Some flights at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) have been cancelled or delayed due to airspace closures over Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates and rebooking options before heading to the airport, and to allow extra time for arrival. DXB added that field teams are on-site to assist and thanked travelers for their patience and understanding.
Sharjah Airport has also urged passengers to regularly monitor their flight status, as several cancellations and delays have been reported due to the airspace closures in the region.
A WAM report noted that passengers should contact their airlines directly to confirm flight status before heading to the airport to ensure a smooth travel experience.
Sharjah Airport reassured travelers that it is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with relevant authorities and is implementing all necessary operational measures to maintain the highest standards of safety and service.
According to Flightradar24 data, airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Jordan on Friday after Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran. Carriers have diverted or cancelled flights to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
Israel stated on Friday that it had targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders at the start of what it described as a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defense forces remain on high alert for potential retaliatory strikes from Iran.
Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines announced it had suspended flights to and from Israel and was relocating some aircraft out of the country. Israir Airlines also stated it was evacuating planes from Tel Aviv and anticipated the airport would remain closed through the weekend.
Many global airlines had already suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels landed near the airport on May 4.
A fire that broke out late Friday in a 67-storey residential tower in Dubai’s Marina district has been brought under control, the Dubai Media Office (DMO) said on Saturday.
Dubai Civil Defence teams worked for six hours to extinguish the blaze, evacuating all 3,820 residents from the building’s 764 apartments without any reported injuries, according to DMO.
Authorities confirmed that all residents had been safely evacuated and the situation was under control.
Images shared by Dubai Media Office on social media platform X showed smoke continuing to rise from the tower hours after the fire had been contained.
The authorities said on X: “control measures remain in place and the situation is fully managed by the firefighting teams.”
Authorities are now working with the building’s developer to secure temporary housing for displaced residents. The authorities have said that the safety and wellbeing of those affected remained the top priority.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
G42 establishes Europe & UK subsidiary, eyes AI infrastructure growth
The establishment of the new entity follows G42’s increasing presence in Europe, which includes recent announcements of data centres and compute clusters in France and Italy
G42, the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and advanced technology group has launched G42 Europe & UK, a new subsidiary headquartered in London.
The entity will focus on providing tailored AI solutions to the private sector and collaborating with governments and industry partners to develop critical AI infrastructure across the UK and continental Europe.
G42 Europe & UK will be co-chaired by two technology leaders: Omar Mir, an international board member at World Wide Technology, and Marty Edelman, group general counsel of G42.
Mir brings over two decades of global tech industry experience, having led initiatives in 5G, edge computing, cloud, and AI services across the UK, Europe, the US, and the Middle East.
Edelman oversees legal and compliance strategy for G42’s global operations and has been key in shaping the group’s governance as it expands into new markets.
“Our goal is to harness G42’s proven AI expertise and localise it for European and UK businesses — fuelling digital transformation, enhancing competitiveness, and building resilient, sovereign AI infrastructure in partnership with public and private stakeholders,” said Omar Mir, co-chair of G42 Europe & UK.
Marty Edelman, also co-chair, added, “UK and Europe represents a dynamic market with immense opportunity for AI-driven innovation. By establishing a dedicated hub in London, we strengthen our ability to serve clients with deep regulatory understanding and world-class technology solutions.”
The establishment of the new entity follows G42’s increasing presence in Europe, which includes recent announcements of data centres and compute clusters in France and Italy, alongside growing interest from other regional countries.
G42 Europe and UK plans to leverage G42’s global network of supercomputing nodes, data centres, and AI capabilities. It aims to deliver scalable, secure, and end-to-end AI services, ranging from strategic advisory and model development to infrastructure deployment and managed services.
These services will target sectors such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy. The new subsidiary will also work with national and regional authorities to advance data-sovereignty initiatives and support the deployment of next-generation AI infrastructure.
Flightradar data shows airline diversions as Israel strikes Iran
Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots
Airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran, Iraq and Jordan on Friday after Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers diverting and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe.
Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.
Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel and was moving some of its planes out of the country.
Israeli carrier Israir said it was evacuating its planes from Tel Aviv’s airport, which it said was expected to remain closed through the weekend.
Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel on May 4 landed near the airport.
Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots.
Air India, which overflies Iran for its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London.
Lufthansa said its flights to Tehran have been suspended until further notice, and it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for the time being.
Emirates, which cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran after Israel’s attack, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.
Eastern Iraq near the border with Iran contains one of the world’s busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment.
Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, closed its airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began.
Flight diversions
“Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or north via Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,” according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information.
Flights from six airlines including Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines were diverted to Baku, Azerbaijan according to its Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
An Emirates flight from Manchester to Dubai was diverted to Istanbul and a flydubai flight from Belgrade diverted to Yerevan, Armenia.
Budget carrier flydubai said it had suspended flights to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Iran and Israel and a number of other flights had been cancelled, rerouted or returned to their departure airports.
Qatar Airways cancelled its two scheduled flights to Damascus on Friday, Flightradar24 data shows.
Airspace in the Middle East last year was crossed daily by 1,400 flights to and from Europe, Eurocontrol data show.
Review: Why HP’s OmniBook X marks the next-gen of business laptops
The HP OmniBook X is an ultra-light, AI-powered business laptop built to keep up with work wherever it follows you
Whether you’re closing a deal from a café in DIFC, fielding investor calls from the back seat of a Hala or Uber cab, or editing an article or presentation on the flight to Riyadh — work today doesn’t wait for the right setting. It moves with you, taps your shoulder mid-lunch, and expects a response even at 30,000 feet in the air or in the Metro.
Enter the HP OmniBook X — a sleek, AI-powered business laptop. It’s nimble, lightweight, and ‘smart’ enough to deliver your needs.
For entrepreneurs building businesses between meetings, consultants flying city to city, or creatives managing back-to-back Zoom calls while the kids are home — this is a device that adapts as fluidly as you do.
Ultra-portable, but ready for business
At just 1.34 kg and only 14mm thin, the OmniBook X is built for those who pack light but work heavy. The aerospace-inspired aluminum chassis gives it a premium, polished feel. It slips easily into a tote, backpack, or laptop sleeve, and feels just as at home in a sleek boardroom as it does perched on a bar-height airport desk.
Its 14-inch 2.8K OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate offers razor-sharp visuals, rich colours, and an anti-glare coating — making it equally adept at handling high-stakes presentations or back-to-back Teams calls in tricky lighting. Bonus: the edge-to-edge panel makes the whole thing feel larger than it is.
AI-first performance for the way you work now
Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 — HP’s first consumer PC to feature this 12-core processor, clocked at up to 3.4 GHz. It’s paired with a neural processing unit (NPU) and GPU capable of delivering up to 70 trillion operations per second (TOPS) in combined AI performance, though HP lists 47 TOPS as the standard NPU output. That’s serious on-device intelligence — and it makes a difference.
Everything from real-time transcription, smart noise filtering, AI-assisted image editing, to Copilot+ features like Recall and Live Captions runs smoothly without calling out to the cloud.
Running Windows 11 Home, the OmniBook X offers seamless access to Microsoft’s latest AI experiences — enhanced by on-device performance, not just cloud processing. HP’s first AI assistant is built in, offering contextual suggestions, performance tuning, and productivity tools that evolve with how you use the device.
With up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, the OmniBook X handles multitasking with ease — no stutter, no sweat. The integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU supports light video editing and graphic work, and the system runs whisper-quiet thanks to its fanless design.
Battery life that actually keeps up
Forget carrying a charger everywhere “just in case”. HP advertises up to 26‑28 hours of battery life, though real-world testing yields around 16–17 hours — still excellent, but more realistic, thanks to the power efficiency of the ARM-based Snapdragon chip and smart AI tuning.
Whether you’re powering through spreadsheets on the road or running back-to-back meetings, it’s built to last a full workday — and more.
And if you do need to plug in? HP Fast Charge takes you from 0 to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes, making it easy to top up between meetings or during a layover.
Calls, sound, and the WFH upgrade you deserve
Let’s face it: audio and camera quality matter just as much as processing power when your office is a screen. The 5MP IR camera with auto-framing, AI noise reduction, and backlight adjustment means you’ll look and sound sharp, even in low light or noisy cafes. Whether you’re running a webinar, client pitch, or check-in with the team, the experience feels polished — no fiddling, no apologies.
