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Global Village 30 kicks off with drone show, fireworks; upcoming concert

This season will feature over 40,000 live shows and regular fireworks every Friday and Saturday at 9 pm

Neesha Salian
Neesha Salian

17 October, 2025

Global Village 30 kicks off with drone show, fireworks; upcoming concert

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Dubai’s Global Village opened its 30th season on Wednesday night with a high-energy celebration featuring drone displays, fireworks, and live performances, marking nearly three decades since the multicultural entertainment park first opened its doors in 1997.

Under the theme “A More Wonderful World,” the opening night saw thousands of visitors join in the festivities as music, colour, and street performances filled the park.

A highlight of the evening was a drone and pyrotechnic display that lit up the night sky with the number 30 and the season’s slogan, before wing-suited skydivers descended through the glowing formation in a dramatic stunt.

Guests were welcomed with a “Parade of the World”, featuring performers from each of the park’s 30 pavilions, followed by new entertainment acts including a laser show at Dragon Lake, a light show near the main stage, and a fireworks finale.

Global Village features 30 pavilions

Global Village, part of Dubai Holding Entertainment, is home to 30 pavilions representing more than 90 cultures, 3,500 shopping outlets, 250 dining options, and 200 rides and attractions.

This season will feature over 40,000 live shows and regular fireworks every Friday and Saturday at 9pm.

Since its launch in 1997, Global Village has attracted more than 100 million visitors, with the previous season drawing a record 10.5 million.

The park is open daily from 4pm, welcoming millions of residents and tourists each year as one of the UAE’s most popular cultural and entertainment destinations.

Upcoming concert

Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan will headline Global Village’s first concert of Season 30 on October 25 at 9pm, kicking off what is expected to be the destination’s biggest entertainment lineup yet.

Known for fusing Arabic music with hip-hop, Ramadan — dubbed the “King of YouTube” in the Middle East for his record-breaking views — will perform chart-topping hits such as Ya Habibi and Number One on the Main Stage.

Produced by Rotana and supported by Al Arabiya 99 FM, the concert marks the start of a new series featuring global artists throughout the season, with entry included in the standard Global Village ticket.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to deploy 50,000 AMD GPUs for large-scale AI

The latest announcement builds on Oracle and AMD’s joint efforts to provide AMD Instinct GPU platforms on OCI

Gulf Business
Gulf Business

16 October, 2025

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to deploy 50,000 AMD GPUs for large-scale AI
Image: Getty Images

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Oracle and AMD have announced a major expansion of their long-standing collaboration to help enterprises scale their artificial intelligence capabilities. Building on years of co-innovation, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) will serve as a launch partner for the first publicly available AI supercluster powered by AMD Instinct MI450 Series GPUs. The deployment will begin with 50,000 GPUs in Q3 2026, with further expansion planned for 2027 and beyond.

The latest announcement builds on Oracle and AMD’s joint efforts to provide AMD Instinct GPU platforms on OCI. Following the launch of AMD Instinct MI300X powered shapes in 2024, OCI will extend availability to AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs as part of the zettascale OCI Supercluster.

As AI models grow increasingly complex and data-intensive, enterprises are seeking flexible, high-performance infrastructure solutions engineered for scale and efficiency. OCI’s upcoming AI superclusters will feature AMD’s “Helios” rack design, powered by AMD Instinct MI450 Series GPUs, next-generation AMD EPYC CPUs (codenamed “Venice”), and AMD Pensando advanced networking (codenamed “Vulcano”). This vertically integrated, rack-scale system is designed to deliver optimal performance, scalability, and energy efficiency for large-scale AI workloads.

“Our customers are building some of the world’s most ambitious AI applications, and that requires robust, scalable, and high-performance infrastructure,” said Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. “By bringing together the latest AMD processor innovations with OCI’s secure, flexible platform and advanced networking powered by Oracle Acceleron, customers can push the boundaries with confidence. Through our decade-long collaboration with AMD—from EPYC to AMD Instinct accelerators—we’re continuing to deliver the best price-performance, open, secure, and scalable cloud foundation in partnership with AMD to meet customer needs for this next era of AI.”

