The UAE has been chosen to lead a UN committee working to promote peaceful use of space.
The country will lead the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, with Omran Sharaf, the Emirati engineer who led its successful Mars mission, serving as the committee's director for 2022 and next year.
The committee has been in operation since 1959 and is one of the largest at the UN. It has 100 member states and plays an important role in peaceful uses of space, encouraging international co-operation and recommending laws and policies that support space exploration.
President Sheikh Mohamed said he was proud of Mr Sharaf and congratulated him on being elected.
“The UAE continues to make notable contributions to the space sector and we wish Omran every success in his new role,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, also expressed his pride over the UAE's achievement and said it was an honour to have Mr Sharaf appointed.
“I am proud of the UAE's victory as chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,” he said.
“I am proud of the son of the Emirates, Omran, who has honourably held this high international role.
“The youth of the Emirates have brought us to space, are leading global files and are running international institutions.”
News of the UAE's election comes as some countries seek to use space for military purposes.
It’s a great honour for the Emirates to take the chair of COPUOS
Sarah Al Amiri,
chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency
The use of weaponry and military technology in space has caused concern among experts over the years, as countries such as Russia, India and China perform anti-satellite missile tests. Some nations have launched an increasing number of spy satellites.
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Future Technology and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, said: “It’s a great honour for the Emirates to take the chair of Copuos, particularly as we founded our space programme on international partnerships and collaboration and continue to place these partnerships at the core of our space sector development.”
Mr Sharaf previously represented the UAE on the outer space committee and on the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
He said this was a “tremendous chance” to serve the global space sector.
“As both a young nation and a relatively new entrant to the space sector, we have benefited from the amazing work of the pioneers who have gone before us,” he said.
“Alongside that heritage, we have also found scope to innovate and challenge what have become accepted norms and we look forward to bringing a spirit of open dialogue and co-operation but also seeking to define solutions and new ways of looking at some of the emerging challenges and opportunities facing our sector and, indeed, humanity.”
The committee is behind one of the most notable space treaties, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which has been signed by more than 105 countries so far, including the UAE.
The treaty outlines peaceful uses of space, including low-Earth orbit, the Moon and other space bodies.
However, experts have been voicing concerns for the past few years about some countries using space for the “wrong reasons”.
During the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi last week, Maj Michel Friedling, head of the French Space Command, said space was no longer peaceful and immune from politics and war.
“The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 has allowed for the case of peaceful coexistence. And bridges were made between East and West during these decades,” said Mr Friedling.
“But space is and will remain a key factor of economic strategy and military advantage for those who master space and those who know how to use space services.
“So, tensions on Earth will reflect in space and it's already the case.”
The militarisation includes using weapons in space, carrying out cyber attacks on satellites, using technology that jams communications and possessing a large fleet of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, a number of cyber attacks have been carried out on satellites operating over the country, often disconnecting its internet and communication services and cutting off the Ukrainian people from the wider world.
Elon Musk made his Starlink satellites available to Ukraine but warned that they could become targets.
Anti-satellite missile, or ASAT, tests use military technology to destroy spacecraft. They are a concern because they create high levels of debris that could endanger astronauts and satellites.
They are also considered a threat because such missile technology could be used in an armed conflict.
In November, Russia carried out an ASAT test in which it destroyed one of its satellites, creating thousands of pieces of space debris.
India ordered an ASAT test in 2019 in an operation called the Mission Shakti, resulting in high levels of space debris.
China destroyed one of its satellites in 2007 and the US followed a year later with a similar operation.
But the US government recently committed to ending ASAT tests and has called for a global agreement to urge other nations to follow its lead.
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Rating: 4.5/5
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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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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Western Clubs Champions League:
- Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
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Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