Poly Studio audio tuning with dual speakers ensures crystal‑clear sound, making remote conversations feel present and professional — even in noisy environments. HP Audio Boost further enhances volume and clarity, unplugged.
Built-in security and connectivity
For professionals handling sensitive data, HP’s Wolf Security Suite offers enterprise-grade protection out of the box — isolating threats before they reach your system. Windows Hello via IR facial recognition and a fingerprint sensor makes logging in quick, seamless, and secure.
And if you opt for the HP SureView Reflect privacy screen, you’ll have an extra shield against wandering eyes on planes or in cafés.
The Snapdragon‑powered OmniBook X is well‑equipped for connectivity, featuring two USB‑C ports (one at 40 Gbps, one at 10 Gbps), a USB‑A port, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. It supports Wi‑Fi 7 via the FastConnect 7800 chipset.
What about gamers?
While this isn’t a dedicated gaming laptop, casual gamers can enjoy titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, or Valorant on low-to-medium settings with surprisingly good results thanks to the Adreno GPU and high refresh OLED screen. Think of it as a bonus feature, not a selling point — and one that adds more versatility to an already capable machine.
Verdict: Smart, swift, adaptable and dependable
The HP OmniBook X is what happens when sleek design, intelligent computing, and real-world mobility meet. It’s not just built for business. It’s built for people who move fast, think faster, and need a device that understands both.
Another bonus: The HP OmniBook X PCs are designed using recycled metals and post-consumer recycled plastics.
AWS’ Tanuja Randery on supporting EMEA’s digital transformation and AI ambition
Randery delves into AWS’s regional footprint, its European Sovereign Cloud, and highlights key partnerships like the collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s AI champion, HUMAIN
In an insightful interview, Tanuja Randery, VP and MD EMEA at Amazon Web Services (AWS), shares the company’s dynamic vision for one of the world’s most vibrant and diverse regions. Randery, who met with Gulf Business editor, Neesha Salian on the sidelines of the AWS Summit held last month in Dubai, discusses AWS’s strategic commitment to the Middle East, detailing significant investments in cloud infrastructure, AI development, and talent upskilling that are driving economic transformation across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and beyond.
Randery also delves into AWS’s global footprint, including the pioneering European Sovereign Cloud, and highlights key partnerships like the transformative collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s AI champion, HUMAIN.
From navigating regulatory challenges and fostering startup ecosystems to championing sustainability and personal leadership values, this conversation offers a comprehensive look at how AWS is empowering businesses and nations to accelerate their digital futures.
To start off, let’s begin with your vision for the regions you oversee — how has it evolved since you took charge around four years ago?
I think this region that I have the privilege of leading across EMEA is probably the most vibrant and diverse I’ve ever been part of — even on a global scale. Despite the complicated situations we face, whether it’s around the energy transition or geopolitical pressures, what I really love about this region is its sheer ability to keep moving forward.
I spend a lot of my time in the Middle East. It’s an incredible place with supportive governments, bold commitments, and clear vision. We always say transformation isn’t possible without top-down commitment, and this region exemplifies that. It’s also about matching that commitment with investments — in technology, infrastructure, sustainability, and people. I see that happening across the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and even in the mature markets of the UK, Germany, and France.
So, since I joined, I wouldn’t say the strategy has changed, but it’s more about enabling our customers to leverage technology at pace and at scale — to focus not on technology for its own sake, but on technology delivering tangible business outcomes.
Building on that thought — how has your footprint grown, and do you foresee it expanding even further in the next few years?
Absolutely. From an Amazon and AWS perspective, we’re continually growing and building AI and data centre infrastructure globally. That’s because we see it as a fundamental privilege to help customers build with us. Some of the world’s most critical national infrastructures — defence, banking, public services — run on AWS. So, it’s vital we listen closely to market signals and invest accordingly.
In the Middle East, we’ve made some bold moves. Since 2017, we launched our first region in Bahrain. Then in 2022, we opened our UAE region with infrastructure in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai — an investment of over $5bn, which created 6,000 jobs and nearly double that in economic impact.
