Abu Dhabi company secures Dh2.55bn to build new satellites
The satellites Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 will help provide faster and more secure communications across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Expected to launch in 2027 and 2028, they will eventually take over from the UAE's Al Yah 1 and 2 satellites, launched more than a decade ago.
Announced on Tuesday, the funding was secured by leading international banks and supported by the Bpifrance Assurance Export, a financing agency.
'These new satellites are part of a long-term programme that will support vital communication needs in both the defence and civil sectors,' said Andrew Cole, chief financial officer at Space42.
'This funding gives us the flexibility we need to keep growing and meeting the needs of our customers.'
Space42, which trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), was awarded a 17-year Dh18.7 billion contract by the UAE government last year to help speed up the construction of its new satellites.
Included was the Dh3.7 billion in advanced payments for the development of the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites.
Space42 was formed last year when UAE satellite company Yahsat merged with AI and mapping firm Bayanat.
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ARSENAL IN 1977
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, 'several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu's government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a 'biblical famine' and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it's Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single's success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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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)
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Saudi National Day
Why the UAE has many reasons to celebrate its closest friend and ally
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