“AMD and Oracle continue to set the pace for AI innovation in the cloud,” said Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager, Data Center Solutions Business Group, AMD. “With our AMD Instinct GPUs, EPYC CPUs, and advanced AMD Pensando networking, Oracle customers gain powerful new capabilities for training, fine-tuning, and deploying the next generation of AI. Together, AMD and Oracle are accelerating AI with open, optimised, and secure systems built for massive AI data centers.”

The expanded partnership reflects both companies’ strategic alignment in advancing AI infrastructure at scale — combining Oracle’s cloud architecture with AMD’s compute and networking innovations to power the next wave of enterprise AI.

Zofeur 2.0 debuts with expanded services and Sharjah launch

Driven by strong demand for mobility services across the UAE, Zofeur has achieved triple-digit year-over-year growth since launch

Rajiv Pillai
Rajiv Pillai

16 October, 2025

Zofeur 2.0 debuts with expanded services and Sharjah launch
Image: Supplied

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Zofeur, the UAE’s first pay-per-minute on-demand chauffeur platform, has announced the launch of Zofeur 2.0 — a major upgrade marking its transformation into a full lifestyle mobility platform. Designed to deliver a smoother, more intuitive user experience, the revamped app expands Zofeur’s services beyond on-demand chauffeurs to offer a wider range of smart, flexible mobility solutions for individuals, families, and corporates across the UAE.

Since its inception, Zofeur has reshaped personal transportation by offering fully insured, on-demand chauffeurs within minutes, available on both pay-per-minute and pay-per-hour models. The brand has built a distinctive niche for users who prefer to travel in the comfort of their own vehicles, supported by fast response times and reliable service.

With the rollout of Zofeur 2.0, the company is broadening its scope to include new service categories such as airport transfers, school runs, garage drop-offs, vehicle maintenance, vet visits, and inter-emirate travel. These additions address the diverse commuting and lifestyle needs of UAE residents.

Zofeur has also introduced Zofeur Black, a premium service offering daily, weekly, and monthly full-time chauffeur bookings. This feature positions Zofeur as an all-in-one mobility provider, giving users greater flexibility, convenience, and control over their transportation experience.

“Zofeur 2.0 isn’t just a new version of our app, it’s a new way for people to experience freedom,” said Bunty Monani, co-founder of Zofeur. “From morning commutes to school runs, after-party rides, and garage drop-offs, Zofeur now fits seamlessly into every part of your day. It gives users their most valuable assets back – time, control, and peace of mind.”

Driven by strong demand for mobility services across the UAE, Zofeur has achieved triple-digit year-over-year growth since launch. Its recent expansion to Sharjah in 2025 marks another step in its strategic plan to extend its presence nationwide and reinforce its standing as a leading urban mobility brand.

“The launch of Zofeur 2.0, our expanded services and cementing our footprint across further emirates in the UAE, is all a major step forward in our journey,” added Ishrath Hasmin, Co-Founder of Zofeur. “While we’re known for being a trusted on-demand chauffeur solution for daily commutes and night outs, we’re now going beyond this to transform into a lifestyle-focused mobility platform for our consumers. Our users want control, convenience and less hassle in their daily lives and that’s exactly what Zofeur delivers.”

Zofeur Black, the brand’s premium subscription model, has also gained traction with monthly and annual plans that provide customers with a dedicated, full-time chauffeur without the paperwork and logistics of private hiring. Offering pause-anytime flexibility and trained drivers familiar with UAE routes, the service combines efficiency with a white-glove experience.

Available across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, Zofeur 2.0 cements the company’s evolution from a simple chauffeur service into a complete lifestyle mobility ecosystem.

The new app is available for download on iOS and Play Store. Existing users can upgrade by following the in-app update link. More information can be found at www.zofeur.com.

