Saudi Arabia, 10 Arab Countries to Cooperate on Space Program

Pan-Arab body for space program announced. (AFP)
Pan-Arab body for space program announced. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia, 10 Arab Countries to Cooperate on Space Program

Pan-Arab body for space program announced. (AFP)
Pan-Arab body for space program announced. (AFP)

Eleven Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Morocco on Tuesday signed on to the first regional team to cooperate on a space program, the UAE said.

"Today at the Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi, we attended the signing of a charter to establish the first Arab body for space cooperation, bringing together 11 Arab states," said Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum in comments carried by the government media office.

The pan-Arab team's first project is "a satellite that Arab scientists will work on from here in the UAE", he said, according to AFP.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, the UAE's vice president and prime minister, vowed in 2017 to send four Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station by 2022.

The UAE announced last month that its first astronaut will blast off on a mission to the station on September 25.

The oil-rich Gulf state has two astronauts in training as it looks to get an ambitious space program aimed at exploring Mars off the ground.

The astronaut program would make the UAE one of only a handful of states in the Middle East to have sent a person into space, as it looks to make good on a pledge to become a global leader in space exploration.

The first Arab in outer space was Saudi Arabia's Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, who flew on a US shuttle mission in 1985.

Two years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed Faris spent a week aboard the Soviet Union's Mir space station.



Visibility Drops in Parts of Delhi as Pollution Surges

Indian people walk as the city is covered in smog near Rajpath in New Delhi, India, 13 November 2024.  (EPA)
Indian people walk as the city is covered in smog near Rajpath in New Delhi, India, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Visibility Drops in Parts of Delhi as Pollution Surges

Indian people walk as the city is covered in smog near Rajpath in New Delhi, India, 13 November 2024.  (EPA)
Indian people walk as the city is covered in smog near Rajpath in New Delhi, India, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

A toxic haze enveloped India's national capital on Wednesday morning as temperatures dropped and pollution surged, reducing visibility in some parts and prompting a warning from airport authorities that flights may be affected.

Delhi overtook Pakistan's Lahore as the world's most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir's live rankings, with an air quality index (AQI) score of more than 1,000, considered "hazardous", but India's pollution authority said the AQI was around 350.

Officials were not immediately available to explain the variation.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the pollution had reduced visibility to 100 meters (328 feet) in some places by around 8 a.m. (0230 GMT).

"Low visibility procedures" were initiated at the city's Indira Gandhi International Airport, operator Delhi International Airport Limited said in a post on social media platform X.

"While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected," the authority said.

CAT III is a navigation system that enables aircraft to land even when visibility is low.

The IMD said the city's temperature dropped to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning from 17.9C on Tuesday, and may fall further as sunlight remains cut off due to the smog.

Delhi battles severe pollution every winter as cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires set off illegally in the adjoining, farming states of Punjab and Haryana.

Previously, authorities have closed schools, placed restrictions on private vehicles, and stopped some building work to curb the problem.

The city's environment minister said last week that the government was keen to use artificial rain to cut the smog.

Pakistan's Punjab province, which shares a border with India, has also banned outdoor activities, closed schools, and ordered shops, markets and malls to close early in some parts in an effort to protect its citizens from the toxic air.