Who is Sarah Al Amiri? The 33-year-old scientist who led UAE’s Hope orbiter mission
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Chennai: Along with India and EU, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently became successful in inserting a spacecraft into orbit around Mars on the first try. The mission was announced in 2014 and the Hope probe succeeded in entering the planet’s orbit on 9 February.
Leading the science mission as deputy project manager is Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, a computer engineer and also the country’s first Minister of State for Advanced Sciences.
Al Amiri, 33, is also the chairperson of UAE’s space agency Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, which developed the Hope orbiter (or Al Amal), in conjunction with University of Colorado Boulder, University of California-Berkeley and Arizona State University.
The Iranian-born Al Amiri is one of the youngest ministers worldwide and is also the youngest to lead a space agency.
She subsequently obtained an M.Sc. in computer engineering in 2014 from the same university, while also simultaneously working as the Head of Space Science at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, where she set up the research and development unit and functioned as its director.
As a part of the organisation, she worked towards the country’s goal of developing a “knowledge-based economy”. The goal includes plans to build a human settlement on Mars by 2117. To facilitate training and research, the country plans to build a ‘science city’ in the deserts of Dubai to simulate Martian conditions.
In 2014, Al Amiri became the programme manager for advanced aerial systems in the country’s space centre. She was responsible for putting together the engineering team for the space agency.
She was then appointed the head of the Emirates Science Council in 2016.
Ministry and guest appearances
On 19 October 2017, Al Amiri became the country’s first Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, a position she continues to hold. In August 2020, she became the Chairperson of the UAE Space Agency.
She was invited by the World Economic Forum to speak at Davos 2019, and also became the first citizen of UAE to speak at an international TED event.
Al Amiri was also covered by BBC’s 100 Women, a documentary series that examines the role and lives of women in the 21st century globally.
In her country, Al Amiri goes by the title “Her Excellency” due to her ministerial position.
Courtesy: theprint.in
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Case registered against associate film director for sexual assault of model in Kochi
Kochi (PTI): Police on Saturday said they had registered a case against an associate director in the film industry for "sexually assaulting" a model here.
The case was registered against Jojo Kurishinkal of Chengannur in Alappuzha district at the Maradu police station on May 6.
Kurishinkal has worked in several films as an assistant and associate director.
According to the FIR, the complainant, a model based in Kochi, met Kurishinkal through a dating app in July 2023.
The FIR stated that the accused told the complainant he was a film director and had separated from his wife before proposing marriage to her.
He later allegedly assured the complainant and her mother that he would go ahead with the marriage once the legal procedures related to his divorce were completed, the FIR said.
According to the FIR, the accused later invited the complainant to his apartment in Vyttila on April 18, 2024, where he "sexually assaulted" her.
The FIR further alleged that he continued to sexually harass the woman thereafter. It also stated that the accused had "physically assaulted" the complainant on multiple occasions before later refusing to marry her.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code for repeatedly raping the same woman.
Police said the woman’s confidential statement would be recorded, following which the accused would be summoned for questioning.
