Author: Editorial Team
Kawa Junad. Kawa Junad, Founder and Shareholder, First Iraqi Bank, explains why simplicity, trust, and everyday use cases hold the key to financial inclusion in a cash-heavy economy Iraq’s journey towards digital finance is unlike that of most markets in the region. With fewer than one-third of adults holding a bank account, the country’s transformation is not simply a shift from cash to digital payments but, for many citizens, a first step into formal financial services altogether. Building adoption in such an environment demands more than technology. Education, trust, accessibility, and a growing ecosystem of everyday use cases all play…
ASIR — Saudi Border Guard arrested four Ethiopian nationals in the Asir Region for attempting to smuggle 34 kilograms of hashish. Border Guard land patrols in the Raboua Sector of the Asir Region arrested the suspects for violating the Border Security Law after they were caught attempting to smuggle the narcotic substance. Authorities said the necessary preliminary legal procedures had been completed, and the suspects, along with the seized drugs, were referred to the competent authority. The Border Guard urged the public to report any information related to drug smuggling or trafficking by calling 911 in Makkah, Riyadh and the…
Abdulla Al Nuaimi presented a copy of his credentials as Ambassador of UAE to India to the Acting Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, at the Ministry’s headquarters in New Delhi. The Acting Chief of Protocol wished Al Nuaimi success in his duties to further advance bilateral relations across various sectors between the two countries, reaffirming his country’s readiness to provide all possible support to facilitate his mission and to advance relations between the two countries. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. For his part, Al Nuaimi expressed…
ABU DHABI, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — Sanad, a global leader in aerospace engineering and asset management solutions wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (Mubadala), today announced strong financial and operational results for the first half of 2026, reporting AED 4.31 billion in revenue, representing 35% year-over-year growth from the same period last year. The strong performance reflects sustained international demand for Sanad’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, the successful expansion of its new Asset Management division, and continued investment in advanced repair, testing, and infrastructure capabilities. International customers generated 99% of total revenue, while Sanad secured eight…
RAS AL KHAIMAH, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar), in collaboration with IBM and SAP, today announced a strategic initiative to transform its enterprise operations through a comprehensive SAP S/4HANA modernization programme. Under this initiative, IBM Consulting will lead the end-to-end digital transformation, including the migration to SAP S/4HANA and the implementation of advanced SAP capabilities across key functions such as finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and HR. The programme aims to establish a unified, intelligent digital core that will enhance operational efficiency, strengthen regulatory compliance, improve data transparency, and increase enterprise agility across Julphar’s regional operations. Julphar…
MAKKAH — The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has introduced a multiple-entry Umrah visa that allows pilgrims to enter Saudi Arabia multiple times over a one-year period and stay in the Kingdom for up to 90 days in total. Valid for 365 days from the date of issuance, the visa enables pilgrims to make multiple visits throughout its validity period. The total permitted stay of 90 days is calculated cumulatively based on the number of days spent in the Kingdom during each visit. The ministry clarified, however, that the multiple-entry Umrah visa cannot be used to enter Saudi Arabia during…
BEIJING — A food delivery rider who turned the struggles of life on the road into poetry has won one of China’s top literary honors. Wang Jibing, a 57-year-old delivery rider from Jiangsu province, has been awarded the prestigious Lu Xun Literary Prize for his poetry collection “Low Flight”. Named after Lu Xun, widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature, the award is among China’s most respected literary recognitions. Wang, who became a delivery rider around 2019, gained traction on social media for his poems and essays. He is part of a growing group of blue-collar workers who…
One hundred and ten Emirati students are spending their summer preparing for more than university admission. Through a new programme from the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), they are learning to manage budgets, protect themselves online, adapt to living away from home, and represent the UAE internationally. The Onboarding and Readiness Accelerator Program at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi brings together Abu Dhabi Scholarships students, 19 strategic partners, and six international embassies. This initiative expands Adek’s previous pre-departure programme into a comprehensive readiness model, offering support before, during, and after students’ international academic experiences. The programme is…
Magdalena König, General Counsel, Sirius International Holding. For much of the past three years, the global conversation around artificial intelligence has been driven by scale: who can build the fastest models, deploy the most compute, attract the deepest pools of capital, and move from experimentation to execution at speed. Yet as AI begins to move beyond pilots and proof-of-concept deployments into the systems that shape economies, industries, and daily life, the real competitive advantage is beginning to shift from capability to credibility. The question is no longer simply who can build AI, but who can build AI that people, institutions,…
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 20th July, 2026 (WAM) — West African leaders on Sunday signed an agreement approving the construction of a gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco at a summit of regional bloc ECOWAS in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. The roughly 6,000-kilometre Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) will cross 13 countries along Africa’s Atlantic coast, carrying Nigerian gas to Morocco before connecting to the Maghreb-Europe pipeline. “We have already signed the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline,” said ECOWAS Chair Julius Maada Bio said. “Don’t be surprised when the gas comes your way.” Morocco’s state hydrocarbons agency ONHYM and Nigeria’s state oil company…