagreed with the premise of the question.
“That would imply that we’re doing things similar to everybody else,” he said, before acknowledging the presence of other platforms. “I think we do need to have an alternative."
The platform’s name, VERO, is no accident. It was taken from Latin, a variation of veritas, meaning truth.
“I noticed that my friends I knew really well were acting different on social media from how I really knew them in the real world,” he said, emphasising that algorithms on existing platforms are incentivising shocking and potentially polarising content.
Mr Hariri also said current social media platforms operate on an "addictive model" that ultimately doesn't interest him.
"You end up cutting corners and doing anything you can to get the audience on your platform and keeping their attention, and that doesn't align with me," he said.
In comparison, VERO seems like a decaffeinated version of the social networks currently in the mainstream.
It caters heavily to musicians, photographers, videographers and content creators such as Peter McKinnon, who has 280,000 followers on the platform. For comparison purposes, Mr McKinnon, who regularly showcases his wildlife photography across several platforms, also has 5.9 million followers on YouTube.
"It's all about high quality versus low quality," Mr Hariri said of VERO's strategy and approach. "With TikTok and Pinterest, a lot of these platforms connect an audience to content and not to creators ... but what we're more interested in is connecting an audience to creators through the creator's content."
Acquiring a stock exchange
Back in June, VERO made headlines and raised eyebrows when it acquired Tokenise Stock Exchange International Ltd, which billed itself as the world's first regulated stock exchange for tokenised securities.
At first, the acquisition might seem unorthodox, but in terms of eventually creating shared value between users and a social platform, Mr Hariri said the business move made perfect sense.
He noted that VERO's decision to acquire a stock exchange would allow for users to share in the platform's hypothetical success.
"We want this to be community-owned," he said. "We want to be fully regulated ... when you look at any creator community, the creators provide enormous equity value they never have access to, and what we want to do is to allow for creators to unlock ownership in the platform at scale for the value they're bringing."
Mr Hariri also said by acquiring Tokenise, VERO would eventually be able to introduce features that would enable creators and their followers on the platform to co-own projects and collaborate with others.
Plans to advertise?
Mr Hariri said VERO made the decision in recent years to not actively advertise the platform, but added that the company's initial marketing and advertising in 2018 led to a surge in the app's popularity.
"We spent a little on advertising and suddenly we became the No 1 app in the world," he said, before reflection on the technical strain prompted by the surge in users.
"It really crushed us and it wasn't what we were expecting," he said.
"It was a lesson learnt to only do that [advertise], when we're ready, and we feel like we're going to be ready to do that in 2024."
Regional reflections
Although the company, VERO Labs, is based in New York, Mr Hariri, a Dubai resident with ample Middle Eastern experience, reflected on the region's start-up atmosphere, both the pluses and minuses, and even touched upon the economic crisis in Lebanon.
"Lebanon is really complicated because you have so many outside forces influencing decision making in the country," he said, before talking about the start-up and entrepreneurship environment in the Mena region as a whole.
"The idea of founding a company and starting something new and being on an adventure, that's high-risk and it comes with the possibility of failure," he noted, referring to the dangers that come with the territory of start-ups regionally and around the world.
"I think culturally speaking in the Middle East, we don't take failure very well, but it's such a necessary part of the learning experience and eventually building things."
"We need to build that [failure acceptance] into the equation, even down to the school level, and then I think we would get many more people who are much more willing to take risks, because culturally it needs to be accepted that it's part of the journey towards success."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
