The National

UAE hopes to celebrate Mars Mission as probe set to enter Red Planet's orbit

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The UAE is set to celebrate the 50th year since its Foundation with the arrival of the Hope probe at Mars on Tuesday, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and the Ruler of Dubai.

The Emirati engineers behind the first Arab mission to Mars are anxious as the spacecraft nears its destination, with six years of hard work put to the test today when Hope attempts to make Mars orbit.

A key driver behind the UAE's stellar ambitions is Sarah Al Amiri, the young space agency chief. Looking ahead, Dr Patrick Noack from the Dubai Future Foundation also explains why we need a legal jurisdiction in the stars amid a flurry of new space activity.

In the latest coronavirus news, Dubai Police shut down a huge desert camp party that breached Covid-19 safety rules, and Amena Rakkuson, better known as the "Mama" behind popular family-run Dubai Thai restaurant Sticky Rice, has died of Covid-19.

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GLOBAL CASE NUMBERS

Total cases: 106,977,968

Total deaths: 2,335,017

Total recoveries: 78,805,409

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Tesla, the electric vehicle company, said it will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for its cars and has invested $1.5 billion in the biggest cryptocurrency.

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And Richard Jolly examines how Manchester City have transformed from also-rans to commanding leaders of the English Premier League.

Dan Gledhill  
Deputy editor-in-chief 

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