Latest news with #Emiratis'
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Nepal, Thailand secure berth in Women's T20WC 2026 Qualifier
New Delhi [India], : Asia's entrants for the upcoming 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier have been locked, following victories in the final phase of regional qualifying, which confirmed that Thailand and Nepal progressed through. Both teams, along with UAE, featured in a Super Three contest, which would've seen the top two sides in the group make it to the Global Qualifier. Nepal completed the chase of UAE's 114 in the final over to confirm their progress on Monday, joining Thailand, who also secured their berth to the next round. Coming to the fixture, after electing to field against the UAE in Bangkok, Nepal kept a check on the Emiratis' scoring rate. Despite Esha Oza's patient 39, the Middle East side could manage just 114/7 in the 20-over mark. Manisha Upadhyay played a starring role after returning with figures of 4/20 with the ball. Nepal were clinical with the bat, and never lost sight of the target despite setbacks. Nepal sealed their five-wicket triumph in the 20th over, with skipper Indu Barma and Rubina Chhetry chipping in with important contributions. Naruemol Chaiwai's Thailand side defeated the Emiratis earlier on Sunday. With Thailand's match against Nepal the only remaining fixture, neither side can be overtaken on the points tally. Thailand's win over UAE was a dominant display from the South-East Asian side, who hammered 144/5 in the first innings, courtesy of Natthakan Chantham's blazing exploits, and Nattaya Boochatham's steady contribution. The UAE lost Esha Oza early and were never in contention in the chase thereafter, finishing at 90/5. Thailand and Nepal join Bangladesh and Scotland at the Global Qualifier, who made it to the event via their participation at the last ICC Women's T20 World Cup, as well as the United States, who claimed victory in the Americas Qualifier, which was held in Argentina back in March. Two Global Qualifier spots are available through both upcoming Europe and Africa Qualifiers, with one place up for grabs in East Asia-Pacific action. The top four teams at the Global Qualifier will progress to the marquee tournament which will be held in England and Wales, with the hosts joined by Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Al Etihad
13-05-2025
- Science
- Al Etihad
New wave of Emirati space experts in training as 10-week programme begins
13 May 2025 21:33 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)Space science training has begun for the second batch of Emiratis who could be the next experts and innovators of the country's rapidly evolving satellite and exploration National Space Academy, an initiative by the UAE Space Agency, kicked off the 10-week "Space Applications – Earth Observation" programme on Tuesday. This immersive, hands-on course is aimed at honing Emiratis' talent in remote sensing, artificial intelligence and data in partnership with Space42, the programme forms part of a long-term initiative to advance applied space knowledge in the nation. Participants represent more than 20 public, private, academic, and research entities from across the country."They will graduate with real-world projects, applications that will be launched through our gIQ platform, which utilises space data analytics to provide solutions for real-world applications," said Eng. Naser Al Rashedi, Manager of the National Space programme, which runs until July 17, features a mix of lectures, workshops, and live projects, enabling participants to build their space-based solutions with AI and satellite such training, the UAE is cultivating a new wave of engineers and scientists who will be able to drive space science and technology at the forefront of national Emiratis' capabilities in space science remains a core priority of the academy, while also tackling long-term sustainability. "The strategy talks about investing in space applications that have real use cases in the UAE and making them economically competitive. It is about generating both social and economic returns," Al Rashedi said. New Curriculum To ensure users could take full advantage of the data tools and analytics, Space42 revamped its training strategy. "We created an entirely new curriculum for the second cohort, which enables project-based learning," said Dr. Prashanth Marpu, Chief Technology Officer at Bayanat's Smart Solutions, Space42."Now, people not only learn theoretically; they actually implement it in a programme and go end-to-end," he said."We wanted to actually train people, governmental agencies, students, on the latest technologies to utilise the data in the right way and build applications."This approach, Marpu said, seeks to empower participants. "Now, these students can go back to their organisations already equipped with the tools needed to do their analytics or to contribute to their programmes."The academy is now making plans to further strengthen its programme."We are going to launch another cohort related to the upstream of space, which means how to build satellite systems-not just using the data. We are also exploring different models of delivering the programme to increase access, especially for those who cannot attend the in-person format due to limited seats," Al Rashedi said. "In the next phase, we are looking to introduce more subjects and varied delivery styles to make the program even more accessible and comprehensive," he added.
