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TUCKED away in the middle of Yemen lies an ancient desert city with a unique style of architecture that dates back to the 16th century. Dubbed the "Manhattan of the Dessert", the sprawling towers in this city are rather made up of a unique material - mud bricks. Advertisement 7 Shibam is an ancient city with a rich history and deep culture. Credit: Getty 7 One of the residential buildings in the city Credit: Getty 7 Almost all the buildings of Shibam are built with mud bricks using a technique that is said to have been invented centuries ago. This architectural style was used to protect residents from Bedouin attacks. A mixture of soil, hay, and water was turned into bricks and left to bake in the sun for days before being used to make these buildings. Some 500 of these are tower blocks, which rise five to 11 stories high Advertisement read more world news LEFT TO ROT Abandoned hotel where Sinatra partied in ballroom & Marilyn filmed iconic movie LEFT TO ROT Hotel car graveyard teaming with old polos & quad bikes worth £70k left to rot The windowless, ground floors were used for livestock and grain storage, while the uppermost levels typically served as communal floors for socializing. The walls for these stunning mud towers are a whopping six feet thick at the bottom, with some of the top floors having much thinner walls. While the tradition of brick buildings dates back to the 8th or 9th century, it’s difficult to know when they were first built because of how often they’re touched up. That is because the exterior facade which is often eroded by wind and rain, so they have to be periodically covered with mud. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive MY LORD Rangers poised to name new chairman as Lord emerges as main contender for top job RANGERS 1 DUNDEE UTD 1 Snow joke as Clement gets blizzard of abuse over more dropped points COLD BEERS SPFL side spotted going for a PINT after their bus got stuck in the snow WAITING GAME Rangers-Dundee Utd kick off DELAYED amid Storm Bert chaos as new time revealed Each floor traditionally has one or two rooms, and each building ranges between two to eleven storeys high. Despite being centuries old, these are still used by locals to live and socialise. But during the last few years, Shibam has been threatened by natural disasters as well as by the war and the terrorism suffered by Yemen. In 2008, a flood caused severe damage to the buildings. Advertisement Afterwards, a restoration program was started. Furthermore, the city has been declared a world heritage in danger by UNESCO because of the war in Yemen. Meanwhile, tucked away in a corner of Turkey lies an abandoned village whose residents were forced to leave after ghost sightings . The town of Kayaköy was once a lively and integrated community of Greek–Turkish people but was left to rot by locals some 100 years ago. It has now become a true ghost town that sits empty except for tour groups visiting the historical place that failed to stand the test of time. Advertisement Most of the houses in the city have now lost their roofs and their collapsed walls sprout with vegetation. The ruins of houses, churches and other buildings can be found in the city, which was once home to thousands of people before they left the town. The eerie streets have been left behind, with people able to wander from building to building and have a glimpse at the lives of those who used to live there. Meanwhile, haunting pictures inside an abandoned ghost town show a once-booming area frozen in time. Advertisement Nestled in the hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Bodie was established in 1859 as a modest camp after gold was discovered in the region - but the old town now hides a dark curse . The town in California rose to prominence in 1876 after gold ore attracted settlers, and by 1879 the town had a booming population between 5,000 and 7,000. In its heyday, the town boasted some 70 saloons, a bowling alley, dance halls, gambling halls, and numerous stores, hotels, and churches. This time period was characterised by rowdiness, gambling, opium use, and regular, often deadly, bar fights. Advertisement But by the 1880s promising booms in Arizona, Montana, and Utah had lured miners away, and the town began to decline. A small mining community survived, but by the early 20th century most of its mines had closed, and the population had fallen to a few hundred people. The area was designated a state park in 1962 and welcomes around 200,000 visitors a year. Read more on the Scottish Sun FESTIVE FIZZ Coca-Cola Christmas truck in Scotland: Dates, locations & all you need to know AND RELAX Scots seaside hotel with outdoor hot tub and firepit named UK's top spa resort Legend has it that the Bodie Curse will haunt anyone who removes any of the old artefacts from the town. Advertisement Park rangers have even received letters and packages from past visitors hoping to lift the curse by returning what they’ve stolen. 7 Panorama of Shibam showing the towers made of mud bricks Credit: Getty 7 Old Walled City of Shibam at night Credit: Getty 7 The magnificent view of the city of skyscrapers made of sand in the middle of valley Hadramaut Credit: Getty Advertisement 7 Streets of Shibam, Hadhramaut province, Yemen Credit: GettyAfter tree roots infiltrate a prominent Eagle River Water & Sanitation District pipe, repair uses specialized technology to solve the problem777 jili 。

