Author: Editorial team

[Editor’s Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.] As the war in the Middle East entered Day 19 on March 18, 2026, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa) presented the public with a comprehensive overview of Iranian attacks launched against the country so far and the nation’s resilience in face of threats. In a statement, Mofa reiterated the UAE’s unequivocal rejection of any aggression targeting its security or sovereignty, while affirming that it remains steadfast and fully prepared to respond decisively to any threat to protect its citizens, residents of over 200 nationalities, and…

Nvidia recently entered into a multiyear partnership with Thinking Machines Lab to deploy at least 1-gigawatt of the chipmaker’s Vera Rubin compute platform beginning early 2027, while also making an investment in the AI startup. The deal with Nvidia will support Thinking Machines Labs’ frontier model training and platforms to deliver customisable AI at scale to its customers. A single gigawatt can power a mid-size city with nearly one million homes. Thinking Machine Labs is led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, who left the ChatGPT-maker two years ago to become CEO of the AI company in 2025. The agreement also…

[Editor’s Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.] As the US-Israel-Iran war enters its 19th day on Wednesday, March 18, pharmaceutical authorities in the UAE reassured the public on the nation’s strategic stockpile of medicines and medical supplies. UAE’s strategic stockpile of medicines and medical supplies is secure and sufficient to meet local market needs, according to The Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE). Dr Fatima Al Kaabi, Director-General of the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), has conducted field visits to a number of pharmaceutical factories across the UAE as part of the EDE’s proactive approach and strategic…

CAIRO, 18th March, 2026 (WAM) — Al-Azhar al-Sharif strongly condemns Iran’s continued unjustified attacks on its Gulf neighbours—namely the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Sultanate of Oman — as well as several other Arab and neighboring countries, including Jordan, Iraq, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan. As a Muslim neighbour, Al-Azhar called upon Iran to take an immediate decision, dictated by Islam and its Sharia, to cease its hostilities on these brotherly Arab and Muslim countries unconditionally. Al-Azhar emphasised the need to respect their sovereignty and not infringing…

Meta Platforms is increasing its focus on developing its own custom silicon for in-house chips by unveiling four new generations to power its AI workloads more efficiently. The Facebook-parent’s MTIA 300, MTIA 400, MTIA 450 and MTIA 500 form part of a plan to reduce its reliance on outside chipmakers while optimising its silicon to its unique workloads. In 2023, Meta Platforms detailed its Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA), a family of custom-built silicon chips. The MTIA 300 is in production for ranking and recommendation training. The MTIA 400, MTIA 450 and MTIA 500 are to be capable of…

ABU DHABI, 18th March, 2026 (WAM) — UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) asserts that the sounds heard are the result of the air defence systems intercepting missiles and drones. Source: Emirates News Agency

UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran, the Ministry of Defence said early on Wednesday. It stressed that the sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones. The public are requested to adhere to the safety and security instructions issued. UAE air defences dealing with ‘barrage’ of ballistic missiles from Iran UAE air defences intercept 4 ballistic missiles, 6 drones on March 15 Source: Khaleej Times

ABU DHABI, 18th March, 2026 (WAM) — President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of condolences to Mikheil Kavelashvili, President of Georgia, over the passing of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, sent similar messages to Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia. Source: Emirates News Agency

Chinese authorities are reportedly moving to restrict government agencies and state-run companies from using the agentic AI platform OpenClaw due to potential security risks. Bloomberg reported agencies and companies including the country’s largest banks have been instructed not to install OpenClaw software on office devices. OpenClaw is a growing phenomenon, with adoption rapidly increasing across the globe. It runs as an open-source AI assistant, performing a range of tasks including booking flights, organising email inboxes and conducting research. However, the Chinese government has growing issues with OpenClaw’s need to access vast amounts of private data, which can then be communicated…

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, has expressed his sincere condolences and deep sympathy to the families of the victims of Iran’s unprovoked terrorist attacks targeting the UAE, a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The statement also revealed the identities of the civilians who have died in the attacks in UAE so far. The victims are Alaa Nader Awni from the State of Palestine; Murib Zaman Nizar, Muzaffar Ali Ghulam, and Ismail Salim Khan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Ahmed Ali from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh;…