Emirates Post has unveiled a commemorative stamp collection titled “League of Arab States: 80th Anniversary,” celebrating the founding of the League in 1945 and its ongoing role in fostering regional unity and cooperation.

The release follows recommendations from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and forms part of wider regional celebrations marking this milestone. Developed in partnership with the League’s General Secretariat, the stamp design symbolises Arab unity and reflects the League’s institutional legacy over the past eight decades, a WAM report said.

Read-Arab Postal Day: Emirates Post issues joint commemorative stamp

Drawing inspiration from the League’s visual identity, the design highlights key values such as independence, integration, and solidarity. It also showcases 80 years of diplomatic efforts, institutional growth, and contributions to cultural and economic development across the Arab world.

The stamp pays tribute to the League’s mission of safeguarding Arab identity and promoting regional stability and prosperity. It also underscores the organisation’s enduring relevance in shaping collective Arab action on the global stage.

This latest release reinforces Emirates Post’s commitment to honoring major national and regional events and reflects its broader efforts to support Arab cooperation initiatives across the postal sector and beyond.

Aviation is undergoing one of its most profound transformations, one that is not driven by new aircraft or routes, but by algorithms.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a back-office tool or emerging experiment. It’s fast becoming the engine room of the modern aviation experience, reshaping not only how airlines and airports operate, but how they connect with the people they serve.

The commercial pressures facing the sector today are relentless: fuel prices, operational bottlenecks, pilot shortages, passenger expectations, sustainability mandates. And yet, within this pressure cooker, AI has emerged as a strategic release valve. Done right, it’s helping aviation leaders build resilience, unlock profitability, and deliver the kind of personalised service travelers increasingly expect.

One of the most effective applications we’ve seen is Lufthansa’s flight operations optimisation platform. It digests data from a staggering number of sources , aircraft telemetry, crew availability, airspace restrictions, weather , and offers real-time routing and resource recommendations. Not hypotheticals. Real suggestions that operations managers are acting on 90% of the time. That’s a sea change in how decisions are made, with measurable benefits in fuel savings and on-time performance.

At ground level, the picture is just as compelling. Biometric boarding gates at Denver International. AI-powered debris detection systems at Changi Airport. And in Hong Kong, a fully automated baggage handling system that processes more than 15,000 pieces of luggage per hour with remarkable accuracy. These aren’t gimmicks. They’re setting the standard for modern airport infrastructure.

Then there’s the passenger experience. In a market where loyalty is hard won, AI is helping airlines move beyond reactive service to proactive hospitality. American Airlines is using AI to tailor everything from seat upgrade offers to travel recommendations, all based on previous behavior and contextual data. For frequent travellers, that small touch of relevance often makes the difference between a one-time flyer and a lifetime customer.

AI’s value goes beyond the customer-facing sphere

AI’s value also extends well beyond the customer-facing sphere. British Airways is using RFID systems to reduce baggage mishandling. TAV Technologies is applying AI and computer vision to minimise aircraft turnaround times.

Predictive maintenance tools are flagging equipment issues long before a delay becomes inevitable. And the deeper we embed AI into operations, the more we see its compound effect,not just cost savings, but smarter planning, smoother workflows, and happier passengers.

Of course, integration doesn’t come easy. Legacy systems are a challenge. So is data governance. Considering in addition to this facial recognition and biometric tracking, there are important conversations to be had around privacy and ethics. But these are solvable issues. What’s harder to engineer is the cultural shift: getting aviation leaders to see AI not as a patch or pilot, but as core infrastructure.

We now see a clear inflection point. The airlines and airports moving fastest on AI today will shape the benchmarks for the entire industry tomorrow. This isn’t about adopting shiny tools; it’s about making strategic bets on where value creation will happen next.

As someone who’s been in the room with industry decision-makers, I’ll say this. Those who embed AI deeply into their operations,across ground, air, and digital touchpoints,are the ones who will define the next decade of aviation. They won’t just be more efficient. They’ll be more adaptable, more trusted, and more competitive.

Because in the skies, as in business, altitude is nothing without foresight. And AI is what’s giving this industry its clearest view yet.

