Category: Latest Updates

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiQatar Islamic Bank has been named Qatar’s best private bank at the Euromoney Private Banking Awards 2026, handing the lender a prominent endorsement in a market where domestic banks and international wealth managers are competing more aggressively for high-net-worth clients seeking personalised advice, Shari’a-compliant products and stronger digital access. Euromoney’s national winners list for Qatar names QIB as the country’s best private bank for 2026, while the lender said the award reflects the strength of its

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai University of Doha for Science and Technology and the Community College of Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at deepening academic collaboration, in a move that underscores Qatar’s push to align higher education more closely with labour-market needs and applied learning.The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation and knowledge exchange between the two institutions, with the stated goal of advancing applied, technical and academic education while helping develop graduates with skills better matched to

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia Railways has launched five new logistics routes aimed at accelerating cargo movement between Gulf ports, inland industrial centres and cross-border markets, in a move designed to strengthen the Kingdom’s position in regional and international trade. The new network combines rail and road links, tying Arabian Gulf gateways to central and northern regions, with onward access to the Red Sea and neighbouring countries to the north.The rollout is being presented as a practical step under the

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Careem Pay has expanded its remittance service to Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, opening two new money-transfer corridors for UAE residents as digital finance platforms compete more aggressively for a larger share of cross-border payments in the Gulf. The company said transfers to bank accounts in both markets can be completed within five to 10 minutes, with transaction limits of up to AED150,000 for Türkiye and AED36,000 for Saudi Arabia. The service now covers more than 35 countries.The

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai FIFA has named a Saudi match-officials team for the 2026 World Cup, with referee Khalid Al-Turais, assistant referee Mohammed Al-Abakry and video match official Abdullah Al-Shehri selected for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July. Their inclusion places Saudi Arabia among the 50 member associations represented in FIFA’s biggest-ever World Cup refereeing group, which will feature 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials across 104

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi will bring back its flagship infrastructure gathering in a larger format next month, with organisers casting the 12-14 May event as a platform to push smart, sustainable and people-centred urban development at a time when the emirate is moving ahead with one of the region’s biggest public project pipelines. The Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre at ADNEC’s ICC Hall, is expected to place liveability, delivery and

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia has moved to raise its profile in global data governance after the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, known as SDAIA, said it had joined the Global Privacy Assembly, a forum that links privacy and data protection authorities worldwide. The step puts the Kingdom’s privacy regime more visibly alongside international rule-setting efforts at a time when Riyadh is pushing digital government, artificial intelligence and cross-border data flows more aggressively under its wider economic diversification

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiRAK Ceramics has moved to reassure customers, contractors and distributors that its operations across the UAE and the wider region remain uninterrupted, saying access across its customer network is continuing without disruption across both retail and project channels. The statement comes at a time when businesses across the Gulf are paying closer attention to logistics resilience, input costs and delivery schedules amid wider geopolitical strain and persistent concerns over global trade routes.The company’s message is significant because

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiMBME Pay has secured a Category 3 Payment Service Provider licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, giving the company regulatory approval to carry out merchant acquiring and payment aggregation activities and placing it in a narrower circle of fully licensed operators in one of the Gulf’s fastest-moving fintech markets. The approval marks a step up for the Abu Dhabi-listed MBME Group subsidiary as businesses across the UAE shift more transactions to digital channels and

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiJazan Municipality has put 28 development projects worth SR546 million into the Farasan Islands pipeline, combining completed works with schemes still under construction as authorities step up efforts to improve infrastructure, add hospitality capacity and expand housing across one of the Red Sea’s most distinctive island groups. The municipality said 19 projects valued at SR398 million have been completed, while nine more worth SR148 million are under implementation.The breakdown points to a strategy that blends civic works,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Sharjah has added another bet on family housing with the launch of Sukoon, a gated villa and townhouse community by Sanzen Developments that is being pitched less as a leisure-led estate and more as a neighbourhood built around daily wellbeing. Construction formally began on 7 April, with the developer saying the AED1.5 billion project will deliver 859 homes across four phases in a part of the emirate that offers road links to Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Police said it helped dismantle the Lyons Clan, a violent Scottish criminal network accused of drug trafficking and money laundering across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, marking the UAE’s most clearly defined public role yet in the multinational case that has unfolded over the past two weeks. Authorities in Dubai, working with the Ministry of Interior, said the force arrested a member of the network on arrival at a Dubai airport after an Interpol

