Author: Editorial team

Iranian currency falls past 2 million rials to the dollar as economic pressure intensifies before Washington’s latest sanctions announcementDubai: Iran’s currency plunged to a new record low on Monday, with the rial falling to 2.02 million rials per US dollar on the informal market as investors reacted to the prospect of tougher American sanctions.The decline came as Washington prepared to unveil a new package of sanctions targeting Iran and its trading partners, in what US officials have described as a major escalation of economic pressure.The rial had already been under strain before the outbreak of the current conflict between Iran,…

The UAE’s five largest banks reported a combined net profit of Dh38.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up 7.8 per cent year-on-year, even as a sharp rise in provisioning and softening asset yields put pressure on profitability, according to a new report by Moody’s Ratings.First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and Mashreq – which together hold around 79 per cent of UAE banking system assets – saw earnings supported by strong net interest income, sustained fee and commission growth, and robust treasury and trading revenue, Moody’s said in…

The game is not over for Georgekutty just yet.Producer Antony Perumbavoor has officially announced Drishyam 4, confirming that the hugely successful Malayalam thriller franchise will return for another chapter. The announcement was made at the Mazhavil Manorama Awards, with Mohanlal and director Jeethu Joseph present, setting off fresh speculation over where Georgekutty’s story could go next.While the news gives fans a reason to celebrate, there is an important caveat: the fourth film appears to be a franchise-level confirmation rather than a fully formed production announcement. A release date, shooting schedule, cast list, plot details and even confirmation that the script…

Khalid Al Zarooni, Vice-Chairman of the UAE Emirates Cricket Board, was unanimously elected as Vice-President of the Asian Cricket Council.Al Zarooni was named the new Vice-President after the ACC conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 22 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the participation of all ACC member countries.Al Zarooni’s unopposed election underscores the growing contribution and stature of the Emirates Cricket Board not only in the Gulf region but around the cricketing world.The Emirati cricket administrator has played a leading role in the growth, development and success of the Emirates Cricket Board ever since his election as the Board’s…

SHARJAH, 24th August, 2026 (WAM) — H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, witnessed on Monday morning the swearing-in ceremony of 31 members of the Judiciary and Public Prosecution in the Emirate of Sharjah, held at His Highness’s office. The swearing-in ceremony included six judges of the Court of Cassation, 19 senior appeal judges, one advocate general, and five assistant chief prosecutors. The Deputy Ruler of Sharjah congratulated the judges and consultants, emphasising their pivotal role in the judicial and legal system. He highlighted their contributions to promoting the rule of law, safeguarding public…

Eric Doerr, Chief Product Officer, Tenable. Tenable® Holdings, Inc., the exposure management company, recently announced enhanced AI security capabilities within the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform. Tenable One AI Exposure now delivers expanded platform coverage with support for Google Gemini, extending its coverage across major LLMs: Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise and Microsoft Copilot. The release also extends discovery to all major Model Context Protocol (MCP) deployments and AI-native Integrated Development Environment (IDE) tools. Together, these capabilities give security teams a more complete view of where AI is being used, what risk it creates and where action is…

WELLINGTON, 24th August, 2026 (WAM) — The New Zealand government on Monday announced plans to ban social media for children under 16. The bill would require social media platforms the government deemed “high risk” to take reasonable steps to check that users are over 16 by using existing account information, facial age estimation, digital ID services and formal ID. The law would cover platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and X. Education Minister Erica Stanford said the government was “taking action to protect young people online, backing parents and holding Big Tech” accountable. Source: Emirates News Agency

LONDON, 24th August, 2026 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, a global clean energy leader, has strengthened its commitment to UK energy security with its second battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the country starting commercial operations. The opening of the facility in Rochdale is the latest milestone in Masdar’s planned £1 billion investment program in BESS projects in the UK. The 35-megawatt (MW)/70-megawatt-hours (MWh) Rochdale plant will provide enough clean power for 35,000 homes per day, based upon two charging and discharging cycles per day. The facility will also provide critical grid balancing services,…

Defendant must return AED56,000 and pay AED5,000 compensation after failing to honour association instalment payments Al Ain: The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial and Administrative Cases has ordered a woman to pay AED61,000 to another woman after failing to pay instalments owed under a number of financial associations in which they participated. The amount includes AED56,000 representing outstanding association payments and AED5,000 in compensation for damages resulting from the delayed payment. According to court records, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking the recovery of AED56,000, claiming the defendant had participated in 11 financial associations with varying shares and monthly…

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein’s valuation has dropped by around 70 per cent from its private market peak four years ago, as it aims to raise up to HK$13.86 billion ($1.77 billion) in its Hong Kong IPO launched on Monday.The long-awaited Hong Kong IPO comes after Shein, known for selling $5 dresses and $10 jeans to shoppers in about 160 countries, scrapped plans to list in New York and London over the past four years. It is selling 280 million shares between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50 per share, the filings showed, valuing it at close to $27 billion at the top of…