We’ve recently announced our upcoming region in Saudi Arabia, set to go live in 2026. And just last week, we made additional announcements focused on AI and cloud capabilities. So yes, we’re monitoring the market closely and making long-term commitments.
Beyond infrastructure, we’re deeply invested in training and upskilling as well. We’ve already trained 150,000 people across the Middle East — and that’s just the beginning.
That’s impressive. How is AWS is helping customers in the Middle East become global players?
What’s exciting is that our global infrastructure aligns so well with the Middle East’s ambitions to be a global player. Our customers here don’t just want local capabilities — they want to scale globally with consistency. We enable that by offering the same AWS core fidelity of service worldwide: the same security, scalability, and microservices, no matter where you are.
The UAE’s e&, for instance, recently acquired a Czech-based company (PPF Telecom) and wants to use AWS to support operations there.
We’re making significant investments across my region: GBP8bn in the UK, nearly GBP16bn in Spain, and another GBP8bn for the European sovereign cloud. These are long-term plays, and they’re not just about technology — they’re about job creation and economic value.
PDX Data Centers and Community Amazon Web Services Photo Copyright Noah Berger / 2022
Job creation is a topic close to your heart. Tell us more about how AWS is supporting talent and smaller businesses.
Job creation is incredibly important to us. But beyond just the numbers, we’re really passionate about supporting startups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) — they’re the bedrock of innovation and economic resilience.
Our investments and training programmes are designed to empower this ecosystem. We want SMEs to access the same powerful tools and infrastructure as the largest enterprises, and to grow and scale using AWS. It’s what keeps this space exciting and vibrant.
Give us some examples of companies you’re working with globally and regionally, especially when it comes to both large enterprises and startups.
Absolutely. Take CAFU, for example. They’ve built their entire mobile app, data warehouse, and infrastructure on AWS. With cloud, they didn’t need upfront capital for infrastructure — they scaled rapidly and completely changed the way we think about fuel delivery. You don’t need to visit a petrol station anymore.
Then you have more established digital players like Property Finder. While the front-end of their site offers beautiful listings and images, what’s really impressive is their backend use of AI and ML — especially for fraud detection and intelligent chatbots. These tools help reduce anxiety for consumers by ensuring listings are vetted and trustworthy.
Another enterprise example is BT, which is using Amazon QDeveloper to boost coding efficiency, removing up to 12 per cent of tedious tasks and making their development teams more effective.
What sectors are leading in cloud and Gen AI adoption, particularly in the region?
Frankly, there’s no sector today that can ignore Gen AI. It’s transforming customer experience across the board.
In retail, it’s used daily — including by Amazon, which integrates AI in services like Amazon Go using “Just Walk Out” technology. In media, it’s transforming content creation and research. In financial services, we’ve seen tremendous uptake—First Abu Dhabi Bank is a great example. They’re using both our outposts and cloud tech to speed up time-to-market for products and improve productivity by up to 60 per cent.
Sports is another exciting area. We’re involved in projects with F1, where we handle 1.1 million telemetry data points per second. This allows us to deliver fan insights in real time — who was the fastest, tire performance, pit strategy, etc.
We’ve also collaborated with the Bundesliga on “My Dream Pitch”, which uses AI to let fans create their own virtual stadiums.
Tell us about your new partnership with HUMAIN in Saudi Arabia. What makes it special?
I’m really excited about this one. HUMAIN is the national AI champion of Saudi Arabia, and our partnership will enable an AI zone within a HUMAIN-built data centre, paired with our AWS region launching in 2026.
We’re working together to deliver Amazon Bedrock services, Amazon Q, Amazon Connect, and a full suite of microservices. What’s unique is that customers can access multiple models (like Claude, Mistral, DeepSeek) safely and securely in a virtual private cloud — without needing to manage different sign-ups or worrying about data security.
We’ve also just introduced Tranium and Inferentia chips, which offer lower-cost and sustainable options — especially relevant as the Middle East transitions from an oil-based to a knowledge-based economy.
You mentioned public cloud and cybersecurity. Tell us more about your partnership with e& and the UAE Sovereign Launchpad.