Modi in Kuwait Elevating The TiesThroughout the year, in our Women, Money, and Mindset columns , we have tackled some of life’s most pressing financial challenges. Every month, we have delved into a financial issue that touches the lives of our readers, offering, each week, a distinct insight from the differing viewpoints of a Certified Financial Planner, an attorney, a CPA, and an executive business coach. From navigating the financial markets and business strategies to estate planning and tools to cut taxes, our goal has always been to provide clear, practical, actionable advice to take to your trusted professionals so you take the next steps to grow your wealth and increase your financial security. In this final installment of the year, the issue is giving, and the topic this week is Charitable Gift Annuities. It is a strategy that can address multiple financial and tax planning issues while supporting the causes that matter most to you. Unlike giving away cash or assets and not receiving anything in return, with a CGA, if you donate to a 501(c)(3) qualified charity, in return, you receive two powerful benefits. First, you can qualify for an immediate tax deduction for part of the contribution. Second, you receive a dependable, fixed income from the charity for the rest of your life. The minimum contribution is usually only $5,000, so it is an accessible planning tool for most people. Before diving into more specifics, let’s see how a CGA can help with some specific financial and tax planning concerns you might have: —You want to give more to your house of worship or favorite charity but are concerned about not having enough income in the future. With a CGA, you can receive guaranteed income for life. —You need a last-minute tax deduction and have maxed out on your IRA or 401k plan contribution for the year. A CGA can act as an alternate retirement plan if you itemize deductions on your return. —You are interested in giving away more to charity but do not want the complications of setting up a charitable trust or naming a trustee. A CGA can be set up in days directly with the charity at no cost to you. —You intend to leave some or all of your estate to charity and would like to have all of your estate planning finalized now. CGAs are especially helpful if you would like to leave your estate to several charities because you can set up annuities with each charity. —You have adequate income now or are not yet retired, but you are concerned about costs later in life, like long-term care. You can receive a larger monthly payment later if you choose a deferred annuity and start the payments at a later date. —If you are concerned about paying capital gains taxes on assets you want to sell, you can avoid or defer taxes if you contribute the asset to the CGA. —If you would prefer your church or favorite charity to have access to some of your contribution now, a CGA is preferable to a charitable remainder trust or bequest that funds after you have died. —If you want to secure the financial future of your spouse, child, or another loved one, CGAs can be set up for the lives of two individuals. This could be especially helpful if you have a child in their 50s or older, and you are concerned about them not having enough guaranteed retirement income. —If you keep most of your funds in the bank but would like to earn a higher return, the charity invests your CGA funds (and generally considered safe) with usually a fixed rate of return that is higher than you would receive on a CD. —You would like to avoid paying taxes on a required minimum distribution, so you are planning on doing a Qualified Charitable Rollover (QCR). New rules will allow you to fund your CGA with a one-time $53,000 QCR. The QCR amount to your CGA will not be included as income on your return, but you can still receive the monthly income benefit from the CGA, and you can defer income further if you choose a deferred CGA. As you can see, a charitable gift annuity checks many financial and tax planning boxes, and it is easy and cost-effective to set up. Now to the specifics. First, you set up the CGA and donate the asset to the charity. The gift is set aside and invested by the charity. You (and also your spouse or other person if you choose a two-person annuity) will receive fixed monthly or quarterly payments for the rest of your lives. The charity can utilize the remaining funds after your death. How much is the tax deduction? The income tax deduction is equal to the amount of the contribution minus the present value of the payments that will be made to the donors during their lives. The charity will handle these calculations for you. How much income will you receive? Current suggested annuity rates range from 4.6-10.1% for those 50 and older, dependent primarily on your age. (In other words, you would receive $4,600 to $10,100 a year on a $100,000 contribution.) For recommended rates and how they are calculated, go to acga-web.org/current-gift-annuity-rates . The amount you would receive is generally fixed and will never fluctuate or adjust for inflation. But it’s also secured by the charity’s entire assets and will continue regardless of how the investments of the annuity perform. Here is an example. Dennis, 75, and Mary, 73, fund a $50,000 charitable gift annuity with appreciated stock that they originally bought for $20,000. They are eligible for an income tax charitable deduction of $17,584. They will then receive a payment rate of 6%, or $3,000 each year for the remainder of their lives. If you contact your church or charity, they will provide you with information regarding the minimum age, contribution requirements, and rates for their annuities. As you can see, a charitable gift annuity is more than just a financial tool-it’s a way to make a lasting difference while providing for yourself and your loved ones. As you plan for the year ahead, I hope this inspires you to take the next step. Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year filled with peace and purpose! Michelle C. Herting is a CPA, accredited in business valuations, and an accredited estate planner specializing in succession planning and estate, gift, and trust taxes. She is also the past president of the Charitable Gift Planners of Inland Southern California.

