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  • Flooded UAE counts cost of epic rainstorm, airport still facing disruptions

    Emergency workers tried to clear waterclogged roads and people assessed the damage to homes and businesses on Thursday after a rare and epic rainstorm swamped the United Arab Emirates.
    Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday's deluge.
    The rains were the heaviest experienced by the Gulf state in the 75 years that records have been kept. They brought much of the country to a standstill and caused significant damage.

  • UAE cloud seeding did not take place during heavy rains, says NCM: Reports

    The UAE weather bureau has denied claims that its cloud seeding program was responsible for the recent heavy rainfall that caused widespread flooding in the country. The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) confirmed on Wednesday that no cloud seeding missions were conducted during the torrential rain on Tuesday, according to local reports.

  • At least one dead after heavy rains set off flash floods in UAE

     Authorities and communities across the United Arab Emirates were clearing debris on Wednesday after a torrential downpour killed at least one person and caused damage to homes and businesses.
    The UAE witnessed a record rainfall with 254 mm falling in Al Ain on Tuesday in less than 24 hours, according to the national meteorology centre. That was the most since records began in 1949, before the country was established in 1971.

  • Saudi Arabia and the UAE Spur a Gulf States Space Race

    The Gulf Cooperation Council states are on a transformative journey, tapping into sectors like renewable energies, sports, entertainment and tourism to diversify their traditionally hydrocarbon-dependent economies. This path has already led them to broaden their diplomatic horizons beyond their own territorial limits. Now, with space as their next grand venture, it is taking them beyond the very bounds of Earth itself. The GCC states’ ambitious space programs are driven by domestic economic ambitions and commercial interests, with key ongoing projects like the futuristic smart cities of Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates and NEOM in Saudi Arabia relying on space applications and AI technologies. But the emerging space race is also a matter of national pride. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia aim to advance their space programs to enhance their global prestige and soft power. Both have made big moves in the space sector to complement their respective long-term visions, but also as part of a competitive rivalry.

  • The UAE’s AI Dreams

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) hopes to position itself as a pivotal force in artificial intelligence (AI), underscored by its development of the Falcon Large Language Model, the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), and a comprehensive national AI agenda. While these initiatives reflect a clear ambition to redefine its global standing through technology, they also introduce complexities and challenges in the realms of geopolitics, governance, and global tech competition.

  • UAE, Saudi Arabia ranked as leading global entrepreneurial ecosystems

    The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been ranked first and third respectively in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for 2023-2024. The report, which assesses the entrepreneurial ecosystems of countries worldwide, is highly regarded by international bodies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and various UN organizations, Saudi Arabia showed significant progress in its entrepreneurial environment, with its National Entrepreneurship Context Index score increasing from 5.0 in 2019 to 6.3 in both 2022 and 2023.

  • Russia struggles to collect oil payments as China, UAE, Turkey raise bank scrutiny

    Russian oil firms face delays of up to several months to be paid for crude and fuel as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) become more wary of U.S. secondary sanctions, eight sources familiar with the matter said.
    Payment delays reduce revenue to the Kremlin and make them erratic, allowing Washington to achieve its dual policy sanction goals - to disrupt money going to the Kremlin to punish it for the war in Ukraine while not interrupting global energy flows.

  • The latest Saudi tennis bid stalls – now Qatar and UAE may rival them for Masters event

    The men’s professional tennis tour has opened a bidding process for an additional top-level tournament, creating a competition for the hosting rights for an event that, earlier this month, appeared all but certain to land in Saudi Arabia. That may still happen and the women’s tour is expected to be a part of any top-level event that gets added to the already packed tennis calendar, according to people familiar with the ever-evolving battle to control tennis and the role that Saudi Arabia appears determined to play. As with others spoken to for this piece, those people remain anonymous to protect relationships.

  • Tencent to expand cloud business in Saudi Arabia and UAE

    Tencent is planning to expand its cloud business in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and will reportedly make "huge new investments" in data storage. The company's plans were revealed in a report by Bloomberg.

  • UAE seeks bilateral EU trade talks with GCC negotiations at impasse, sources say

    The United Arab Emirates is quietly urging the European Union to start talks on a trade pact separate from an Arab bloc, five people familiar with the matter said, as the Gulf state seeks closer political and economic ties with Europe. They told Reuters that Abu Dhabi is frustrated at long-stalled trade negotiations between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an Arab bloc that includes the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE, an influential, oil-rich Middle East state, has long advocated deeper EU involvement in the Gulf region. It is the Arab world's second-largest economy after Saudi Arabia, a major Middle East trade partner for many other nations, and its sovereign wealth funds rank among the world's most active.