Dubai Police have successfully thwarted the theft of a rare pink diamond worth $25m in an operation named ‘Operation Pink Diamond’, recovering the gem before it could be smuggled out of the country.

The investigation revealed that the gang had been plotting the heist for over a year, targeting a diamond certified by a leading gemological institute with a unique purity rating — so rare that there is only a 0.01 per cent chance of finding another like it.

The criminal scheme

The suspects, all of Asian nationality, devised a sophisticated plan to deceive the diamond’s owner, a jeweller, by posing as wealthy buyers interested in purchasing the gem.

They rented luxury cars, held meetings at upscale hotels, and even hired a renowned diamond expert to authenticate the stone, creating the illusion of credibility and legitimacy.

Their ultimate goal was to persuade the merchant to move the diamond out of his secure shop. Once the diamond was brought to a villa under the pretext of meeting the ‘buyer’, the gang attempted to seize it.

Police foil the plot

Dubai Police CID teams leveraged advanced technology to track and identify the three suspects, who initially lived together but dispersed to different locations after the heist.

A specialised task force raided their locations simultaneously, apprehending the suspects and recovering the diamond before it could leave Dubai, hidden in a small refrigerator destined for an Asian country.

The recovered pink diamond is classified as ‘Fancy Intense’, weighing 21.25 carats, with exceptional clarity, symmetry, and polish, rated excellent. Its extraordinary value and rarity made it a prime target, prompting the gang’s elaborate year-long planning.

Merchant praises police response

The diamond’s owner expressed admiration for the Dubai Police’s swift and professional action. He recounted calling 999 immediately after the theft, and noted:

“Multiple patrols arrived within minutes, began the investigation, and offered constant reassurance.

To my surprise, the very next morning, they called to say the suspects had been arrested and the diamond recovered.”

Operating in Dubai since 2005, the merchant admitted being caught off guard by the scheme, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the emirate’s safety guidelines for the diamond trade:

“Dubai has become a safe global centre for diamond trade. It’s important we uphold the standards that make that possible.”

‘Operation Pink Diamond’ not only recovered one of the world’s rarest gemstones but also reinforced Dubai’s reputation as a secure hub for high-value commodities.

The operation highlights the city’s law enforcement capabilities and the proactive measures it takes to protect investors and merchants in the luxury trade sector.

Joby Aviation announced an industry-first: completing a piloted test flight between two public airports in the US, from Marina (OAR) to Monterey (MRY). This milestone is a strong signal of Joby’s commercial market readiness, showcasing operational capabilities that will be core to Joby’s planned Dubai launch in 2026.

The achievement highlights Joby’s ability to operate in real-world conditions, integrating with existing airport infrastructure and air traffic control, all key steps in preparing for passenger service in Dubai.

• FAA-controlled airspace: Joby successfully navigated alongside other aircraft, travelling 10 miles in 12 minutes, including a five-minute holding pattern at MRY for air traffic sequencing.

• Real-world demos: This point-to-point airport operation mirrors the service model Joby will bring to Dubai, offering fast, efficient, and sustainable urban connections.

• Mature flight test programme: The milestone builds on more than 40,000 miles of real-world test flights across four countries, underscoring the maturity of Joby’s development.

Joby Aviation, a developer of all-electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, said the Marina-to-Monterey flight also represents significant progress across safety, operations, certification, and integration with air traffic control systems.

The piloted flight featured vertical takeoff, transition to wingborne flight, controlled airspace integration, and vertical landing. It also marked the first time a piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has flown between two public airports, while successfully demonstrating Joby’s ability to conduct mobile testing and provide ground support away from its home base in Marina.

Read: Flying taxi firm Joby applies for aircraft certification in the UAE

“Successfully flying from Marina to Monterey showcased operations of our aircraft integrated in the broader transportation network and further validated its performance to ensure we’re prepared for service on day one,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby. “For years, our flight testing has validated our aircraft’s capabilities, and we’ve done this across a wide range of environmental conditions. As part of the natural progression of our flight test programme, it was time to venture further, and there was no better place to visit first than our neighbors in Monterey.”

