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7 days ago
The UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced revisions to its policies regarding the recognition of foreign university degrees. Under the new regulations, the ministry will grant conditional recognition to degrees obtained through distance learning, open education, online education, and correspondence education, provided they meet specific criteria set by a dedicated ministerial committee. Additionally, the ministry has clarified that vocational certificates, training programme certificates, and degrees obtained through specialised programmes catering to specific student demographics will not be recognised. A statement released by the ministry emphasised the importance of compliance with these new regulations for students who have obtained their degrees through non-traditional study modes. Degree verification To streamline the recognition process, the ministry has appointed two external agencies—Dataflow and QuadraBay—as authorised partners for degree verification and equivalency certification. These agencies, recognised by the UAE’s educational authorities, play a crucial role in verifying qualifications before they undergo the official recognition process. The recognition process consists of two stages: The ministry highlighted that the recognition service is fully online, with no fixed application deadlines. The process typically takes 30 working days, while applicants wishing to appeal a recognition decision have a three-month window to request a review. Recognition […]
7 days ago
Dubai World Trade Centre has announced the launch of the International Sports & Entertainment Free Zone, the UAE’s first dedicated sports and entertainment business cluster within the Free Zone environment. In a statement, DWTC explained that the zone will serve as an industry-focused business hub facilitating licensing for distinct sports and entertainment business activities, fostering a unique collaborative ecosystem to support and accelerate the industry’s growth, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). The Zone will provide a unified platform for licensing businesses across established sectors, such as sports management and marketing, event management, talent representation and media and broadcasting, while also supporting growth in emerging areas like e-sports, AI-driven sports tech, fan tokens. The Zone will be home to a diverse range of industry players including global brands, sports leagues and franchises, rights owners and investors, sports and talent agencies, artists, sports and media personalities, social media influencers and creative industry professionals.
1 week ago
Dubai has been ranked the world’s top destination for Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects for the fourth successive year, according to the Financial Times “fDi Markets” data. In 2024, Dubai attracted AED52.3bn ($14.24bn) in estimated FDI capital, a 33.2 per cent increase from AED39.26bn ($10.69bn) in 2023, marking the highest FDI value ever recorded in a single year for the emirate since 2020. Dubai attracted a record-breaking 1,117 Greenfield FDI projects in 2024, the highest in its history. Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment in Dubai Dubai also achieved a historic milestone in FDI attraction with 1,826 announced FDI projects, an 11 per cent increase from 1,650 projects in 2023, according to DET’s Dubai FDI Monitor. This marks the highest number of total announced FDI projects ever recorded by the emirate. A total of 58,680 estimated jobs were generated through FDI in 2024, a 31 per cent increase from 44,745 jobs in 2023. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said Dubai’s emergence as a frontrunner in the global investment landscape has been inspired and guided by the visionary leadership of Sheikh […]
1 week ago
Dubai has been welcoming visitors arriving through the city’s air and land ports with a special stamp featuring the #RamadanInDubai logo. This is part of the RamadanInDubai campaign, launched under the directives and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council. According to a Dubai Media Office report, this is the second year that the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) is welcoming inbound travelers to the emirate by stamping their passports with the #RamadanInDubai logo. Designed by Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office, this initiative reflects Dubai’s innovative approach to celebrating the holy month with a diverse range of activities, including cultural, sports, community, and religious events. The second edition of the #RamadanInDubai campaign this year unifies celebrations for the holy month across the city. It is implemented by Brand Dubai in collaboration with government, semi-government, and private sector entities, consolidating Ramadan celebrations across the city. This campaign aims to showcase Dubai’s unique ambiance, highlight authentic Emirati traditions, and enhance the collective experience of Ramadan by bringing its vibrancy and joy to both residents and visitors […]
1 week ago
Ali Al Samahi, a retail business consultant [at Al Ahli Holding Group] in Dubai, has found himself thrust into global spotlight on social media, thanks to two of his posts that caught the attention of none other than Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. Just a few days ago, the 45-year-old, who had been casually sharing his thoughts, interests and catchy videos on X (formerly Twitter), had no idea that his posts would go viral. It all began when he edited a NASA video showing the view of Mars from the Curiosity Rover and posted a short, captivating clip. When Elon Musk reposted his tweet on February 22, the response was overwhelming. Musk’s comment— “It’s time to go to Mars”—quickly caught fire, and the post has garnered a staggering 102 million views. Time to go to Mars pic.twitter.com/qwuqbvqBOL — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025 “It was surreal,” Al Samahi recalled. “People from every corner of the world were engaging, debating, sharing. My tweet had become part of the global discourse,” he told Gulf News. Ali Al Samahi, a retail business consultant in Dubai. “I never imagined a single tweet could resonate with so many people. My […]
