When I moved to the UAE ten years ago, I knew very little about the place I would come to call home, and when people would ask me to describe it, I was often at a loss for words. How should I speak of it without falling into stereotypes, repeating the well-worn tropes of futurism, ease and prosperity that everyone pushes? I admit to being personally less interested in musings about the future than I am in the excavation of the past. History has always held a fascination for me. In a sense, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s memoir Let Them…
Author: Editorial Team
ZHAMBYL REGION, Kazakhstan, 29th June, 2026 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, a global clean energy leader, today formally broke ground on its 1-gigawatt (GW) wind farm in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan. The wind farm is Masdar’s first renewable energy development in Kazakhstan and one of the largest integrated wind and battery storage projects in Central Asia, representing investment of US$1.4 billion. It features a 600-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) to support grid stability. The project is being led by Masdar, and co-developed with W Solar, Qazaq Green Power, a Samruk-Kazyna Fund company,…
DAMMAM — Just 50 days before his wedding, Moath Al-Zahrani, one of the 14 Saudi Aramco employees who lost their lives in Sunday’s helicopter crash near Ras Tanura, was preparing to begin a new chapter of his life. Wedding invitations had been sent to family and friends the night before the tragedy. The apartment where he and his bride-to-be planned to build their future together was nearly ready, with every detail carefully arranged. Instead of gathering to celebrate his wedding, relatives, friends and colleagues gathered on Monday at Al Furqan Mosque in Dammam to perform funeral prayers for Al-Zahrani and…
RIYADH — The Ministry of Interior warned that anyone, who facilitates the entry of Border Security Law violators into the Kingdom, transports them within the country, harbors them, or provides them any form of assistance or service, shall be slapped with penalties of up to 15-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of SR1 million. The penalties also include confiscation of the vehicle used for transportation and the property used for sheltering them, as well as publicizing names of the offenders in their own personal expense. The ministry noted that this offense is classified as a major crime warranting arrest and…
Construction work has recently commenced on the UK’s new £750 million national supercomputer in Scotland. Those behind the project say it will be the most powerful computer in the UK, and one of the most powerful in the world, when it is finished at the end of 2027. It will be hosted in University of Edinburgh buildings on the outskirts of Penicuik and Roslin in Midlothian, near the institute where Dolly the sheep was cloned. It is a significant step forward for a project that was shelved by the UK government when Labour came into power, and then reinstated a…
Abu Dhabi-based M42 has launched the UAE’s first genomics-driven clinical trial to attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in the Emirati population. This marks a major milestone in translating the Emirati Genome Programme (EGP) into real-world clinical application. The study will use population-scale genomic data from the EGP to identify individuals who may meet the study’s Alzheimer’s disease criteria before symptoms appear. This supports research linked to earlier intervention and focuses on a shift toward prevention-focused care for the disease. The study will be conducted by M42’s Insights Research Organisation and Solutions (IROS), in collaboration with the Department of Health –…
ABU DHABI, 29th June, 2026 (WAM) — XRG and Eni have each signed agreements with YPF for the acquisition of a 32% interest in three upstream blocks, with YPF retaining the remaining 36%. Completion of the transactions remains subject to customary regulatory approvals. The upstream blocks are expected to form a core part of the integrated 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) ARGENTINA Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project, complementing XRG’s previously announced joint development agreement with YPF and Eni, and advancing key project components in line with the development plan. For XRG, the proposed investment supports its strategy to build…
The weather on Tuesday, June 30, is expected to be fair to partly cloudy at times, according to a forecast by the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM). Low clouds are set to appear over the east coast, the Met said in its daily forecast. Light to moderate southwesterly to northwesterly winds are expected to blow, freshening at times westward causing blowing dust, with a speed of 10-25 km/hr, reaching 40 km/hr. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The sea will be slight to moderate and rough at times westward in the Arabian Gulf…
DUBAI — Iran and Oman held their first formal talks on Monday on the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz under the framework of the interim memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Tehran and Washington earlier this month. The announcement followed multiple US media reports that Washington had agreed with Tehran to halt attacks after an exchange of strikes strained the deal, and that the two sides planned to renew talks in Qatar on Tuesday. Iran reacted by shooting down down the claim, sparking US President Donald Trump to say the meeting will go ahead, contradicting Tehran’s words. Deputy…
[Editor’s note: This article is part of Villages of the UAE, a Khaleej Times editorial series that looks beyond the country’s skylines to the quieter communities nestled in its mountains, deserts, wadis, and along its coast. Through the voices of residents and the rhythms of everyday life, the series explores how tradition, place, and people continue to shape the UAE’s social fabric.] To understand the ancient coastal village of Qidfa, one must first look at its geography. Trapped beautifully between the towering Hajar Mountains to the west and the warm waters of the Gulf of Oman to the east, it…