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Louvre Abu Dhabi has launched a digital teaching platform that links museum objects directly to school subjects, widening the role of art in classrooms beyond history and humanities and giving teachers a new route to use cultural material in everyday lessons. The Museum Curriculum Portal has been rolled out as part of a broader Abu Dhabi effort to connect cultural institutions more closely with school learning.The platform maps more than 148 artworks and artefacts to

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi has issued 11 new hazardous materials guidelines in a move officials say makes the emirate the first jurisdiction to apply the 11th revised edition of the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, or GHS. The framework, launched by the Abu Dhabi Hazardous Materials Management Centre in coordination with the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, is intended to standardise the handling, storage and transport of hazardous materials across the emirate while

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiAttacks tied to the widening confrontation with Iran could spill far beyond the battlefield and damage global health, food security and the environment, the UAE told an international summit in Lyon, urging governments and institutions to rally around a “One Health” strategy that treats human, animal and ecosystem health as inseparable. The intervention came at a high-level gathering hosted by France on 7 April, where the UAE said shocks to essential systems were no longer a regional

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai’s financial regulator has unveiled temporary relief measures for firms in the Dubai International Financial Centre, offering regulatory flexibility on licensing, staffing, reporting and selected implementation deadlines as companies manage an exceptional operating environment. The Dubai Financial Services Authority said the package is designed to help regulated firms continue serving clients and markets while preserving supervisory standards.The measures apply both to firms already authorised by the DFSA and to new applicants seeking approval to operate

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi medical devices distributor ProMedEx has renewed an 84 million riyal Islamic financing package with Riyad Bank for one year, extending a facility the company says will be used to fund existing projects and back expansion plans as healthcare suppliers across the kingdom continue to seek working capital for inventory, imports and contract execution. The facility is equivalent to about $22.4 million.The package is split into 6.5 million riyals of bank guarantees, 22.5 million riyals

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Mubadala Capital has closed its biggest Brazil-focused investment vehicle at about $900 million, exceeding its original $750 million target in a sign that large overseas investors still see room for opportunistic deals in Latin America’s biggest economy despite a tougher global fundraising climate.The fund, Brazil Special Opportunities Fund III, was backed by a $250 million anchor commitment from Mubadala Capital, the investment arm linked to Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth platform. The rest was raised mainly from

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi University said an associate professor and a former student have been granted a patent for an artificial-intelligence application designed to translate between sign language and spoken or written language in real time, marking a push by the institution into assistive technology with a clear accessibility focus. The university identified the inventors as Dr Modafar Ati, associate professor of computer science and information technology, and alumna Reem Al Bostami, who graduated from its BSc in

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Space42 said Thuraya’s services and infrastructure remained fully operational after a missile strike hit an administrative building linked to the satellite communications company in Sharjah, as the UAE’s air defences continued intercepting ballistic missiles and drones launched during the wider regional conflict. The company said there had been no disruption for customers or partners despite the incident.Authorities in Sharjah said two Pakistani nationals were injured and taken to hospital after the strike on Tuesday, April

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai shares posted their strongest one-day rise in more than a decade on Wednesday after a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran eased fears over a wider regional conflict, soothed concern over energy shipping routes and triggered a broad relief rally across Gulf markets. Dubai’s benchmark index jumped as much as 8.5% intraday, while Abu Dhabi’s main market also recorded its biggest gain in years as investors moved back into banks, property developers and

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiPhysical crude prices for immediate delivery have surged to levels close to $150 a barrel for some grades, leaving paper benchmarks lagging and exposing the depth of the supply strain caused by the Hormuz crisis. European and Asian refiners have been forced to pay sharply higher premiums for cargoes that can be processed now, as the disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz tightens the prompt market far more severely than futures contracts suggest.That

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiAirlines and energy traders are bracing for a prolonged squeeze in aviation fuel supplies even after the Strait of Hormuz reopened under a two-week ceasefire arrangement announced by US President Donald Trump, with the head of the International Air Transport Association warning that disruption to jet fuel availability could take months to unwind. Oil prices dropped sharply below $100 a barrel after the truce was disclosed, but the fall in crude has not removed concern that refined

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Sharjah authorities said on Tuesday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran hit an administrative building belonging to Thuraya Telecommunications Company in the emirate’s Central Region, wounding two Pakistani nationals and underlining how the wider regional conflict is reaching civilian and commercial sites in the UAE. Officials said both men suffered moderate injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.State news agency WAM, citing the Sharjah authorities, identified the site as a Thuraya administrative building.

