ABU DHABI, 23rd July, 2026 (WAM) — Masdar City Free Zone (MCFZ) has opened two new representative offices in China, in Shanghai and Shenzhen, bringing its total presence in the country to three offices within a year, as the free zone looks to deepen ties with Chinese companies expanding into the Gulf. The expansion builds on the success of Masdar City’s first international office, opened at Suzhou Industrial Park in December 2025, its first outside the UAE. In the months since, more than 15 Chinese companies have registered with Masdar City Free Zone, a signal of the demand the new…
Author: Editorial Team
ABU DHABI, 23rd July, 2026 (WAM) — A total of 11 financial institutions have completed preparations to issue “Jaywan” cards, the UAE’s national card scheme operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. The remaining banks, exchange houses and fintech companies will join the scheme in phases. Jaywan aims to enhance the efficiency of the national payments ecosystem, develop the country’s financial infrastructure, provide secure, fast and easy-to-use payment solutions, and deliver an advanced payment experience for individuals and businesses. The financial institutions that have announced their readiness to issue Jaywan cards are First…
JEDDAH — The National Center for Meteorology (NCM) on Thursday warned of a heatwave across the Eastern Province, with temperatures expected to reach 49–50°C. The warning covers the cities of Dammam and Dhahran, as well as the governorates of Khafji, Nairyah, Qaryat Al-Ulya, Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Khobar, Buqayq, Al-Udayd, Dhiblouten, Al-Ahsa, and their surrounding towns and administrative centers. The NCM said the heatwave is expected to continue, until late afternoon. Elsewhere in the Kingdom, temperatures reached 48°C in Al-Ahsa and Wadi Dawasir, and 45°C in Riyadh and Sharurah. Source: Saudi Gazette
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms everyday life, consumers increasingly expect technology that not only responds to commands but also understands preferences, anticipates needs and delivers personalised experiences. Bringing this new generation of intelligence into mobility, OMODA & JAECOO will unveil its mass-produced AI Smart Cockpit during Super AI Night in Indonesia on 27th July, marking another major milestone in the brand’s intelligent mobility strategy and signalling technologies that will gradually expand to global markets, including the UAE. The launch represents the latest evolution of OMODA & JAECOO’s Dual Super Strategy, combining the brand’s globally recognised Super Hybrid System (SHS) with…
For years, festival season for families in Liwa and Zayed City means hours behind the wheel. That’s about to change. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, has moved up the launch of the Zayed City and Liwa Etihad Rail passenger stations to November 30, 2026, a month ahead of schedule, timed to coincide with Al Dhafra’s festival season. The two stations join a national network that began between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah in June, extended to Dubai and Al Dhaid in September, and will reach the remaining Al Dhafra stations in December, with…
MANILA — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Iranians “need to come to their senses,” adding that Tehran will “pay a very heavy price for the things they are doing”. “I just don’t think they’re serious about making a deal,” Rubio told reporters in Manila. “The problem with them is you can’t make a deal with people unless they’re going to keep it,” the US top diplomat said, claiming that Tehran “breaks” or tries to “change the deal” after entering into them. Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN conference, Rubio said Washington had upheld its side…
Image source: openai.com/X Frontier models chained a zero-day exploit to reach production systems during a cyber capability test, prompting fresh warnings for defenders relying on hosted AI tools OpenAI and Hugging Face have disclosed details of a security incident that occurred while OpenAI was internally evaluating the cyber capabilities of its models, including GPT-5.6 Sol and an unreleased, more capable model. The evaluation, run without the production safety classifiers that normally restrict high-risk cyber activity, was designed to test how far models could pursue complex, multi-step exploitation paths. During the test, the models chained a series of vulnerabilities across OpenAI’s…
As temperatures continue to climb across the UAE, spending the weekend indoors doesn’t have to mean staying at home. From joining a community run through an air-conditioned mall to learning the art of traditional Emirati perfume-making or enjoying live music, there are plenty of ways to escape the heat over the next few days. Here are seven events worth adding to your weekend plans. 1. Join a free indoor 5km run Kickstart your Friday, July 24 morning with the first New Balance x Common Grounds Summer Run Series at Dubai Hills Mall. The free community run begins at 6:15 am,…
ABU DHABI, 23rd July, 2026 (WAM) — Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Network for Logistics (NXN), a 7X company, to provide logistics solutions that support Emirati enterprises and help them expand into local and regional markets. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 22nd edition of the Liwa Date Festival 2026 and aligns with Khalifa Fund’s strategy to strengthen strategic partnerships and provide value-added services that support businesses throughout their growth journey. It also contributes to advancing Abu Dhabi’s economic development objectives while strengthening the contribution of small…
JERUSALEM — More than 1,300 Jewish settlers and members of far-right groups stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday morning in one of the largest incursions this year as they marked a Jewish holiday, Palestinian officials say. Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection on Thursday for Tisha B’Av, a Jewish day of mourning that marks the destruction twice of an ancient Jewish temple believed to have stood at the site known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions…