Emirati becomes 1st Arab on space

Bolivia in August enlisted spe- tanker Boeing 747 and a Russian Ilyushin, as well as helicopters, 5,000 firefighters, soldiers and

been extinguished.

Environmentalists blame laws enacted under leftist President Evo Morales, who has encouraged burning of forest and pasture land to expand agricultural production.

The government attributes the blazes to dry weather and

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan: An Emirati Kazakhstan.

The Russian spacecraft carrying Hazzaa al-Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who was accompanied by Russia’s Oleg Skripochka and National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) astronaut Jessica Meir, docked Wednesday after a six-hour trip.

The three “entered the orbiting lab and joined six of their station crewmates for a joyful crew greeting ceremony today,” NASA tweeted.

A video shows the new arrivals entering

- ning colleagues, who welcomed them with

Mansoori, 35, received support from around the world ahead of what he described as his “dream” mission.

In Dubai, a crowd gathered at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center to watch the launch, erupting in cheers and dubbing Mansoori a national hero. Some carried UAE flags.

Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, lit up the moment of blast-off.

Mansoori will spend eight days on the Writing on Twitter before the launch at Baikonur space centre, the former pilot in

this indescribable feeling of glory and awe.”

“Today I carry the dreams and ambition of my country to a whole new dimension. May Allah grant me success in this mission,” he said.

The day before the launch, he said he would record his prayer routine on the ISS and broadcast it to people on Earth.

aircraft,” he said, explaining that he had experience of prayers at high speed.