What do the number 143, the letters DIFCC and DFF and a wig have in common? A lot, as it turns out. But to see why, let’s review them one at a time.
The number 143 is, of course, the number of satellites lobbed into orbit by in a recent launch of the US company SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. This is a staggering number of deployments. If you, like me, have grown up back in the days when Sean Connery or Roger Moore were playing the role of James Bond, then your image of a satellite is a heavy bus-sized machine weighing hundreds or thousands of pounds.
Recent generations of satellites can do more with less, something we have become accustomed to through Moore’s law, which predicts that our civilisation advances its computing power exponentially. That’s why technology seems to only get more compact. Just imagine: in the future thousands of chip-satellites weighing only a few grams will eventually live in space, collecting and sharing information. So, the materials carried by Falcon 9, will form part of that increasingly dense technological ecosystem orbiting the Earth and providing us with internet, exploration tools and more.
The letters DIFCC and DFF, of course, refer to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts and Dubai Future Foundation, the two entities that in 2017 entered into a partnership to develop the Courts of the Future – a think tank that explores the future as it impacts the legal profession. Courts of the Future is a recognition that science and space exploration will throw all sorts of new challenges towards our legal systems, and that anticipating and preparing for them is preferable to reacting in hindsight.
Legal teams and judges will need to acquire skills to be able to hear cases that arise in space
This is where the wigs – as in those worn by barristers – come in. Conceived from DIFCC and DFF’s partnership is the idea – and now reality – of “space courts”.
It was an obvious next step. Space has been our final frontier since the 1950s, when the first rockets were fired into the sky. Lately, space exploration has developed dramatically with more and more private companies entering the field. The resulting direction of travel is clear: up, towards researching and settling on planets, building a growing number of space stations and lower-orbit spaceship assembly stations and starting asteroid mining operations to source key materials. All of this entails more launches, more people and more “stuff” in space – in our orbit and beyond. It’s Moore’s law writ large into the stars.
But with Moore’s Law also comes Murphy’s Law: what can go wrong, will go wrong. In space, there is a lot that can go wrong. To resolve issues, it will be possible for space companies, in their commercial contracts, to name the DIFCC Space Court as the court to adjudicate any disputes. It is common in contractual agreements to state the court and jurisdiction that prevails in case of a dispute. Going forward, the DIFCC is open for commercial disputes arising from incidents in space.
So, while the court will convene firmly on the ground at the DIFCC and not in space, the legal teams and judges will need to acquire the specialist skills to be able to hear a space case. Training and the development of guides and of best practices will be a key to ensuring that the space courts in Dubai become the courts of choice. This is a complex and tall order. But it’s well within Dubai’s reach as the UAE develops its own spacefaring ambitions and becomes one of very few countries on this planet to have reached Mars.
So, the obvious question is not what cases might be brought before the space courts. I feel as though this is where our science fiction-primed minds will need to take a back seat for a moment. It’s not about hyper-drive collisions, attacks from alien warships or the teletransporter failing to reassemble our bodies in the expected manner. It’s more likely to be about more mundane equipment failures or even failure to deliver components on time. It might include substandard materials or design faults. More dynamically, space court resolution might be required as satellites collide or impact a spacecraft. Space courts would be called upon to adjudicate on responsibility, damages and liabilities.
Comment from The National
While space law is nothing new, an important next step will be for the space courts to develop and establish their worth as a commercial go-to court for these matters. Partnering with key private sector players and gaining their trust to become a specialised court for commercial agreements will be a big win. At the same time, scenarios will need to be developed to better understand the kinds of cases that might emerge in this relatively novel environment.
Exploring and operating in space is about attempting to understand a different context, under different assumptions and in an evolved landscape. Those challenges will extend downward to the space courts. Once there is an advanced understanding by leveraging partnerships and experts, it will be possible to train lawyers to be ready for anything that might happen in a place without gravity. Or on the surface of a satellite. Or in a planetary lander module. Or, eventually perhaps, if things go wrong with the plumbing in that desirable two-pod stationary lander your grandchildren have purchased on the fashionable side of Mars.
Dr Patrick Noack is the executive director of future, foresight and imagination at the Dubai Future Foundation
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
RESULTS
Time; race; prize; distance
4pm: Maiden; (D) Dh150,000; 1,200m
Winner: General Line, Xavier Ziani (jockey), Omar Daraj (trainer)
4.35pm: Maiden (T); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Travis County, Adrie de Vries, Ismail Mohammed
5.10pm: Handicap (D); Dh175,000; 1,200m
Winner: Scrutineer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
5.45pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Ejaaby, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
6.55pm: Handicap (D); Dh160,000; 1,600m
Winner: Storyboard, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (D); Dh150,000; 2,200m
Winner: Grand Dauphin, Gerald Mosse, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8.05pm: Handicap (T); Dh190,000; 1,800m
Winner: Good Trip, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