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai BNW Developments, which describes itself as Ras Al Khaimah’s largest private developer, has entered Dubai’s off-plan market with Orvessa Residences by Michel Adam, a branded residential scheme in Al Furjan that marks the company’s latest push beyond its fast-growing base in the northern emirate. The move extends BNW’s branded-homes strategy at a time when Dubai continues to draw both end-users and investors into projects carrying lifestyle and hospitality labels.The Dubai launch is significant because BNW has built

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai UAE businesses are sharply increasing their use of artificial intelligence to cut costs, raise output and strengthen resilience, with AI-related spending rising 521 per cent over the past 13 months, according to a new market snapshot based on corporate payment data. The findings point to a shift from trial use to operational deployment, particularly among smaller businesses seeking quicker productivity gains in a more uncertain regional and global environment.The report, published by Dubai-based spend management

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiIran said on Monday it wanted a durable end to the war with the United States and Israel rather than a temporary truce, rejecting pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Washington’s timetable as President Donald Trump warned the country could be “taken out” if it failed to meet his Tuesday night deadline for a deal. Tehran’s stance underscored how far apart the sides remain even as intermediaries continue to press for a formula to

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Jazeera Airways has postponed a decision on its cash dividend for 2025, saying the move reflects caution rather than financial weakness as the Kuwait-based low-cost carrier responds to mounting regional disruption. In a board decision disclosed on 6 April, the airline said it had amended its recommendation to shareholders and would instead revisit the payout after first-quarter 2026 results, with the annual general assembly scheduled for 9 April.The company framed the step as a temporary

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai Precast has secured a contract to deliver a full precast building system for a residential scheme in Meydan, adding another marker to the steady use of factory-made concrete components in Dubai’s fast-moving housing market. The award covers the design, supply, delivery and installation of 93 G+2 townhouses and two villas, with completion of installation targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.The scope is substantial for a low-rise housing package. Company-linked disclosures said the project

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai AirAsia X has raised ticket prices by between 31% and 40% and lifted fuel surcharges by as much as 20% after jet fuel costs surged following the Iran war, according to Group Chief Executive Officer Bo Lingam, underscoring how quickly conflict in the Middle East is feeding into Asian aviation costs and passenger fares.The Malaysia-based low-cost carrier said average jet fuel prices had climbed to about $200 a barrel from around $90 before the conflict,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Alramz Real Estate has moved to deepen its presence in Saudi Arabia’s housing market after signing an agreement with Oud Capital to establish a Shariah-compliant real estate investment fund worth about SAR650 million to develop a 900-unit residential community in Jeddah, in a deal that underlines how listed developers are using capital-market structures to expand amid sustained demand for urban housing. The project, branded Al Ramz Front, will rise in Al Firdous district in north Jeddah and

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Huawei has raised its research spending to one of the heaviest levels in the global technology industry, saying it invested CNY192.3 billion in 2025, or roughly $27.8 billion, equal to 21.8% of annual revenue. The figure came with group revenue of CNY880.9 billion and net profit of CNY68 billion, underlining how the Shenzhen-based company is continuing to prioritise long-term technology development even as top-line growth slowed sharply from the previous year.That spending push matters because

Arabian Post Staff -Dubaidu and Ericsson have completed a 5G standalone proof of concept in the UAE that they say could widen the reach of fixed wireless access for households, using millimetre wave technology to deliver faster home broadband over a broader area than is typically associated with high-band spectrum. The companies said the trial was carried out in residential areas and is intended to support stronger coverage, gigabit-class speeds and faster rollout of services for home users.The

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai and Abu Dhabi have retained places among the world’s leading smart cities in the latest IMD Smart City Index, underscoring how the two emirates have turned digital infrastructure, public services and urban planning into a defining part of their global profile. The 2026 index placed Dubai sixth and Abu Dhabi tenth out of 148 cities, while the 2025 edition had ranked them fourth and fifth respectively, showing that both remain in the top tier even as