Author: Editorial team

Magdalena König, General Counsel, Sirius International Holding.  For much of the past three years, the global conversation around artificial intelligence has been driven by scale: who can build the fastest models, deploy the most compute, attract the deepest pools of capital, and move from experimentation to execution at speed. Yet as AI begins to move beyond pilots and proof-of-concept deployments into the systems that shape economies, industries, and daily life, the real competitive advantage is beginning to shift from capability to credibility.  The question is no longer simply who can build AI, but who can build AI that people, institutions,…

One hundred and ten Emirati students are spending their summer preparing for more than university admission. Through a new programme from the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), they are learning to manage budgets, protect themselves online, adapt to living away from home, and represent the UAE internationally. The Onboarding and Readiness Accelerator Program at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi brings together Abu Dhabi Scholarships students, 19 strategic partners, and six international embassies. This initiative expands Adek’s previous pre-departure programme into a comprehensive readiness model, offering support before, during, and after students’ international academic experiences. The programme is…

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — West African leaders on Sunday signed an agreement approving the construction of a gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco at a summit of regional bloc ECOWAS in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. The roughly 6,000-kilometre Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) will cross 13 countries along Africa’s Atlantic coast, carrying Nigerian gas to Morocco before connecting to the Maghreb-Europe pipeline. “We have already signed the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline,” said ECOWAS Chair Julius Maada Bio said. “Don’t be surprised when the gas comes your way.” Morocco’s state hydrocarbons agency ONHYM and Nigeria’s state oil company…

ABU DHABI, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — The National Drug Enforcement Authority has established an integrated strategic system designed to protect all segments of society from the threat of drugs by coordinating security, prevention and treatment efforts following the highest standards of confidentiality. The initiative is guided by the visionary leadership of the UAE, which places human well-being, empowerment and quality of life at the forefront of all development programmes. The Authority focuses on strengthening the intellectual and protective defences of the community as it recognises the rapid social and digital changes of the modern era, where modern threats targeting…

Children referred for autism assessments in Abu Dhabi will be seen by a specialist within two weeks, and in some cases, therapy will begin before a final diagnosis is confirmed, according to Sakina for Children. The newly launched neurodevelopmental centre aims to provide early support during critical brain development and to reduce the average age of autism identification from three to four years to approximately two. The centre stated that all eligible children referred through the Department of Health’s Autism Hub pathway are seen by a specialist within two weeks, and diagnostic assessments are completed within six weeks of the…

Dubai’s luxury off-plan residential market generated Dh3.72 billion in sales during June, driven by sustained demand for homes priced above Dh5 million, with apartments accounting for the largest share of transactions, according to a market analysis. The report by luxury developer Keturah showed that developers recorded 307 off-plan transactions during the month, with apartments contributing Dh2.12 billion from 166 sales, while villas generated Dh1.61 billion across 141 transactions. The average sale price reached Dh12.1 million per property. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. Villa sales were strongest in the Dh5 million to Dh10…

Shakira has officially surpassed 100 million followers on Instagram, becoming the third South American in history to reach the milestone. The Colombian superstar joins football legends Lionel Messi and Neymar as the only South Americans to achieve the feat. The milestone came a day before Shakira took centrestage at the Fifa World Cup final halftime show, where she performed alongside Justin Bieber, Madonna, BTS, and Burna Boy during the 11 minute performance. According to The New York Times, an estimated 1.8 billion people watched the 2026 Fifa World Cup final between Argentina and Spain across television and livestreams, while more…

BEIJING, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — China has developed more than 400 complete humanoid robot products, accounting for over half of the world’s total, highlighting the country’s rapidly expanding presence in the robotics sector, official data showed Monday. In the first half of the year, China-developed quadruped robots account for nearly 70 percent of global sales, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Source: Emirates News Agency

SHARJAH, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — Invest Bank (INB) on Monday announced that Fitch Ratings has assigned Invest Bank P.S.C. (INB) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘BBB+’ with a Stable Outlook and Government Support Rating (GSR) of ‘bbb+’, marking the bank’s IDR at investment-grade. The rating represents an important milestone in the bank’s ongoing transformation and provides independent recognition of the progress achieved in strengthening its financial profile, rebuilding its franchise and positioning the Bank for sustainable long-term growth. According to Fitch, Invest Bank’s Long-Term IDR is backed by the expected Government support alongside adequate capitalisation, good liquidity…

Dubai — Riverbed, a provider of AI-powered digital employee experience solutions, has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Employee Experience 2026 Vendor Assessment. The IDC MarketScape evaluated vendors on their current capabilities and future strategies for helping organisations deliver productive and seamless digital employee experiences. Riverbed said its placement in the Leaders Category validates its Aternity platform, a converged observability and experience platform that brings together endpoint telemetry, application performance data, network path visibility and employee sentiment within a single operational environment. The IDC MarketScape highlighted the Riverbed Orion agentic AI framework, introduced in early 2026,…