Middle East Eye
12-05-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
From AI to weapons, Trump's Gulf visit looks to swap politics for business
US President Donald Trump is setting up shop in the oil-rich Gulf. His wares are high-tech weaponry, AI chips and nuclear technology. Because Trump's focus will be on business deals when he arrives in the Gulf on Tuesday, his visit is being framed as economic, above geopolitical. But Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy also underscores a deeper truth about the current world order. His visit will start on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In a shaky global economy, countries are scrambling for investments and fighting for every penny they can get. The US's chokehold on advanced technology, from weapons to AI, is not what it used to be. 'The underlying reality is that in many areas of technology, including defence, where the US believes it leads, we no longer do,' Chas Freeman, the US's former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Middle East Eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'For example, the US is not the most advanced producer of drones anymore, China is. The monopoly on advanced technology that the Washington establishment says it must defend doesn't exist like it used to,' he said. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the US has been surrendering its lead in critical technologies like defence, space and energy to China. An August 2024 report said that between 2003 and 2007, the US led in 60 of 64 technologies, but its position rapidly shrank to leading in just seven between 2019 and 2023, as China pulled ahead to lead in 57 of 64 technologies. However, there are concerns about Trump's business-first approach in Washington. 'I'm not sure whether Trump is ideologically committed to Israel's QME' - Prem Kumar, Albright Stonebridge Group For example, Trump's National Security Council has pushed to downplay his stop in the UAE. US officials are still frustrated by the Emiratis' economic and military ties to China, one source briefed by the NSC told MEE. Some US defence and intelligence officials are concerned that in his rush for deals, Trump may be overlooking concerns about how to secure the technology behind American weapons systems and AI from China, which has a close economic partnership with Gulf states. The Biden administration never resolved differences with the UAE over the sale of F-35 jet fighters, citing concerns about the Emirates' ties to Beijing. But analysts and former US officials say that deal may be back on the table, with the US president hunting for orders that will boost US job numbers. One of the more sensitive deals that the Trump administration is advancing is a joint endeavour between the UAE's state-owned arms maker Edge and General Atomics, which would see the Emirati firm integrate its precision missiles into the MQ-9B SkyGuardian platform. Although the deal was authorised, work on it is not yet complete, and it could take a year, a US official told MEE. Does Trump care about Israel's military edge? As Trump puts sales numbers ahead of traditional policy considerations, it is irking longstanding allies who are accustomed to having a de facto veto over sales. The Trump administration signalled in April that it had shifted from viewing the sale of civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia as a lever to entice Riyadh to normalise ties to Israel. Instead, it is a business transaction that could give US companies a slice of the $80bn that experts say the kingdom's nuclear programme would cost. The same goes for the sale of F-35 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia. Reuters first reported that the US would discuss the sale with the kingdom, and an American official confirmed to MEE that it's on the table. That deal would unnerve Israel because the sale of the US's most advanced jet fighters was intended to be linked to the kingdom normalising relations with Israel under the Biden administration. But normalisation has all been struck from the agenda for this trip. Israel has long enjoyed outsized influence over the US's arms sales to Arab states and Turkey. The US's commitment to Israel's so-called qualitative military edge (QME) over its neighbours is written into law and has been a bedrock of the two countries' partnerships, going back to the 1970s. 'I'm not sure whether Trump is ideologically committed to Israel's QME, but he has to answer to Congress. There may be ways he could push through these arms sales with technological limits to address concerns about Israel's QME,' Prem Kumar, director of the Middle East division at the DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group advisory, told MEE. 'Brakes off on arms sales' Trump will have to push if he wants to meet his self-imposed goal of obtaining $1 trillion in investments from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. For perspective, $1 trillion was the total value of Saudi Arabia's GDP in 2024. 