Mission Impossible: Fallout star Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie seem to be taking the title of the movie at face value judging by the latest posts on McQuarrie's Instagram.
Pictures posted over the weekend show the pair sitting in skydiving suits and oxygen masks, waiting to quite literally “fall out” of a large transport plane – which aviation fans among McQuarrie's followers suggest is a Boeing C17 Globemaster, a cargo and personnel transport plane which is a mainstay of the militaries of the US, UK, Canada and, yes, the UAE.
The reason for the oxygen masks seems evident from McQuarrie's second shot – an altimeter showing that the plane is at a height of some 25,000 feet. A typical skydive takes place from around 13,000 feet, suggesting that, as ever, the Mission Impossible team won't be skimping when it comes to the extremity of their stunts.
Actor Tom Cruise also shared this snap of himself leaping from the back of an airplane high above the dunes:
The film's star Henry Cavill is also rumoured to be in the UAE for the stunt shoot:
Last time the team were in the UAE, for 2011's Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Cruise climbed Dubai's Burj Khalifa without a harness, so a 25,000-foot leap above the Abu Dhabi desert is probably just another day at the office for the actor, who famously performs his own stunts, much to his insurance company's presumed dismay.
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Read more:
Confirmed: Tom Cruise is shooting a film in Abu Dhabi, most likely Mission Impossible
The stars coming to Middle East Film & Comic Con this year
‘We were flying the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings and TIE Fighters over Abu Dhabi’
Neil Nitin Mukesh confirms dates for UAE shoot of 'Baahubali' star Prabhas' film 'Saaho'
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Mobile phone packages comparison
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Samaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More coverage from the Future Forum
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
