Author: Editorial team

Swiss watchmaker Swatch was forced to shut stores and cap queues after the launch of its Royal Pop pocket watch in collaboration with Audemars Piguet drew large crowds and triggered brawls among shoppers. The watches combining Swatch’s 1980s pop-art style with the Audemars Piguet octagonal bezel sell for $400 to $420, far below the many thousands of dollars commanded by Audemars Piguet’s luxury watches, leading many to buy and then flip Royal Pop timepieces online at inflated prices. Social media posts and video showed queues of shoppers at stores in New York, London, Barcelona and Dubai at the weekend, with…

When a group of fresh Emirati graduates walked into Hamad Al Marar’s office in 2013 with an idea to build a navigation system from scratch, refusing to license intellectual property from anyone, few imagined how far it would travel. Today, that same locally-built system guides Emirati drones, missiles and aircraft, including JENIAH, the country’s first jet-powered combat drone. The story, told by Al Marar, Managing Director and CEO of EDGE Group, on Tuesday at the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR) 2026, was paired with another disclosure from the country’s top cybersecurity official: 27 cybersecurity startups have grown…

DUBAI, 19th May, 2026 (WAM) — Dubai South has signed an agreement with Majid Al Futtaim to develop a landmark AED62 billion mixed-use master community within Dubai South. In the presence of Khalifa Alzaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, and Fadel Abdulbaqi Al Ali, Chairman of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, the agreement was signed at Dubai South HQ by Nabil Alkindi, Group CEO of Dubai South, and Ahmed Galal Ismail, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding. Spanning 22 million square feet, the new master-planned development will feature a diverse mix of residential, retail, and lifestyle…

DUBAI, 19th May, 2026 (WAM) — Victory Team has announced its participation schedule for the opening round of the 2026 UIM F1H2O World Championship, as the team begins its campaign to defend the world title. The new season gets underway in Cagliari, Italy, on 30th and 31st May. The team’s programme includes departure to Cagliari on 26th May in preparation for the opening round. The official drivers’ briefing will take place on 27th May, followed by technical inspections of the boats and engines on 28th May. Free practice sessions are scheduled for 29th May, with qualifying and sprint races taking…

Swiss watch giant Swatch said Monday insufficient organisation by shopping centres contributed to scuffles at around 20 stores worldwide over the weekend as clients raced to buy a limited-edition timepiece. Hundreds of people waited through the night or longer hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, billed as a “disruptive collaboration” with the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. But things turned ugly in New York and several European cities as well as in Thailand on Saturday, with fights breaking out and some security gates vandalised at some of the 220 stores offering the watches. In France, officers fired…

The My FarmWell Application project has been named the winner of the 4th edition of the Excellence and Creative Engineering Award presented by the Society of Engineers UAE under the Pioneer Engineering Project category. The project received recognition as the “Best Small Project”, highlighting its contribution to sustainable water management, smart agriculture, and artificial intelligence-driven engineering solutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the award description, a small project is defined as a project valued at up to AED 50 million and completed within the last three years. Since the launch of the award, 79 winners have emerged…

AL AIN, 19th May, 2026 (WAM) — H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region, has visited Al Ain Police Directorate. H.H. Sheikh Hazza reviewed several development programmes and projects, implemented by Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, in crime and narcotics prevention, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Safe City System, in addition to assessing the level of preparedness for managing security incidents, civil defence operations and emergency response systems. He was briefed on the strategic projects supporting the Safe City System and their role in enhancing policing efficiency using AI to…

Moataz BinAli, CEO, Magna AI. The enterprise technology landscape has long been shaped by Global System Integrators (GSIs) such as Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Capgemini, TCS, and Infosys, built on a clear value proposition of integrating complex, multi-vendor systems at scale. For decades, this model delivered results, helping enterprises design, implement, and manage increasingly sophisticated technology environments. But as the pace of innovation accelerates, the limitations of this approach are becoming harder to ignore, and the model is beginning to fracture in a more fundamental way. AI is at the center of this shift. It is not simply another layer to…

A national healthcare system that guarantees comprehensive medical care and health services for all citizens is to be adopted in the UAE, as directed by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The system is built around a fully integrated national health insurance scheme covering all emirates of the country. [More to follow soon. Please refresh this page for the full version.] Source: Khaleej Times

DUBAI, 19th May, 2026 (WAM) — Yalla Group Limited on Tuesday announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended 31st March, reporting revenue of AED290.1 million (US$79.0 million). The UAE-based company, one of the largest online social networking and gaming platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), said revenue from gaming services reached AED111.3 million ($30.3 million), accounting for 38.3 percent of total revenues. Net income for the quarter was AED104.3 million ($28.4 million), and non-GAAP net income was AED122.3 million ($33.3 million) with a net margin of 42.1 percent. Average Monthly Active Users (MAUs) grew to…