The test flights also generated developmental data on the human factors of operating at controlled airports and in national airspace. At Monterey, Joby’s aircraft sequenced with other air traffic, including entering a holding pattern to accommodate an arriving airliner. The demonstration showed Joby’s adherence to FAA protocols, similar to those followed by commercial airlines—an essential element of the certification process, as the FAA requires proof that new aircraft can operate safely in shared airspace across multiple airports.

Video of the flight demonstration can be seen below:

The achievement follows Joby’s planned acquisition of Blade Air Mobility’s passenger business, further underlining its commercial readiness. To date, Joby has flown more than 40,000 miles across its test fleet and has begun final assembly of its first aircraft intended for Type Inspection Authorisation flight testing, one of the final steps before FAA certification. Test flights with FAA pilots are expected early next year, ahead of plans to launch commercial service in Los Angeles and New York City.

With US equities increasingly dominated by a handful of mega-cap stocks and global markets facing heightened geopolitical uncertainty, investors are questioning how best to protect and grow their wealth.

In this interview, Gulf Business speaks with Angelina Lai, chief investment officer for Asia & Middle East at St. James’s Place (SJP), about how the firm is addressing the “US Concentration Conundrum”, the importance of diversification for Middle East investors, and why regions such as Europe, Japan, and emerging markets are offering attractive opportunities.

The latest CIO Quarterly Insights highlight rising concentration risks in the US market, with just 10 mega-cap stocks representing over a third of the index. How does SJP approach this “US Concentration Conundrum” in managing client portfolios?

The US market now represents two-thirds of global equities, with the 10 largest stocks in the US making up more than a third of the index, up from under a fifth just 15 years ago. At St. James’s Place, we see this as a significant risk.

A key question on most investors’ minds is what this means for their long-term portfolios. We believe it is important to follow a disciplined process. Our process is led by valuations, informed by a number of factors including fundamentals of the asset class, the economic environment, behavioural signals, and we remain mindful of the tail risks within the portfolio.

As such, while the US remains a cornerstone of our global investment portfolios, we are acutely aware of the potential perils posed by such a narrow market leadership at expensive prices. All investments involve risks; our approach looks for the risks with the best value, thereby giving our clients the best chance of achieving great long term returns.

These, coupled with sound diversification across asset classes, geographies, sectors, and investment styles, aligned with long-term investment goals and risk preferences of individual clients, allow us to construct portfolios that are more balanced and resilient through any stress events such as Liberation Day, while still capturing global growth potential.

Given the geopolitical uncertainties in the US and Middle East, how important is diversification for investors in the Middle East, and which regions or sectors does SJP currently see as most attractive?

In a region as geopolitically dynamic as the Middle East, diversification is essential. Investors here face unique challenges, from fluctuating energy prices to regional political tensions, and these factors can have a profound impact on local markets and investor sentiment.

Our approach at SJP emphasises the importance of global diversification as a way to insulate portfolios from regional volatility and to access broader sources of growth.

Currently, we see compelling opportunities in European and Japanese equity markets. Many European firms offer attractive value, trading at a discount to US. stocks while benefiting from falling inflation, easing rates, and increased investment in infrastructure and defence, with a diversified sectoral composition.

Japanese equities have also been gaining momentum thanks to corporate governance reforms, rising shareholder returns, a shift away from deflation, strong earnings and a significantly undervalued yen as measured by long-term purchasing power parity. The yen historically also provides a great diversification benefit to global equities.

After years of under performance, our managers find many attractively priced investment opportunities in emerging market (EM) equities as well. Asia in particular is home to some of the world’s most dynamic technology firms, which are driving innovation and commanding significant market share in areas like semiconductors, e-commerce, and renewable energy.

Challenges remain, including geopolitical tensions, elevated US interest rates, and tariff threats.

However, history shows that prolonged market underperformance often sets the stage for significant rebounds.

Smaller companies and value stocks should not be overlooked on a global basis, as they are also priced at relative discounts to their larger and more growth-oriented counterparts and could further aid portfolio diversification and resilience.

By spreading investments across these diverse regions and sectors, we help clients in the Middle East build portfolios that are both robust and forward-looking.

