The UAE will work together with Russia and Kazakhstan to upgrade the world’s oldest spaceport in Baikonur.
A letter of intent between the UAE Space Agency, Roscosmos and Kazakhstan’s aerospace committee was signed at the Dubai Airshow on Monday.
The Gagarin’s Start launch pad, also known as Site 1, is where Yuri Gagarin was launched from in 1961, making him the first man in space and setting off the first space exploration era.
Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, and his crew members were the last to take off from the spaceport in 2019.
DubaiSat-1, the UAE’s first Earth observation satellite, was also launched from Site 1 in 2009.
“This is all three governments committing to upgrade and pursuing this specifically from an economical perspective, especially given that all three countries really have a sentimental link to the location,” said Ibrahim Al Qasim, deputy director general of the UAE Space Agency.
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Hazza Al Mansouri, shortly after arriving back on Earth. Photo: MBRSC -

Hazza Al Mansouri wears an Emirati kandura on board the International Space Station. Photo: Dubai Media Office -

Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri takes live Q&A from space and gives a tour of ISS. Screengrab via Youtube Live -

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid talks with Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, during a live satellite feed from the International Space Station. Photo: Dubai Media Office -

Hazza Al Mansouri answers questions from Emirati students studying in Japan during a live session on Monday. Photo: Jaxa -

One of the pictures Hazza Al Mansouri took while onboard the International Space Station. Photo: Hazza Al Mansouri -

Hazza Al Mansouri having breakfast aboard the International Space Station. The UAE's first astronaut received the Nasa Distinguished Public Service Medal in recognition of his service. Photo: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre -

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, welcomes Hazza Al Mansouri to Abu Dhabi. Wam -

Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, presents a certificate to Astronaut Major Hazza Al Mansouri at Khalifa University Graduation Ceremony at Emirates Palace in 2019. Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs -

UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi tell of their experiences on the UAE space mission during a press conference in Dubai on Tuesday. Pawan Singh / The National -

Maj Hazza Al Mansouri with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office -

UAE's first astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri inside the Kibo lab on the International Space Station. Courtesy: Jaxa -

Hazza Al Mansouri was the first person from the United Arab Emirates to go into space. National Geographic -

Hazza Al Mansouri (left) and Sultan Al Neyadi carried the hopes of a nation as they prepared to venture into space. Courtesy: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre -

Hazza Al Mansouri arrives at the Presidential Terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Saturday. Wam -

Hazza Al Mansouri is tended to by ground crews. Nasa / Youtube screengrab -

Hazza Al Mansouri posted the image of the Soyuz to his Twitter page.
Baikonur is a city in Kazakhstan that has been leased to Russia until 2050 to help the country continue its decades-old space programme.
Kazakhstan was part of the former Soviet Union and the Baikonur Cosmodrome was built by the Soviets for their space programme.
The modernisation of the spaceport involves reconstructing the site to allow for more launches, including commercial and human space flights to the International Space Station.
As part of the agreement, all three parties will bring investors forward to contribute towards the upgrade.
“The UAE space agency is not investing or facilitating as the government. We're looking for private partners within the UAE to partake. There’s a lot of interest,” Mr Al Qasim said.
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Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')