WHX Tech 2025 concludes after three days of digital health innovation

The next edition will return to the Dubai World Trade Centre from 14–16 September 2026

Rajiv Pillai
Rajiv Pillai

16 October, 2025

WHX Tech 2025 concludes after three days of digital health innovation
WHX Tech 2025/Image: Supplied

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The first edition of WHX Tech successfully wrapped up on 10 September 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, closing three days of collaboration, innovation, and dialogue that brought together over 4,200 healthcare professionals, 200+ speakers, 300+ brands, 48 startups and 66 investors from across the globe.

Organised by Informa and in partnership with HIMSS, the event established itself as a new flagship for digital health, providing a platform where healthcare leaders, technology giants, policymakers, and entrepreneurs converged to shape the future of connected, AI-enabled healthcare. Participants represented a wide spectrum of sectors, with the top three industries in attendance being technology, clinics and medical practice, and the government and public sector—a reflection of the multidisciplinary collaboration driving healthcare transformation today.

“WHX Tech was vital in bringing together experts across engineering, medicine, investment, and government,” said Scott Parazynski, founder and CEO of Onward Air and former NASA Astronaut. “The event created a unique platform to share insights, address challenges, and collaborate, driving innovation and progress in digital health.”

A programme shaped by global leaders

A defining feature of WHX Tech is its advisory board, a group of world-renowned experts ensuring that the programme remains cutting-edge and globally relevant. Members include Dr. David Rhew, global chief medical officer and VP of Healthcare at Microsoft; Dr. Sam Shah, director of Healthcare Data Management at NEOM; Reenita Das, partner and senior VP of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Frost & Sullivan; Dr. Myriam Fernandez, head of Health Innovation at AWS; and Dr. James Mault, CEO of BioIntelliSense. Their collective insights ensured the sessions were grounded in evidence, scalability, and real-world impact, setting the tone for the three-day agenda.

Global brands and expert speakers

Over 300 brands participated, including leading players from healthcare, technology, and life sciences. Attendees were able to engage with innovations and solutions from global leaders and next-generation startups, covering areas such as smart hospitals, biotech, AI-driven diagnostics, and consumer health technologies.

Programming across the three days was structured around three dynamic stages, each with a distinct focus. The World X stage explored global health priorities, policy developments, and the accelerating shift toward digital transformation in healthcare. Meanwhile, Xcelerate served as the platform for startups, entrepreneurs, and investors, hosting the flagship startup competition and offering a platform for emerging businesses to connect with capital and mentorship. Finally, Future X turned the spotlight on cutting-edge science and consumer technologies, with sessions dedicated to digital longevity, advanced AI applications, and innovations poised to shape the future of health and wellbeing.

The speaker line-up featured some of the most influential voices in digital health, including:

  • Dr. Meong Hi Son, chief medical information officer, Samsung Medical Center
  • Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, founder, chairman and senior consultant cardiac surgeon, Narayana Health
  • Dr. Rashmi Rao, chief product officer, Philips
  • Dr. Harvey Castro, advisor AI & Healthcare, Singapore Government

These experts, alongside many others, shared insights on the challenges and opportunities shaping the healthcare sector today.

Celebrating innovation: Xcelerate winners

The Xcelerate Champion of Innovation Award, with a $50,000 prize, was awarded to Strolll, an all-in-one digital therapeutic software solution for augmented reality (AR) glasses that supports neurorehabilitation.

Speaking after the win, Jorgen Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Strolll, said the win “means so much to our team”.

“We just expanded into the region one week ago, and this win, along with the industry connections we have made at the event, is a great start to a new market for us.”

Other winners included:

  • éclateral (UK) – Xceptional Patient-Centric Innovation Award for its o~pal portable solution for rapid health testing, disease detection, and preventative screening.
  • You(th) Healthtech (US) – Xtraordinary Early Stage Startup Award for its AI algorithm smartphone technology capable of extracting vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure from facial video data.

Looking ahead to WHX Tech 2026

With its debut event attracting thousands of stakeholders and fostering meaningful dialogue, WHX Tech has already cemented itself as a must-attend meeting for digital health professionals worldwide.

The next edition will return to the Dubai World Trade Centre from 14–16 September 2026, promising even more networking opportunities, groundbreaking content, and solutions to accelerate the future of digital healthcare.

