In an example of life imitating art, Nasa scientists this week raised the probability of a recently identified asteroid hitting the Earth in the next seven years to about one in 32. Coverage of this “city killer” threat to humanity is reminiscent of the 2021 satirical Hollywood film Don’t Look Up, in which a team of desperate scientists try – and fail – to warn the world’s leaders that an extinction-level event is six months away.
The possibility – however remote – that an asteroid between 40 to 90 metres wide could strike the planet and cause either an enormous tsunami or leave a crater 10 to 20 kilometres wide should be enough to focus attention on improving our space technology. Speaking to The National this week, Khadijah Ahmed, operations manager at the Dubai Astronomy Group said researchers would continue to refine Asteroid 2024 YR4’s orbit. “We could stop an asteroid like 2024 YR4 if we act early,” she added “but we need better tracking, more advanced tech and faster decision-making to be fully prepared.”
Full preparation requires not just a deference to scientific and technical expertise, but global co-operation, too. Thankfully, even amid growing political division on our planet, many national governments are heavily invested in their space programmes and take advice from their experts seriously.
The UAE is one such country. Not only has it successfully put two citizens into space, but it has developed and launched exploration devices such as the Hope probe, which is currently sending back data about Mars’s atmosphere, climate and potential habitability. The Emirates also works closely with other space agencies, such as Nasa, on research and development that will inform humanity’s next lunar missions. The country is in partnership with Nasa on its plans to build a permanent Moon-orbiting space station called Gateway.
The UAE also has its own programme for exploring asteroids. The MBR Explorer, a 2,300kg craft being developed as part of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, is nearing its critical design review phase. It will eventually embark on a five-billion-kilometre journey to perform flybys of six asteroids and then deploy a lander that will touchdown on the seventh. Given this week’s news about a rogue asteroid that may come too close for comfort, the more we can learn about these objects now, the better.
Fifty years ago, we may not have been able to even detect such an asteroid; now we can conceivably discuss using laser or ion beams to deflect the threat
Our world faces many acute problems such as the climate emergency, ongoing conflicts, future pandemics and economic uncertainty. It can be a hard choice for countries to devote significant amounts of their national budget and resources to space projects that can appear remote to people’s daily struggles. However, well-funded and innovative space programmes not only offer technical solutions to current problems on Earth, they can prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians for work at the highest level.
Such expertise will be vital in the future – incoming asteroid or not. Scientists say 2024 YR4 is mainly rock – a weaker material than a metal-rich object. This means there is a good chance of it burning up in our atmosphere if it does indeed cross our path in 2032. Fifty years ago, we may not have been able to even detect such an asteroid; now we can conceivably discuss using laser or ion beams to deflect the threat, should it arise. This shows how the continuing work to revisit the Moon, learn what we can from Mars and refine space flight are not expensive luxuries or experiments, they are key to securing humanity’s long-term future.
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
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Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m; Winner: Mcmanaman, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Bawaasil, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Bochart, Fabrice Veron, Satish Seemar
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Mutaraffa, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Rare Ninja, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alfareeq, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Zorion, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
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If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
