DOHA // Inca trails spanning six countries and a French cave with some of the earliest known paintings are among the sites expected to get World Heritage status at a Unesco meeting in Doha this week.
At least 30 natural and cultural sites, including the Erbil Citadel in Iraq’s Kurdistan, are vying to get the United Nations cultural body’s prestigious distinction and add their names to an already 981-strong list.
The World Heritage Committee gathering, which ends on June 25, will also decide whether to put London’s Westminster Palace on its list of endangered sites.
And, in a first for a developed country, Australia is asking that large swathes of its Tasmanian Wilderness – one of the last expanses of temperate rainforest in the world – be delisted to make way for loggers.
Inclusion on the list has significant economic implications as a World Heritage site is eligible for financial assistance towards preservation and the coveted status is also a powerful draw for tourists.
Qatar announced at the meeting on Sunday it was donating US$10 million to protect world heritage in areas affected by natural disasters and conflicts.
“Common action is necessary,” said Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, a sister of the emir and the chairperson of Qatar Museums.
The listing of the Qhapaq Nan – a huge network of roads once used by the mighty Inca Empire that snake over perilously high snowy peaks over more than 30,000 kilometres – would benefit not one but six countries.
The trails go through Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, the last of which added the routes to its tentative list in 2001, and was later followed by the others.
Submitted by France, the Chauvet Cave, located in a limestone plateau of the meandering Ardeche River in southern France, contains some of the earliest known paintings, drawn more than 30,000 years ago.
The grotto has more than 1,000 pictures – many of which feature animals such as bison, mammoths and rhinos.
The cave was closed off by a rock fall around 20,000 years ago and remained sealed until its rediscovery in 1994. More drawings are expected to be found in remote parts of the grotto.
India, meanwhile, is hoping to have its Rani-ki-Vav stepwell on the banks of the Saraswati River in western Patan listed.
“Designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water”, it is divided into seven underground storeys of terraced walls with pavilions and buttresses, according to its official nomination document.
The committee, which consists of representatives from 21 countries elected for six years, will also use the Doha meeting to raise concerns.
It has cautioned that there are too few restrictions governing the development of skyscrapers in London, which it says could affect Westminster Palace, a World Heritage site.
The committee warned that “there do not seem to be defined settings or overall agreed constraints in place to ensure that new tall buildings do not impact on important views and other attributes of the property”.
Australia will also be under scrutiny with two of its most high-profile protected areas facing threats to their status as World Heritage sites.
The Great Barrier Reef, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, is considered in poor health and Unesco is mulling whether to downgrade its status to “World Heritage in Danger” at the Doha meeting.
The reef is threatened not just by climate change and the destructive coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, but agricultural runoff and rampant coastal development linked to mining.
Another of Australia’s natural wonders under threat is the Tasmanian Wilderness, which covers nearly 20 per cent, or 1.4 million hectares, of the southern island state.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who favours more access for loggers, has requested Unesco remove its World Heritage status from 74,000 hectares of the area, claiming it was not pristine – but this could be rejected at the meeting.
The nominated sites have already been examined by two consultative bodies that transmit their positive or negative recommendations to the committee, although these are not always followed.
Some of the committee’s choices can sometimes take on political implications.
In 2012, for instance, it listed the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Palestinian territories – worshipped as the birthplace of Jesus – in a move criticised by Israel as politically motivated.
* Agence France-Presse
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Price, base: Dh201,153
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
The specs
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
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The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
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.
