UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday to a hero's welcome after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.
President Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, received the astronaut at Abu Dhabi's new airport terminal.
“I was honoured to join my brother Mohammed bin Rashid to celebrate the homecoming of our astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi,” Sheikh Mohamed posted on social media on Monday evening.
“The people of the UAE are united in pride for his remarkable achievement, which has further advanced our nation’s space exploration ambitions.”
Dr Al Neyadi handed an Emirati flag that had been to space to Sheikh Mohamed, who unfurled it for television cameras.
“I am thrilled to share the exciting news that our national flag has made its way to space for the second time, but this time, it ventured beyond the confines of the space station,” Dr Al Neyadi said.
“This is merely the inception of our journey, and with the grace of God, we aspire to achieve further milestones in space exploration.
“I have a vision that this mission will be followed by the placement of the flag I hold in my hands today on both the Moon and Mars.”
Sheikh Mohammed said Dr Al Neyadi's success represented a major milestone for the UAE.
“We will continue, God willing, to send more astronauts from our young men and women and we will continue to launch more scientific, research and exploratory projects in space and on Earth,” he wrote on social media.
“We will continue, God willing, to invest in humanity.”
A grand reception for Dr Al Neyadi included Emirati pupils in astronaut flight suits. Giant screens spread across the terminal displayed portraits of the astronaut and messages of his homecoming.
His father and several of his six children greeted him as he exited the aircraft, welcoming him back with hugs.
Dr Al Neyadi, who was born in Al Ain, made history during his ISS mission when he became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk.
He returned to Earth on September 4.
During a briefing held after the reception, Dr Al Neyadi said that he was happy to see the grand welcome he had been given.
“Today, being received by the leadership and my parents signified the importance of space,” he said.
“They believed in us. It was a great reception.”
He said his flight from Houston to Abu Dhabi was about the same duration as flying from the space station to Earth, but both offered very different views.
“I've seen beautiful scenes from the Dragon capsule's window,” he said.
“The window was facing up and I saw the Milky Way. When I was young, I used to see the Milky Way from Al Ain when there wasn't any light pollution.
“It was a special experience to see my dream turning into reality.”
The%20specs
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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
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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