'This administration is totally transactional. Trump is thinking about what deals he can cut that boast manufacturing jobs and increase the US's bottom line,' one US official working on the visit told MEE. The low-hanging fruit for Trump is cutting arms deals. The Gulf states were frustrated with the Biden administration's slow approach to approving sales. Trump laid the foundation for his visit with an executive order last month that seeks to streamline the foreign military sales process. Why Saudi Arabia can spend more money than it makes, even as oil prices drop Read More » American weapons transfers have long faced scrutiny, mainly from human rights activists concerned about how foreign governments use arms, but also, increasingly, from Trump-loyalists espousing 'America First' values. For the latter group, Israel and Egypt have come under fire because they obtain billions of dollars in US taxpayer-funded weapons, but the Gulf states pay for their products. According to Reuters, Trump hopes to unveil $100bn in arms sales when he visits Saudi Arabia. One of Trump's talking points in Riyadh and other Gulf capitals will include his plan to expedite foreign military sales, a US defence official working on the file told MEE. The plans are not yet finalised, and the Department of Defence is working to address concerns about foreign disclosure on sensitive technologies and other matters by the summer. But Trump is wasting little time. He has already fast-tracked a slew of deals that were stalled under the former Biden administration. 'The breaks are off on arms sales. Everything is a go,' one US official told MEE. In March, the US notified Congress about the sale of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) to Saudi Arabia. Then in May, it provided notice about the sale of advanced air-to-air missiles. The Trump administration is working to fast-track the sale of $20 bn worth of MQ-9 Reaper drones to Saudi Arabia. The deal has been under discussion since 2018, but US officials say it is expected to be sealed under Trump. In February, the president of General Atomics, the company producing MQ-9s, said the deal would 'result in many of tens of thousands of jobs in the US'. Gulf states want AI chips Weapons sales and energy have been the bedrock of the US's ties to Gulf monarchs since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met Saudi King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud in 1945, ushering in a decades-old oil-for-security partnership. Now, Gulf states are looking to lead in emerging technologies like AI, semiconductor manufacturing and critical minerals. At a time when the global economy is wobbling, the Gulf monarchs can dip into sovereign wealth funds that hold trillions of dollars to make investments. Exclusive: Saudi Arabia pressed Trump to stop attacks on Yemen ahead of visit Read More » The US unveiled on Friday a 'fast-track' investment process for US-designated 'allies'. The US says that a new portal will allow foreign investors to file their information before the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius) ahead of any deals. Gulf states are eager to invest in American AI technology and semiconductors. The UAE has put itself at the centre of a global rush to build data centres which house the supercomputers and chips that run AI. In March, Emirati national security advisor, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, pledged to to invest $1.4trillion in the US over the next decade. The Biden administration placed restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips, but the Trump administration has suggested it is willing to loosen the rules. American companies like AMD, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI are leaders in the field, and many have struck deals with Gulf states. However, even the Gulf monarchs are stretched thin. Fight for investments Experts say the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, will need serious incentives to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US, and Trump might come home with more paper pledges than real deals. Saudi Arabia is trying desperately to get foreign investors to buy into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030, but it hasn't happened. The kingdom's foreign direct investment fell to its lowest level since 2020 - during the Covid pandemic - last year. In October, Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said he planned to substantially reduce the kingdom's overseas investments and focus on the home market. The kingdom is scaling back projects like Neom, the desert megacity. Instead of 1.5 million people living there by 2030, Saudi officials now anticipate fewer than 300,000 residents. Meanwhile, only 2.4km of the much hyped 170km "Line City" will be completed by 2030. Saudi Arabia reviewing Neom projects, citing 'limited resources': Report Read More » Oil prices have plunged about 14 percent this year. Trump had pushed Saudi and Opec+ to