Pre-register here to be the first to learn about tickets going live, early-bird discounts, and all WHX Tech updates.

Sama X debuts at GITEX Global with Starlink-powered connectivity solutions

Starlink services have already secured regulatory approvals in Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, and Lebanon, with the UAE authorising Starlink for maritime operations

Rajiv Pillai
Rajiv Pillai

16 October, 2025

Sama X debuts at GITEX Global with Starlink-powered connectivity solutions

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Sama X, an authorised global reseller of Starlink, is making its debut at GITEX Global, the Middle East’s largest technology exhibition and innovation platform. Showcasing under the theme “Effortless Connectivity, Limitless Business,” Sama X will demonstrate how its advanced connectivity solutions empower businesses, governments, professionals, and communities to seamlessly access the digital economy.

Backed by Alghanim Industries, Sama X was launched in early 2025 as an official global channel for Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based internet services, the most advanced system of its kind. Through its end-to-end approach, Sama X delivers a premium and highly personalised experience, offering consultation, rapid installation, local technical support, and 24/7 assistance in English and Arabic. The company also enhances customer engagement through ‘MatriX,’ its proprietary portal that enables real-time network monitoring and management. Whether for high-speed connectivity or complex private network solutions, Sama X provides tailored options to meet diverse operational needs.

Read: Sama X CEO on unlocking Starlink’s potential in the Middle East

“When traditional networks fall short, Sama X delivers reliable connectivity that keeps you running,” says Amit Somani, CEO of Sama X. “Our debut at GITEX Global reflects our strong commitment to our customers across the region and across the globe. We look forward to showcasing not only our technical and operational capabilities, but also to providing a forum for potential customers and partners to interact with the Sama X team and learn first-hand about our unique offering and approach to serving the market.”

Starlink services have already secured regulatory approvals in Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, and Lebanon, with the UAE authorising Starlink for maritime operations. The rapid regional adoption of Starlink technology marks a new era of high-speed, reliable connectivity across land and sea.

Sama X will be exhibiting at GITEX Global in Hall 21, Stand H21-24, offering live demonstrations and personalised consultations throughout the event.

UAE’s Foresee Solutions signs regional partnership with Yonyou at GITEX Global

Foresee Solutions will bring Yonyou’s ERP solutions to organisations across the Middle East

Gulf Business
Gulf Business

16 October, 2025

UAE’s Foresee Solutions signs regional partnership with Yonyou at GITEX Global
Image: Supplied

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Foresee Solutions, a UAE-based technology consultancy, has entered a strategic distribution and integration partnership with Yonyou, one of China’s largest enterprise management and cloud service providers. The agreement was signed at GITEX Global in Dubai this week.

Under the partnership, Foresee Solutions will bring Yonyou’s ERP solutions to organisations across the Middle East, targeting industries such as construction, manufacturing, food and beverage, and retail and distribution. The collaboration is focused on helping regional companies achieve operational efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable growth through advanced, locally tailored technologies.

Nizar Badwan, CEO, Foresee Solutions, said: “We see huge potential for Yonyou’s industry-leading platform and solutions throughout the Middle East. As one of the region’s longest established technology partners, we’re excited to leverage our unique understanding of the market and extensive network of customers to bring these new enterprise and dynamic solutions to the region.”

Founded in 1988, Yonyou provides a comprehensive suite of enterprise solutions across ERP, financial management, customer relationship management (CRM), and human capital management (HCM). Headquartered in Beijing, the company maintains a growing presence across China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Robert Guan, GM of Yonyou MENA, Yonyou, said: “Yonyou’s ERP solutions feature deep localisation and integration capabilities making them a popular choice for organisations across all sectors in Asia, and we’re excited to unleash these same capabilities in the Middle East, where we see huge demand for premium enterprise solutions for companies of all size that need solutions tailored for their specific needs.”

The partnership combines Yonyou’s global technology expertise with Foresee’s regional experience and customer reach, forming a strong foundation to accelerate enterprise digital transformation across the Middle East.

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