Latest: UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's journey back to Earth
A busy schedule awaits UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi once he returns to Earth on Sunday, after completing a historic six-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.
Medical tests, a reunion with family and friends, and celebrations in the UAE are going to take up most of Dr Al Neyadi's time.
He and three of his colleagues are set to depart the orbiting outpost aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on Saturday for a 15-hour journey home, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida expected on Sunday at 8.58am UAE time.
After Dragon splashes down
Once the capsule has safely splashed down, crew on a nearby boat will inspect the craft to ensure it is not releasing any toxic gases.
It will then be carried by the boat to SpaceX's recovery ship, where engineers will unbolt the hatch to allow the astronauts to exit.
Because they have spent six months in space, they will likely have to be carried out, as their bodies need to readjust to gravity.
Nasa will likely show the moment when the astronauts emerge from the capsule on its live stream.
After astronauts leave Dragon
The astronauts will be placed on a stretcher-type transport after they are taken out of the Dragon.
They will then go through medical screenings that measure their sense of balance, with healthcare teams on the lookout for dizziness, nausea and headaches.
Once they are cleared, the astronauts will board a flight to Houston, Texas, where they will be reunited with family and friends.
More medical screenings
Dr Al Neyadi and his colleagues will not be able to go home right away, as they will have to take part in more medical tests over the following week.
Nasa has not specified what these tests entail, but most of them are likely to be similar to the ones astronauts underwent in the space shuttle era.
These include tests that measure hypertension, cognitive behaviour, hearing, vision, the cardiovascular system and behavioural health, among others.
Return to the UAE
Dr Al Neyadi, a father of six who was born and raised in Al Ain, will return to the UAE after the health screenings to reunite with family and friends, and take part in celebrations held in his honour.
When Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, returned from his mission in 2019, he was received by President Sheikh Mohamed.
A hero's welcome also awaits the record-setting Dr Al Neyadi, who became the first Arab astronaut to carry out an extended space mission, as well as the first Arab to perform a spacewalk.
He will have to return to the US after his visit to the Emirates to take part in more mission debriefings.
This is when he will work with Nasa and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to discuss the experiments he took part in and report on the activities he participated in during his stay on the orbiting outpost.
When he is back in the UAE for a longer stay, he will be going on a nationwide roadshow to share his experiences.
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.”
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
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”
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