lower energy prices earlier this year. In April, the energy alliance announced a surprise cut. Saudi Arabia mainly wanted to punish alliance members exceeding their production quotas, but the drop in crude prices will give Trump a win to chalk up when he lands in Riyadh on Tuesday. However, the drop in prices creates problems for Saudi Arabia. The international benchmark Brent was trading up 1.46 percent on Monday at $64.84 per barrel, roughly half the value the kingdom needs to balance its budget. In addition, Aramco announced on on Sunday that it would slash its dividends by $10bn. To make up for the shortfall in revenue, Saudi Arabia has turned to issuing huge amounts of debt. A US-Saudi investment forum planned for Tuesday in Riyadh is as likely to see Saudi officials lobbying for US investment in their country as it is the US making the case for Saudi petrodollars to flow in the opposite direction. The CEOs of BlackRock, Tesla, Citigroup, Facebook and Boeing are all expected to attend. For a president who makes all politics personal, Trump has already scored some early success ahead of his visit. Trump's stop in Qatar has provoked controversy over news that he plans to accept a Luxury 747 Boeing aircraft that will be retrofitted for use as Air Force One and kept by Trump after he leaves the White House. In addition, a Qatari government-administered real estate firm has backed the Trump Organization's plan to build a luxury golf resort near Doha. In May, Trump's son, Eric, said the UAE's ruling family agreed to use a stablecoin backed by Trump's family business to conduct a $2bn transaction.
L'Orient-Le Jour
08-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
How the Sudanese army reached a breaking point with the Emirates
Entering the third year of a brutal civil war involving numerous foreign actors, Sudan reached a breaking point with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accused of arming and financing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This week, Khartoum took its most decisive action in this regard, having already expelled 15 Emirati diplomats in December 2023, a few months after the war began. On Tuesday, May 6, the Sudanese Sovereignty Council announced it was breaking diplomatic relations with Abu Dhabi, citing the Emiratis' "direct support" to paramilitary forces and labeling the country as an "aggressor state." This decision came just one day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared itself incompetent to hear Sudan's complaint against the United Arab Emirates for complicity in genocide against the Masalit...
Gulf Today
07-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Emiratis can renew passports in 5 minutes at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Airport
Emiratis travelling via Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport (AUH) can easily renew their UAE passports if the passport is valid for less than six months or has expired, without having to leave the airport premises, according to the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Ports Security (ICP). This can be done through the Customer Happiness Centre, which is available round the clock to ease procedures for travellers and enhance the position of Zayed International Airport as one of the most important international airports that provides integrated services to Emiratis, giving them a smooth and fast travel experience according to the highest standards, it said. The service enables a new passport valid for up to 10 years to be issued in less than five minutes without the need for any additional documents other than the expired passport, it added, noting that this ensures that travelers complete their travel procedures smoothly and without delay. The ICP pointed out that its office at Zayed International Airport not only provides the service of renewing Emiratis' but also offers a range of other electronic services including amending travellers' status and data and taking out entry and exit movements and visa and residence details. This contributes to easing the travel experience and providing integrated solutions for travelers, it said. The ICP affirmed that the passport renewal service is available 24 hours a day at Zayed International Airport to ensure that the necessary support is provided to Emiratis at any time. This reflects the ICP's continuous efforts to enhance the efficiency of procedures at border crossings and provide innovative solutions that contribute to raising the level of customer satisfaction. The UAE has retained its position as the most powerful passport for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Passport Index. It has achieved a total score of 180 points, which enables its citizens to access more than 90% of the world's countries. A total of 133 countries accept UAE passports without the need for a visa, while 47 countries offer the option of obtaining a visa upon arrival. In contrast, only 18 countries require that visas be arranged in advance.
