DUBAI, 12th October, 2026 (WAM) — The 1 Billion Followers Summit has opened submissions for the second edition of the AI Film Award 2027, offering a $1 million grand prize to creators worldwide for AI-generated films exploring humanitarian, social and environmental issues. Organised in partnership with BytePlus, ByteDance’s enterprise technology services arm, and supported this year by TikTok, the award aims to encourage innovative storytelling and expand the use of artificial intelligence in content creation. The winning film will be announced during the fifth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, taking place in Dubai from 8th to 10th January…
Author: Editorial Team
DUBLIN — An Australian engineer who was held in prison in Iraq for five years, has returned to Ireland to be reuinted with his family. Robert Pether was welcomed a Dublin Airport by his wife and children, who said they have been “living in hell” since Pether was arrested without charge in April 2021 in connection to a business dispute. The 51-year-old had been living in Ireland for a number of years. The United Nations has said Pether’s detention was illegal, and an international court has ruled his employer is not responsible for the business disagreement. Pether had been working…
SHARJAH, 12th October, 2026 (WAM) — Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) has selected 14 women entrepreneurs with established ventures and demonstrated business traction for the second edition of the Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF), a six-month programme designed to achieve successive stages of business growth. Comprising nine SMEs and five startup entrepreneurs across F&B, FMCG, creative industries, sustainability, manufacturing, EdTech and health, the new cohort brings together founders from different nationalities and business models who have already established their ventures and are now focused on strengthening and growing them. The programme kicked off with an orientation session featuring a role-playing leadership…
RIYADH — Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman received on Monday a phone call from King Abdullah of Jordan. During the call, the King expressed Jordan’s condemnation of the terrorist attacks launched by the Houthi militia against Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah affirmed Jordan’s full support for Saudi Arabia in confronting all threats to its security and the safety of its citizens and residents. He offered Jordan’s total support for the measures taken to protect the Kingdom’s resources. Source: Saudi Gazette
Raul Villar Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Optro. Dubai regional centre will provide local support for audit, risk and compliance teams across the Middle East and North Africa Optro, the leading AI-powered GRC Intelligence Platform, today announced its expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), establishing Dubai as the company’s newest regional center. The move represents a major step forward in serving global GRC teams and providing localised support for its rapidly growing customer base across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The announcement was made at the 2026 CAE Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The expansion…
SHANGHAI, China, 12th October, 2026 (WAM) — The UAE is exploring opportunities to strengthen industrial, technological and investment cooperation with China through the participation of a UAE delegation, led by Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), alongside senior ministry officials, in the China International Industry Fair (CIIF) 2026, taking place in Shanghai from 12th to 16th October. The Ministry’s participation focuses on strengthening industrial partnerships, exploring investment opportunities in priority sectors, and advancing cooperation in advanced technology and smart manufacturing. The delegation includes representatives from MoIAT and several UAE entities and companies,…
RIYADH — Misk Foundation has announced that the Misk Global Forum will not be held in 2026, citing organizational and logistical challenges that could affect the event’s overall experience and impact. In a statement on Monday, the foundation said the decision followed a careful assessment of challenges surrounding this year’s edition as it continues to develop its approach to empowering young people and delivering meaningful experiences. “As a result, the decision has been made not to hold the Misk Global Forum in 2026,” the statement said. The foundation emphasized that its commitment to youth empowerment and creating opportunities for learning,…
ABU DHABI, 12th October, 2026 (WAM) — In a global first, etisalat UAE has become the first operator to commercially launch 2×2 uplink MIMO with carrier aggregation for smartphones. The new capability enables up to three times upload speed for compatible smart phones exclusively on etisalat UAE’s 5.5G network. The technology enables greater capacity and bandwidth to communicate and upload high-resolution photos, share videos, send large files faster, and use a growing range of AI-powered applications more quickly. The 2×2 uplink MIMO sends two streams of data simultaneously, while carrier aggregation combines network capacity across different frequency bands. Together, these…
RIYADH — Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan received on Monday phone calls from Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom Edward Miliband and Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif Al-Zayani. During the call, Prince Faisal and Miliband discussed Houthi militia attacks on King Khalid International Airport. Miliband affirmed the UK’s condemnation of Houthi acts of violence targeting Yemen and civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia. He expressed the UK’s solidarity with both Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government in confronting these attacks. They also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, as…
MALÉ, 12th October, 2026 (WAM) — The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Malé, in cooperation with the Maldives’ Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, organised a virtual roundtable to explore opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector. The UAE side was led by Heba Aljneibi, Chargé d’Affaires at the UAE Embassy in Malé, with representatives of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Global South Utilities (GSU). The Maldivian side was led by Mohamed Faiz, Minister of State for Climate Change, Environment and Energy, who chaired the session, alongside senior ministry officials and representatives of the State…