Author: Editorial Team
Swiss watch giant Swatch said Monday insufficient organisation by shopping centres contributed to scuffles at around 20 stores worldwide over the weekend as clients raced to buy a limited-edition timepiece. Hundreds of people waited through the night or longer hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, billed as a “disruptive collaboration” with the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. But things turned ugly in New York and several European cities as well as in Thailand on Saturday, with fights breaking out and some security gates vandalised at some of the 220 stores offering the watches. In France, officers fired…
The My FarmWell Application project has been named the winner of the 4th edition of the Excellence and Creative Engineering Award presented by the Society of Engineers UAE under the Pioneer Engineering Project category. The project received recognition as the “Best Small Project”, highlighting its contribution to sustainable water management, smart agriculture, and artificial intelligence-driven engineering solutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the award description, a small project is defined as a project valued at up to AED 50 million and completed within the last three years. Since the launch of the award, 79 winners have emerged…
Ultra Gobi, one of China’s most established outdoor endurance races, will stage its first international event in January 2027 with the launch of Ultra Gobi AlUla, bringing its established race formats to the historic oasis destination in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The 21st edition of the original Ultra Gobi takes place in the Gobi Desert in October 2026, followed by Ultra Gobi AlUla from January 12 to 20, 2027. The announcement marks the first time in the series’ 20-year history that Ultra Gobi will take place outside China. Located approximately 300 kilometres north of Madinah, AlUla lies along the ancient Incense Road and…
Moataz BinAli, CEO, Magna AI. The enterprise technology landscape has long been shaped by Global System Integrators (GSIs) such as Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Capgemini, TCS, and Infosys, built on a clear value proposition of integrating complex, multi-vendor systems at scale. For decades, this model delivered results, helping enterprises design, implement, and manage increasingly sophisticated technology environments. But as the pace of innovation accelerates, the limitations of this approach are becoming harder to ignore, and the model is beginning to fracture in a more fundamental way. AI is at the center of this shift. It is not simply another layer to…
The Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM Bank) recorded growth in its credit facilities during the first quarter of 2026, reaching SAR13.23 billion, up 20.8% from SAR10.95 billion in Q1 2025. This increase reflects the bank’s ongoing efforts to support Saudi non-oil exports and enhance their competitiveness in international markets. The credit facilities were allocated across a variety of financing and export credit insurance products. Export financing totaled SAR4.33 billion in Q1 of 2026, marking an increase of 0.6% compared to SAR4.31 billion in Q1 2025. Additionally, exports covered by export credit insurance rose to SAR8.90 billion, up 33.9% from SAR6.65 billion…
Landmark partnership marries 110 years of industrial domain expertise with Claude’s frontier AI to accelerate the safe, enterprise-scale deployment of physical AI across critical infrastructure worldwide. Dubai — Hitachi, Ltd. has announced a strategic partnership with Anthropic PBC, the AI safety company behind the Claude family of models, to strengthen its Lumada 3.0 business model and accelerate the safe deployment of frontier AI across mission-critical industries. Announced jointly from Santa Clara and Tokyo, the alliance unites Hitachi’s 110-plus years of domain expertise in IT, operational technology, and products with Anthropic’s frontier AI capabilities. The companies will focus on advancing system…
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed a cooperation agreement with the Charity Committee for Orphans Care (Ensan) to implement a sacrificial meat (udhiyah) purchase and distribution project in Yemen for Eid Al-Adha. KSrelief Assistant Supervisor General of Operations and Programs Engineer Ahmed Al Baiz signed the agreement with Ensan General Manager Mohammed Almuharib. Under the project, 4,140 udhiyahs will be purchased and distributed during Eid Al-Adha to some of the most vulnerable groups in the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Al-Mahra, Marib, and Aden. The initiative aims to strengthen food security, ease the suffering of beneficiary families, and bring joy to…
MANILA — The Philippine Senate convened an impeachment court on Monday with the senators sworn in to serve as judges for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach Sara Duterte last Monday over alleged unexplained wealth, misuse of state funds and a public threat to have the president assassinated if she herself were killed due to their political disputes. Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment in the House triggers a trial in the Senate, where a guilty verdict on any of the charges would see her removed and banned…
MAKKAH — The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has completed preparations for the road and infrastructure network in Makkah and the holy sites for Hajj, implementing more than 11 million linear meters of roads. The ministry achieved the completion through a package of development works and field interventions aimed at enhancing traffic flow and improving mobility efficiency in high-density areas. In addition to implementing over 11 million roads, the ministry worked on the maintenance and development of around 74 million square meters of road surfaces. More than 1.2 million square meters were also asphalted to strengthen the readiness of the…
What is it about Ruskin Bond? It’s not just the stories he writes. He unlocks a wooden door in your memory. They hold your hand and walk you back to school corridors, to friends whose names you hadn’t said aloud in years, to a time when joy was as simple as a toffee and a bicycle race. That is his magic. As the author turns 92 today, he celebrated his birthday by launching a new book titled All-Time Favourite Friendship Stories. Bond turns his gentle gaze towards one of life’s most cherished gifts and that is friendship. In an exclusive…