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Sam’s Club: Bennett, Reinhart on Team Canada for 4 Nations Face-OffNEW DELHI: Government is pitching roads, renewables and rapid transit projects for development under the India-UK investment bridge and is willing to tailor the design based on feedback so that there is greater participation from global investors. Representatives from the City of London Corporation, officials from Niti Aayog and other ministries and companies from the UK and India, including foreign companies operating in India, discussed how projects could be identified. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who got whom IPL 2025 Auction: Updated Full Team Squads Govt sources, however, said that the projects will not be given by nomination and companies from across the world, including the UK, will have to bid for them. Sectors such as roads and highways have seen foreign players virtually vanish from the space and instead small Indian developers fill that space. "We are receiving presentations from Indian partner companies and also from the UK companies. We have got major engineering firms like Mott Macdonald and Arup, which have global companies with huge global experience in infra projects. The plan is, between now and March next year, we are going to identify three projects with Indian govt which are likely to be in the sectors of roads, rapid transit and renewables. "Once those are agreed, we will be bringing to the table the expertise that the project management firms can supply. In due course, we expect that to expand to capital investment and capital coming out of London and out of the UK to support PM Modi's sustainable transport strategy. This is a two-year agreement initially, but we hope that it would blossom into a long-term partnership between London and the Indian govt because the growth in India is so spectacular and so fast that India needs friend and partners to support in delivering infrastructure ambitions," said Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation. Hayward is the political leader of the entity. He added that a project pipeline is being readied, while insisting that it has to be a "win-win deal" for both sides. Hayward said that there is greater confidence in India now. "One of the challenges of this bridge is that British and other firms have had their fingers burnt. The whole market in India has developed or changed since those days. But, of course, the first thing is confidence building in the British companies that they are not going to get their fingers burnt." Asked if a bilateral investment treaty that is acceptable to the UK was a pre-requisite, he said: "There are negotiations still in play. For this to succeed, the Indian govt has to make it as easy as possible for UK businesses to participate. If barriers are put up that are unacceptable, then it will not work. Regulatory certainty is important for everything, the world over." Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET's Workshop is just around the corner!

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Fortnite UGC studio Creator Corp announced today that it had received a $2 million investment from new venture fund Lumina. The fund’s creators, Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, both expressed enthusiasm for Creator Corp’s mission to build out its portfolio of UEFN titles made in collaboration with influencers and popular IP. Creator Corp’s library of existing titles includes Steph Curry’s Run the Ring, US Open Tennis Storm, Dude Perfect Dodgeball and Bugha’s End Game, which have a combined total of over 220 million active users. The studio says it plans to use Lumina’s investment to build its development portfolio with more games to reach new audiences while maximizing community engagement. Anne-Margot Rodde, Creator Corp CEO, said in a statement, “Thomas and his team understand the inherent synergies between entertainment and gaming and our vision for the studio’s future aligns perfectly. The investment from Lumina will unlock new opportunities to build upon our portfolio of fan-driven games in UEFN and lay the groundwork for user-generated games on new platforms in the future.” Benski added in a separate statement, “User-generated games are the next wave of entertainment, and Creators Corp. is leading that movement. Margot has demonstrated a true talent for understanding both the creator economy and the UGG space, identifying key growth opportunities. Over the past year, she has surrounded herself with top talent in the industry, from developers to advisors, and has forged many meaningful partnerships with influencers and brands alike.” Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily By subscribing, you agree to VentureBeat's Terms of Service. Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here . An error occured.