Our infrastructure has always been sovereign by design, unlike others that treat it as an add-on. AWS Nitro, for instance, embeds security at every layer.
Now, with our partnership with e& and the endorsement from the UAE Cybersecurity Council, we’ve enhanced our offerings to address workloads that demand higher levels of sovereignty. What’s important here is data never moves unless the customer moves it.
Bringing e&’s cybersecurity capabilities together with AWS’s cloud and security services allows us to support highly regulated industries better than ever before. Having Dr Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti’s (the head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government) endorsement reflects the trust we’ve built in the region.
You’ve talked about e& and HUMAIN. Tell us about other strategic partnerships in the Middle East.
Definitely. One major one is our strategic framework agreement with Aramco in Saudi Arabia. It’s focused on operational efficiency and sustainability using cloud, AI, and ML.
In addition, we work closely with major consulting firms like Deloitte, Accenture, and McKinsey, as part of what we call the Power of Three:
AWS provides the core cloud and AI/ML infrastructure
Business consultants help customers align technology with strategy
System integrators ensure execution at scale
This collaborative model ensures we help customers truly transform.
In terms of cloud adoption in the region, what do you see as the main challenges companies face?
That’s a very timely question. With the massive investments coming into the region, including our own — and the potential impact of cloud and AI being around $733bn for the Middle East alone, the question is: how do we unlock that full potential?
There are three core challenges:
Regulatory environment: We’re fortunate to operate in a region with governments that are supportive of innovation. But it’s crucial to maintain a regulatory environment that allows experimentation while still protecting security and citizen rights. Some businesses find that compliance adds considerable cost.
Skills shortage: This is something we’re incredibly passionate about. According to our research, 43 per cent of businesses in the region report a lack of access to digital skills. You can’t achieve transformation without a digitally skilled workforce. So we’re investing heavily; we are training 150,000 people in MENA and Turkey so far, and 31 million globally. We also run programmes tailored for women, like our 12-week course with Coda Tech to train Emirati women.
Startup funding: For startups to scale globally from here, access to venture and public funding is critical. I’m optimistic, given the number of investment funds available in the region, but it’s something we all need to nurture together.
My advice? Start now. Start small. Scale fast. But not leaning into this technology now is no longer an option.
Tell us about the European Sovereign Cloud that AWS has launched.
The European Sovereign Cloud is something we launched in partnership with the German government. Our first deployment will be in Brandenburg this year. What makes it unique is that it delivers the full range of AWS services while being governed entirely by European (specifically German) law.
It will be run and operated by EU citizens and will have its own management board. It’s operationally sovereign without compromising on innovation — a necessary step in today’s regulatory landscape.
Let’s talk sustainability. What are AWS’s key initiatives, especially with rising concerns around AI and energy consumption?
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. As I mentioned earlier, Amazon is the world’s largest corporate purchaser of power purchase agreements (PPAs), and we’re commissioning solar and wind projects — 28 in the region, if I recall correctly. We partner closely with energy providers and governments to make these happen.
Beyond renewable energy, we focus on efficiency. Our data centres are up to 4.5 times more energy efficient than average European data centres — this is backed by Accenture research. Our chips — Graviton, Trainium, Inferentia —are designed for sustainability as well.
Amazon also founded the Climate Pledge, committing us and other signatories to reach net-zero carbon by 2040. So it’s not just about using more energy but using it smarter and more efficiently.
To end on a personal note — what are three values that guide you as a leader?
The first one is ownership. I believe leaders must own the customer problems, the solutions, the employee experience — everything. That sense of responsibility is crucial, and it’s a key Amazon leadership principle.
The second is inclusion. Not just diversity, but true inclusion—creating environments where diverse voices are heard. At Amazon, we have a principle that “leaders are right a lot,” which actually means they seek out perspectives that challenge their assumptions. For example, we write documents that anyone in the organisation, even the most junior member, can comment on. Leaders also speak last in meetings to encourage open dialogue.
The third is vision and boldness. You need to have a North Star and the courage to take risks. But just as importantly, you need to inspire your team and create space for them to come along the journey with you.
