Hasan Al Redaini will create media content for the mission’s website, Twitter feed and YouTube channel. Christopher Pike / The National
Hasan Al Redaini will create media content for the mission’s website, Twitter feed and YouTube channel. Christopher Pike / The National

UAE

Solar Impulse 2 team begin preparations for next leg of round-the-world journey

With a record-breaking flight behind them, the Solar Impulse 2 team is preparing for the next leg of the round-the-world flight without using fossil fuel.

Emmanuel Samoglou

April 25, 2016

ABU DHABI // With a record-breaking flight behind them, the Solar Impulse 2 team is preparing for the next leg of the round-the-world flight without using fossil fuel.

After the aircraft’s arrival at California’s Moffett Federal Airfield south of San Francisco Bay on Sunday morning, the crews will prepare for the solar-powered plane’s 10th leg – a flight of about 2,000 kilometres to a yet-to-be-disclosed destination in mid continent.

“It was a much anticipated landing,” said Emirati Hasan Al Redaini, 25, a Solar Impulse crew member in California.

“Personally, it’s different than working in an office and being hands-on and on the ground level of things. Everyone collaborated to ensure safety and a successful landing of the plane and the pilot.

“Most of the team are glad to have advanced and re-experienced mission mode.”

With the Pacific crossing completed, Mr Al Redaini, a communications officer at Mubadala, said the plane was housed in a mobile hangar.

Mr Al Redaini said he would participate in organising and conducting press conferences, media tours, pilot interviews, arranging mission logistics, and creating media content for the mission’s website, Twitter feed and YouTube channel.

“All teams are deployed 100 per cent from the media, to the logistics to the ground crew. We go through briefings, trainings and preparations,” he said.

“As a UAE representative, I also have my social media channels and potentially more UAE engagement activities that will be confirmed within a few weeks.”

It has yet to be announced which city Solar Impulse will be flying to, or which pilot – either Bertrand Piccard or Andre Borschberg, the co-founders – will take to the cockpit. And no flight date has been announced.

“We have teams going ahead to the next destinations while some stay,” Mr Al Redaini said.

“This makes it well for the team to ensure everything goes well for the last leg back to Abu Dhabi.”

From its next stop, the plane is expected to fly to New York before crossing the Atlantic into Europe, and finally arriving in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March last year.

“Everyone is confident that we will be able to complete the circumnavigation as one team,” said Mr Al Redaini.

esamoglou@thenational.ae

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Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

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  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
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Countries offering golden visas

UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.

Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.

Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.

Switzerland
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Canada
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Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th

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Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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Short-term let permits explained

Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.

Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.

There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.

Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.

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Results:

First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15

Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24

Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15

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What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

Super Bowl LIII schedule

What Super Bowl LIII

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Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States

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Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.

Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.

The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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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The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.

For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.