The report mentions that SJP is underweight US equities in its core portfolios. Can you elaborate on the rationale behind this positioning and how it aligns with the firm’s long-term investment philosophy?

At the core of SJP’s investment philosophy is a structured framework that evaluates asset classes based on valuations, taking into consideration fundamentals, economic environment, behavioural flags and tail risks. This disciplined process is designed to remove emotion from decision-making, ensuring that portfolio positioning reflects objective analysis rather than reactive behaviour.

The recent success of the US market has led to increasingly expensive valuations, even when taking into consideration the solid fundamental qualities of many of the companies listed in the US. The US economy still has a strong footing; however, trade and fiscal policy uncertainty are disruptive, particularly with the continued uncertainty around tariffs causing a number of businesses to pause on business or investment decisions, and we are starting to see inflation move higher while labour supply is beginning to slow.

Concentration risk, as noted earlier, of the mega caps – many of which are within the same sectors – increases the overall tail risk of the asset class.

Having said that, US equities still make up around half of our equity allocations and thus remain a key part of our portfolios.

How does SJP tailor its asset allocation strategies to meet the specific risk tolerances and financial goals of Middle East clients, especially in such volatile global markets?

St. James’s Place takes a highly personalised approach to investment advice for all clients, applying the same principles in the Middle East while recognising the distinct circumstances, financial goals, and risk tolerances found in the region.

Our journey with any client begins with understanding their unique circumstances through a ‘Confidential Financial Review’. This allows us to build a full picture of their financial profile, goals, and investment time horizons, as well as their tolerance for market volatility (in both bull and bear markets), income and currency needs, tax and legacy considerations, and any allocation preferences and aversions.

This insight enables us to ensure that portfolio allocations are suitably aligned with individual objectives and preferences.

Talking about volatile markets prior to the event and “rehearsing” these scenarios with our clients helps ensure they do not make knee–jerk reactions during actual stress events. This enables us to take advantage of the opportunities that often comes with volatile markets, where our managers may be picking up great businesses at more desirable values.

Ultimately, our aim is to provide investors in the Middle East with strategies that are both globally informed and locally relevant.

With ongoing tensions impacting global supply chains and energy prices, how is SJP incorporating macroeconomic and geopolitical factors into its investment advice for clients in the region?

At SJP, macroeconomic analysis (including the assessment of geopolitical impact) is a key part of our disciplined investment decision-making process.

Our ‘Group Economic Views’ forum actively screens and continuously monitors economic activities globally – from supply chains, energy prices, and employment data to capex spend and consumer sentiment. These insights feed into a monthly report on our views of the current economic environment, which are reviewed against our asset views, specifically whether the environment creates headwinds or tailwinds for key asset allocations. Portfolios are also tested against various economic scenarios, including historical stress events as well as hypothetical events, to assess the resilience of our portfolios.

These processes reflect our investment principles, which are rooted in the belief that wealth is best built through patience, discipline, and strategic allocation, rather than attempting to time the market or chase short-term trends. By integrating macroeconomic insights with a robust, diversified portfolio framework, we ensure that our clients receive investment advice that is both responsive to global developments and anchored in enduring principles. This helps investors stay focused, confident, and in control, even when the world feels anything but predictable.

Investor sentiment appears cautiously optimistic despite volatility. How does SJP help clients maintain discipline and focus on long-term goals without reacting to short-term market noise?

Investor anxiety has moderated in recent weeks – the latest tariff announcements notwithstanding, and volatility remains a constant in markets, particularly with a number oftariff deadlines still coming up and continued unpredictability to Trump’s policies. Incorporating sound risk management into portfolios, especially during periods of relative optimism, helps ensure they can withstand more turbulent conditions when they arise.

A key part of our role is helping clients maintain discipline and avoid short-term, emotionally driven decisions that can harm long-term returns. We achieve this through regular communication, a focus on goal-based planning, and by keeping attention on long-term objectives – whether that’s retirement planning, wealth preservation, or legacy building, rather than reacting to daily market noise.

Read: Prioritise the fundamentals when investing’, says SJP’s Martin Hennecke