Visitors to Dubai Expo 2020 during Space Week next year will find themselves transported into an intergalactic world as a space-themed show is displayed within the world’s largest 360° projection screen at Al Wasl Dome.
A sneak peek of the show was released on Monday during a "pre-Expo" Space Week being held until Tuesday and hosting a range of speakers including astronauts, astronomers, educators and space industry experts.
The show featured rockets, astronauts with UAE flags on their suit, satellites and other spacecrafts.
Space Week will be the first of 10 thematic weeks held by expo without the six-month fair that begins October 1, 2021.
Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, said the UAE's recent space missions would draw interest to the themed week.
“As we gather today to contemplate the incredible mystery and opportunity of space, my mind is drawn surely and proudly to the successful launch of the Emirates Mars Mission in July – the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission,” she said.
“The Hope probe was named in part of the aspirations that its success would reflect and underscore the leadership in science, tech and in exploration that has, for centuries, been the domain for the Arab world.”
She said space exploration and technologies were a growing priority for countries as they turn to the sector for solutions on climate change, water management and food security.
On of the UAE's scientific objectives from the Mars mission is to study how the Red Planet, which is said to have supported life billions of years ago, dried out.
The science team will study the findings to see how food security and water resources can be strengthened in the Emirates – a country with an arid climate that relies heavily on imports.
“In the areas of climate change, food security, water management and much more, our understanding has the potential to be reshaped by what we learn from the skies above,” said Ms Al Hashimy.
“These could be through the studies of carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere, the intelligent application of satellite data for the benefit of agricultural development or through the advances of water purification that brings space station technology to villages in Sahara, Africa.”
Several countries will be displaying their achievements in space at their pavilions during the much-anticipated event next year.
A preview of the Space Week will continue until Tuesday. Some of the many other speakers include Nasa’s chief scientist James Green, planetary scientist Ryan Zeigler and Nasa’s chief historian Brian Odom.
There are nine other thematic weeks, focusing on world’s most pressing challenges, which will be held before the opening of the grand show next year.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
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.”
MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
The five pillars of Islam
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Blue%20Beetle
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20Manuel%20Soto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXolo%20Mariduena%2C%20Adriana%20Barraza%2C%20Damian%20Alcazar%2C%20Raoul%20Max%20Trujillo%2C%20Susan%20Sarandon%2C%20George%20Lopez%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
