On May 12, 2010, the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, now known as Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, introduced the world's first gold-dispensing ATM. Known as Gold to Go, it was developed by the German company Ex Oriente Lux. The ATM sold 24-carat gold bars and coins directly to users.
Within a day of being unveiled, the machine sold out. Although capable of holding up to 300 pieces, the gold ATM carried only 100 for its debut, said Thomas Geissler, the chief executive of Ex Oriente Lux.
On the day of the unveiling, two men each spent almost Dh20,000 buying each of the 10 gold products on offer, The National reported at the time.
Mohamed Al Foulathi, an engineer and businessman who was an investor with Gold To Go, said then that the idea was to develop the device and expand across the region and beyond. "Anything to do with gold has to come to Abu Dhabi and then go on through to the world," he said.
The machine dispensed 24-carat gold bars in a range of sizes, including 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 250 grams, as well as one-ounce options. It also offered gift boxes containing gold coins embossed with designs such as the South African Krugerrand, Canadian maple leaf and Australian kangaroo. Each gold bar was sealed in plastic with an anti-counterfeit hologram and included details of its purity, price per gram and the company’s 10-day return policy.
Prices were updated every 10 minutes based on real-time gold market rates. The ATM itself was gold-plated, matching the opulence of the Emirates Palace Hotel.
The machine was equipped with advanced security features, including anti-money laundering software and a robust physical structure designed to resist tampering. It also had an automatic shutdown mechanism in case of malfunction.
Two more machines were installed in Dubai, one at Atlantis, The Palm in 2011 and another in Souk Madinat Jumeirah in 2013. The machines could also be found around the world, with three in the US and Germany, two in Portugal and one each in Italy, Switzerland and the UK.
The Abu Dhabi gold ATM had been removed by 2016 and the two in Dubai were taken out by 2017.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
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