A major space conference in Abu Dhabi will address future challenges and the dawn of a new age of exploration.
The Abu Dhabi Space Debate, to be held on Monday and Tuesday at the Adnoc Business Centre, will be attended by delegates from more than 50 space agencies and authorities.
The gathering comes at a time of landmark events for the industry, including mega-constellations of satellites that are crowding low-Earth orbit and countries increasingly looking to militarise space.
There are concerns about whether there are the right regulations in place to police private companies aiming to commercialise low-Earth orbit.
Future manned missions to the Moon — and the greatest prize, Mars — will be debated.
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, said last month that “there is no doubt we are at the dawn of a new space age”.
“From two space-capable actors in the world in the 1960s, the Americans and the Soviets, we are now looking at a multilateral world where some 70 nations have space programmes, where private sector players are taking the roles of launch provider, space station builder, satellite funder ― roles previously only in the hands of governments,” Ms Al Amiri said at the time.
“This is precisely why the Abu Dhabi Space Debate is vital to our development of the space sectors.”
Nasa administrator Bill Nelson is among the high profile delegates, as well as the head of the European Space Agency and the head of Japan's Jaxa.
There will also be a session on the space industry and Cop28, which will be held at Expo City Dubai next year.
An investigation into the role of space agreements, such as the Artemis Accords, will also take place.
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.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani