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 […]
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 […]
S&P Global Ratings has lowered its growth expectations for both the UK and Egypt, saying the economic fallout from conflict-linked disruption across the Middle East is feeding through energy prices, trade routes and business confidence. For Egypt, S&P cut its forecast for real GDP growth in the 2025-2026 fiscal year to 4.7 per cent from 4.8 per cent, while also trimming the following year to 4.3 per […]
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 […]
Samsung Electronics is weighing a semiconductor packaging and testing project in Vietnam that could be valued at about $4 billion, a move that would deepen the country’s role in the global chip supply chain and expand Samsung’s manufacturing base in one of its most important overseas hubs. Reporting over the past two days has shown that the company is discussing a semiconductor project with Vietnamese authorities, while […]
Enhanced Labs has raised $1 million in a strategic pre-seed round as the decentralised finance startup seeks to widen access to structured yield products built on options and derivatives, moving beyond large crypto tokens towards a broader set of on-chain assets that includes tokenised real-world assets. The round was led by Maximum Frequency Ventures, with GSR, Selini, Flowdesk and angel investors also taking part, according to company […]
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, […]
Metso has launched a new line of flip-flow screens aimed at one of the harder jobs in minerals processing and aggregates production: separating fine, dry and often moisture-laden material without pushing operators towards water-intensive screening. The Finland-based group said its new GFF Series is designed to improve classification accuracy, lower circulating loads and support more energy-efficient plant performance in both mining and sand manufacturing. The launch, announced […]
The meeting carried weight beyond bilateral symbolism. Qatar is India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas and a major source of liquefied petroleum gas, making the Gulf state central to India’s fuel security at a time when shipping risks and production interruptions have tightened markets. New Delhi’s outreach came as it sought assurances on supply after weeks of strain across West Asian energy routes and amid concern over the effect of regional instability on domestic fuel availability and industrial consumption.
Doha’s message was also framed by diplomacy. The official Indian statement said the ministers welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed on April 8 and underlined the need for an early end to disruption in global energy supplies. It added that Puri conveyed greetings and a message of solidarity from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qatar’s leadership, reflecting how the energy relationship is now closely tied to broader strategic engagement covering trade, investment and regional stability.
For India, the stakes are immediate. The country depends on imports for about half of its natural gas needs, and the supply shock has already exposed vulnerabilities in infrastructure and procurement. GAIL’s finance director said this week that the Dabhol LNG terminal in Ratnagiri was operating at less than half its 5 million-tonnes-a-year capacity because of constrained global supplies. Hindustan Petroleum’s Chhara LNG terminal in Gujarat has also faced difficulties after missing two cargoes in March and April that were expected from Qatar via ADNOC Trading.
The background to the Doha talks is a sharp deterioration in regional energy logistics. Reuters reported on April 8 that QatarEnergy was preparing to restart LNG production after attacks in March forced stoppages at facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed. Two of three trains at QELNG North 1 had been restarted, but a full return depended on vessels being able to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most sensitive energy chokepoints. The same disruption has inflated spot prices and increased anxiety among large importers across Asia.
That makes Qatar’s long-term importance to India even clearer. In February 2024, QatarEnergy and Petronet LNG signed their largest single LNG supply agreement, under which Qatar will deliver 7.5 million metric tonnes a year from 2028 to 2048. Reuters reported at the time that Qatar planned to lift LNG liquefaction capacity to 126 million tonnes a year by 2027, up from 77 million, as it sought to strengthen its role in Asian and European markets. The scale of that agreement gives India a measure of stability, but it also underlines how deeply its gas strategy remains linked to a single Gulf supplier.
That dependence has advantages and risks. Qatar has earned a reputation for contractual reliability and remains among the lowest-cost LNG producers in the world, qualities prized by importers facing volatile spot markets. At the same time, the events of March and April have shown that even long-established energy corridors can be shaken by military escalation, damage to infrastructure and pressure on maritime routes. For policymakers in New Delhi, that is likely to sharpen interest in diversification through additional long-term contracts, more storage, broader sourcing and faster domestic gas infrastructure expansion.
India’s longer-term energy ambitions add another layer to the relationship. The government has repeatedly said it wants to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030, from just over 6 per cent at present. That target cannot be met without dependable imported LNG, even as the country pushes renewables, domestic gas output and cleaner urban fuels. Reliable Qatari supply therefore remains integral not only to short-term energy security, but also to India’s broader transition strategy and industrial planning.
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai RAK 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 […]
Agentic AI is moving from pilot projects into mainstream corporate workflows, forcing boards and security teams to treat these systems less like software features and more like outside operators with broad access to data, tools and decisions. What changes the risk profile is not only the model itself, but the autonomy layered around it: agents can plan tasks, call other applications, handle credentials and act across systems […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai MBME 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 […]
A Microsoft-tracked cybercrime group is using adversary-in-the-middle techniques to hijack Microsoft 365 sessions, bypass multifactor authentication and reroute employee pay into attacker-controlled bank accounts, in what researchers describe as a geographically focused campaign against users in Canada. Microsoft said the actor, tracked as Storm-2755, combined search-result poisoning, fake sign-in pages and session replay to move from account takeover to payroll fraud, causing direct financial loss for at […]
Dubai’s Al Mamzar Corniche development has moved into its closing stretch, with construction reaching 88% completion as the emirate pushes ahead with one of its most closely watched public beach upgrades. Dubai Municipality said the scheme is progressing in line with delivery schedules and is intended to open as a new coastal destination combining leisure, sport and community facilities. The project has drawn particular attention for including […]
The Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the British Council and the ASEAN Secretariat, convened over 270 leaders, policymakers, creatives, and investors from ASEAN and the United Kingdom in Manila for the ASEAN–UK Creative Economy Symposium 2026, reinforcing the region’s push to harness the creative economy as a key driver of growth, innovation, and cultural identity.
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Satvinder Singh, said:
“ASEAN is well-positioned to harness the full potential of the creative economy. Six out of eleven ASEAN Member States now rank among the top 70 globally in the WIPO Global Innovation Index’s creative outputs dimension. ASEAN recognises that intangible assets, such as intellectual property, brands, and design as the currencies of modern creative economy. The ideas, expressions, and innovations our creators produce must be protected, valued, and commercialised.”
UK Ambassador to ASEAN, Helen Fazey, said:
“The UK and ASEAN are advancing together through trust, cooperation, and shared priorities. This partnership reflects a strong and growing relationship built on mutual respect and a shared ambition to support sustainable economic growth, innovation, and opportunity across the region. Through initiatives like the ASEAN–UK Advancing Creative Economy programme, we are deepening collaboration, strengthening people-to-people links, and supporting the development of vibrant and resilient creative sectors.”
ASEAN-focused research highlights pathways for growth in the creative economy
New research under the ASEAN–UK Advancing Creative Economy initiative is providing critical insights into the evolution and economic potential of cultural industries across the region.
Arts and Technologies in ASEAN: Interconnected Parts, commissioned by the British Council, examines the fast-growing creative technology landscape across ASEAN. Drawing on more than 60 interviews and case studies, the report explores how artists are using digital tools—from AI to immersive media—while also analysing the regulatory environments shaping innovation. It highlights both the dynamism of the sector and the need for stronger support systems to sustain growth.
Complementing this, the Regional Perception Poll on the ASEAN Creative Economy offers a comprehensive view of how the sector is understood across the region. Based on insights from over 4,000 respondents, including both producers and audiences, the study highlights the interconnected nature of creative ecosystems and the relationships between artists, industries, policymakers, and communities. Its findings underscore the need for tailored, context-specific strategies and stronger regional collaboration to unlock further growth.
Together, these research outputs provide valuable evidence to inform policy, guide investment, and strengthen UK–ASEAN partnerships.Building on this work, a new ASEAN festival research and mapping initiative is underway, expanding earlier studies to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the region’s diverse festival landscape and identify opportunities for future collaboration.
Country Director Indonesia and Director South East Asia, Summer Xia, said:
“Through the ASEAN–UK Advancing Creative Economy initiative, we are investing in the research, skills, and partnerships needed to support long-term growth in the creative sector. The symposium in Manila was an important opportunity to share these resources and ensure they are shaped by and for the region. By working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the ASEAN Secretariat, we are helping to build a stronger, more connected creative economy across ASEAN countries.”
Underscoring the broader vision of the initiative, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) San Lwin has reaffirmed, in separate engagements, that the ASEAN-UK Advancing Creative Economy programme maximises the region’s creative potential to fuel socio-economic growth and cultural exchange. He reiterated the shared commitment to leveraging innovation and creativity as key connectors to drive prosperity, deepen cultural unity, advance social equity, and promote sustainable, inclusive development in order to forge an “ASEAN Community of Opportunities for All.”
Learn more at: ASEAN Creative Economy Initiative
Hashtag: #BritishCouncil
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The British Council is the UK’s international culture and education organisation. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories. In 2024–25, we reached 600 million people.
www.britishcouncil.org
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Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi supply lines face deeper strain Attacks on Saudi energy facilities have knocked about 600,000 barrels per day from the kingdom’s oil production capacity and cut throughput on the East-West Pipeline by roughly 700,000 bpd, according to Saudi state media citing an Energy Ministry official, in a blow to the world’s top oil exporter at a time when its western pipeline route has […]
A critical security flaw in the Ninja Forms File Uploads add-on has put thousands of WordPress sites at risk, with researchers warning that attackers can exploit the bug without logging in and, in the worst case, gain remote code execution on a vulnerable server. The issue affects all versions up to and including 3.3.26, while version 3.3.27 has been identified as the fully patched release after an […]
Amazon Web Services has patched three high-severity vulnerabilities in its open-source Research and Engineering Studio platform, closing weaknesses that could have allowed authenticated users to run commands on key systems or gain broader permissions inside cloud environments used for scientific and engineering work. The flaws affected AWS Research and Engineering Studio, known as RES, a web-based portal that helps administrators build and manage controlled research and engineering […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Jazan 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 […]
UAE authorities are advancing a Dh6 billion federal highway project designed to ease chronic congestion on the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman corridor, pressing ahead with what officials describe as a strategic expansion of the national road network as population growth and commuting demand intensify. The scheme, reviewed this week by the UAE Infrastructure and Housing Council, centres on the Fourth Federal Corridor, a planned road of about 68 kilometres with […]
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 […]
Dubai International Financial Centre has rolled out a temporary package of economic support measures for businesses and retailers, offering flexible payment plans, licence-fee instalments and grace periods on selected administrative charges as the emirate’s financial hub seeks to cushion companies from a turbulent regional operating environment. The steps took effect immediately and were presented by the centre as a way to reduce short-term financial and operational pressure […]
Meta Platforms has unveiled Muse Spark, its first new flagship artificial intelligence model in about a year, marking a pivotal moment in Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to restore the company’s standing against OpenAI, Google and Anthropic after a period of criticism around its earlier Llama releases. Muse Spark began rolling out on 8 April through the Meta AI app and the meta. ai website in the United States, […]
Moscow has opened a 33-kilometre tram corridor branded T2, a cross-city route that Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says is now the world’s longest urban tram diameter, linking Chertanovskaya metro station in the south with Novogireevo on Moscow Central Diameter line D4 in the east. The launch marks the second stage of the capital’s tram-diameter programme and extends a surface-rail strategy designed to ease pressure on the underground network […]
