DUBAI, 25th October, 2026 (WAM) — H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), has approved a strategy to establish the Global Centre for Research and Technology for Economic Zones. Operating under DIEZ, the initiative aims to strengthen Dubai’s global leadership and contribution to the development of economic zones. Through the development of knowledge, policies and standards, the Centre aims to strengthen the ability of economic zones to attract high-value foreign investment, increase the value added by economic activities, and expand opportunities for trade and the transfer of knowledge and technology. These…
Author: Editorial Team
SEOUL, 25th October, 2026 (WAM) — The Republic of Korea posted the second-largest current account surplus among major economies in the second quarter, surpassing the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing data from the central bank. The country’s current account surplus reached US$116.63 billion in the April-June period, trailing only China’s $193.72 billion, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data available on the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System. Korea’s surplus more than quadrupled from $28.39 billion a year earlier, far outpacing increases of 11.9 percent in Germany and 5 percent in Japan. The sharp…
BEIJING — China on Friday warned that the growing risk of an arms race in outer space poses a major threat to international security, calling for stronger global governance and measures to prevent space from becoming a new theater of military conflict. In a position paper outlining its approach to outer space governance, Beijing said rapid advances in space science and technology have outpaced the existing international legal framework, creating new challenges for global security and cooperation. “The risk of an arms race in outer space and the trend of turning outer space into a new theater of conflict have…
RIYADH — Air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward Taif and Yanbu, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced. The interceptions coincided with early warning alerts issued by Saudi Civil Defense authorities over potential threats in Makkah, Jeddah, Taif and Yanbu. Residents were instructed to seek shelter in safe locations, stay away from windows and exposed areas, and follow safety instructions issued by the relevant authorities. The latest interceptions followed a series of Houthi attacks targeting several parts of Saudi Arabia. Earlier, the coalition announced the interception and destruction of ballistic…
Haider Aziz, General Manager – Middle East, Turkey and Africa at VAST Data. Haider Aziz of VAST Data discusses how modular infrastructure could address power and capacity constraints, support local data control and bring AI inference closer to users. Power, cooling and data centre capacity are becoming critical constraints on AI deployment, prompting infrastructure providers to rethink where and how organisations run inference. VAST Data and UAE-based Hyperfusion have announced plans to integrate the VAST AI Operating System into Hyperfusion’s Sentinel modular AI infrastructure as its preferred data platform, with the aim of bringing sovereign, production AI inference online in…
TOKYO, 23rd October, 2026 (WAM) — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Extraordinary Congress 2026 has approved a series of important amendments to the AFC Statutes in Tokyo, Japan. In response to the exceptional circumstances created by FIFA’s upcoming changes to its international calendar and following consultation with football’s world governing body, the amendments include transitional governance provisions aimed at ensuring the continuing alignment of the AFC’s electoral and competition cycles. The evolving international sporting calendar will see the staging of the AFC Asian Cup™ move from an odd-year cycle to an even-year cycle, starting from the 2032 edition, and the…
NEW YORK, 24th October, 2026 (WAM) — Wall Street’s major indices closed lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 658.82 points, or 1.23 percent, to 52,215.16. The S&P 500 declined 39.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to 7,623.86, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 53.52 points, or 0.21 percent, to 25,955.34. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.7 percent, while the Dow Jones rose 0.4 percent, marking its third consecutive week of gains. Source: Emirates News Agency
Fady Younes, Managing Director, Cybersecurity, Cisco Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Caucasus and Central Asia (METAC) at Cisco. UAE organisations are adopting AI-powered security at pace and seeing clear improvements in how quickly they detect and respond to threats, according to new research from Cisco. However, the findings show that organisational factors, including how teams coordinate and how easily they can access security data, remain the main constraint on further progress, as they are globally. The UAE findings from Cisco’s Relentless Defence Report assess organisations on three areas: how completely they can protect their environment, how quickly they can detect, respond…
CAPITALS, 24th October, 2026 (WAM) — Gold prices edged higher on Friday after hitting their lowest level in more than three months, but remained on course for a second consecutive weekly loss. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to US$4,030.67 per ounce, having touched US$3,986.50 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery, meanwhile, fell 0.3 percent to US$4,046.40 per ounce. Among other precious metals, silver declined 1.3 percent to US$53.81 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.9 percent to US$1,557.03, and palladium shed 0.4 percent to US$1,050.50. Source: Emirates News Agency
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi said on Friday that no US troops remain in Iraq, including military advisers, and pledged to bring all weapons under state control by June 30, 2027. Speaking to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Al-Zaidi said the complete withdrawal of foreign forces had eliminated the justification previously used by armed factions to retain their weapons. He stressed that the government’s decision to restrict weapons to state institutions was final and irreversible. “By June 30, 2027, there will be no weapons outside the framework of the state,” he said. Al-Zaidi revealed that the government…