1 week ago
The UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced revisions to its policies regarding the recognition of foreign university degrees. Under the new regulations, the ministry will grant conditional recognition to degrees obtained through distance learning, open education, online education, and correspondence education, provided they meet specific criteria set by a dedicated ministerial committee. Additionally, the ministry has clarified that vocational certificates, training programme certificates, and degrees obtained through specialised programmes catering to specific student demographics will not be recognised. A statement released by the ministry emphasised the importance of compliance with these new regulations for students who have obtained their degrees through non-traditional study modes. Degree verification To streamline the recognition process, the ministry has appointed two external agencies—Dataflow and QuadraBay—as authorised partners for degree verification and equivalency certification. These agencies, recognised by the UAE’s educational authorities, play a crucial role in verifying qualifications before they undergo the official recognition process. The recognition process consists of two stages: The ministry highlighted that the recognition service is fully online, with no fixed application deadlines. The process typically takes 30 working days, while applicants wishing to appeal a recognition decision have a three-month window to request a review. Recognition […]
1 week ago
UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad are serving traditional Arabic foods and iftar dishes during Ramadan. Emirates is serving thousands of meal boxes for fasting customers both onboard and at boarding gates and offering traditional Ramadan dishes in the lounges. At the Emirates Lounges in Dubai International Airport (DXB), an array of Arabic sweets, dates and coffee are being served during Ramadan. Emirates and Etihad Ramadan dishes Traditional dishes available in First and Business Class lounges include: Emirates Lounges in Cairo and Jeddah will also serve an array of Ramadan dishes. Emirates lounges have dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities to ensure a peaceful environment for worship. For the comfort of fasting customers at select Emirates Boarding Gates during iftar time, complimentary iftar boxes to help break the fast-containing water, laban, a banana, and dates are distributed. To ensure the highest levels of accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while in-flight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude, and altitude When the sun sets, passengers will be officially […]
1 week ago
The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has reaffirmed the need for all natural persons who are subject to Corporate Tax to submit their Tax Registration applications for Corporate Tax no later than the end March 2025. Failure to do so will mean violating tax regulations and incurring the associated administrative penalties. The FTA emphasised that if a natural person was conducting a Business or Business Activity in the UAE, during the calendar year 2024, or subsequent years, and their total Turnover in that calendar year exceeds AED1m ($272,000), they are a Taxable Person. UAE Corporate Tax As such, they must register for Corporate Tax no later than March 31 of the calendar year following the year in which their total Turnover exceeded the AED1m ($272,000) threshold. This will fulfil their compliance obligations with regard to their Corporate Tax. The FTA defines a “natural person” as an individual, living human being of any age, whether resident in the UAE or elsewhere. A natural person is subject to corporate tax to the extent to which he or she is engaged in a business or business activity in the UAE, including sole proprietorships and individual partners in joint ventures that are conducting a […]
1 week ago
The UAE will see rain in the coming days and until Thursday, according to the latest forecast. The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) shared a forecast for the UAE until Thursday, March 10. It says the UAE will experience humidity and rough seas until Thursday. UAE weather forecast Monday, March 10: Partly cloudy to cloudy at times over some coastal areas and islands with a probability of light rainfall. Light to moderate Southeasterly to Northeasterly winds, freshening at times during daytime causing blowing dust, with a speed of 10–25kmph 40kmph. The sea will be slight to moderate to rough in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea Tuesday, March 11: Partly cloudy to cloudy at times over some Northern and coastal areas and islands with a probability of light rainfall. Humid by night and Wednesday morning over some coastal and internal areas with probability of mist formation. Light to moderate Southeasterly to Northeasterly winds, freshening at times, with a speed of 10–25kmph reaching 35kmph. The sea will be slight in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea Wednesday, March 12: Partly cloudy to cloudy at times over some Northern, Eastern, coastal areas and islands with a probability of light rainfall. With a gradual decrease in temperatures. Humid […]
3 hours ago
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