Saudi Arabia has lowered the mandatory declaration threshold for cash and valuables carried through its land, sea and air ports from SAR60,000 ($16,000) to SAR40,000 ($10,600) under updated executive regulations issued as part of the kingdom’s Anti-Money Laundering Law.

The revised regulations, published in the official gazette Umm Al-Qura, require travelers entering or leaving the Kingdom to submit a written declaration if they are carrying cash, bearer negotiable instruments, gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones, jewelry or similar valuables worth SAR40,000 or more, or the equivalent amount in foreign currency, according to a Saudi Gazette report.

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The updated rules also grant the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) broader powers to inspect individuals, vehicles, shipping containers and postal parcels within customs zones, regardless of whether they are entering or leaving the Kingdom.

Expanded inspection and seizure powers

Under the revised regulations, ZATCA may seize undeclared or falsely declared cash, bearer negotiable instruments, gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones or jewelry for up to 72 hours if authorities suspect the assets are linked to a predicate offense or money laundering. The seizure can be carried out even if the value of the assets is below the mandatory declaration threshold.

Authorities are required to document every seizure, conduct preliminary inquiries into the origin of the assets and determine the reasons behind any failure to declare or any false declaration. Seized currency must be deposited into a designated trust account, while precious metals and gemstones will remain in customs custody.

The regulations also allow the Public Prosecution to extend the seizure period for up to 60 days, while any further extension must receive approval from the competent court.

Travelers carrying gold bullion, precious metals, gemstones or jewelry valued at SAR40,000 or more must present purchase invoices to customs officials to verify their value. If customs authorities determine the items are intended for commercial purposes, they will instead be subject to the Unified Customs Law and its executive regulations.

Stronger compliance requirements

The amendments also strengthen anti-money laundering compliance requirements for financial institutions by mandating group-wide information-sharing policies to support customer due diligence and risk management, while maintaining confidentiality and complying with personal data protection laws.

Financial institutions, along with designated non-financial businesses and professions, must identify the ultimate beneficial owner of legal entities, including any natural person who owns or controls 25 per cent or more of an entity or exercises effective control through other means.

The regulations further require Saudi financial institutions operating overseas to apply the Kingdom’s anti-money laundering requirements wherever possible and notify Saudi regulators if local laws prevent compliance.

Violations of the declaration requirements carry financial penalties ranging from 10 per cent to 25 per cent of the value of the seized assets for a first offense, provided there is no suspicion of money laundering or another underlying crime. Repeat violations may result in fines of up to 50 per cent of the value of the seized assets.

Where authorities suspect seized assets are linked to money laundering or another predicate offense, the case must be referred to the Public Prosecution for investigation, with the Saudi Financial Intelligence Unit notified immediately.

Thirty-three people have been rescued so far this weekend after Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes, the country’s interim president said, including several children, while tens of thousands remained unaccounted for with time for finding additional survivors running short.

The death toll from Wednesday’s twin earthquakes rose above 1,400 as of Saturday as foreign rescue teams poured into coastal La Guaira, the hardest-hit state.

Families and volunteers spent days pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble before the arrival of the more than 1,600 foreign rescue workers, often complaining of scant heavy equipment and a limited official presence, as hundreds of aftershocks deepened damage and kept residents on edge.

The government – headed by interim President Delcy Rodriguez since her predecessor was removed by the U.S. in a January raid – had thanked civilian volunteers ferrying aid to La Guaira, but then heavily tightened access to the road, saying traffic was preventing efficient movement of emergency vehicles and that only accredited people could use the roadway.

Although the government has given a figure of hundreds missing or trapped, just under 50,000 people were listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s political opposition on Sunday.

The figure is a slight decline from Saturday, when 55,000 people were marked as missing.

The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America’s deadliest of the last century.

The clock is ticking for rescuing people still living amid the rubble.

“There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive,” Sebastian Eugster, the leader of the Swiss rescue team, told Reuters on Saturday.

The 80-strong team had found multiple people alive in the rubble thanks to alerts from their eight search dogs, but had not been able to pull them out in time to save them, he added.

Saturday evening marked 72 hours since the quakes.

The Swiss team will jointly define with other teams and local authorities when rescue operations will end, Eugster said, but will remain on the ground to help with other aid work.

The US State Department hailed the rescue of an infant by U.S. rescue crews on Saturday, posting a video on X showing helmet-clad rescuers removing the blanket-wrapped and wailing child from the rubble.

A Colombian rescue team saved an 11-year-old boy, Moises, who had been trapped some 3 meters (10 feet) deep in rubble, after identifying his location with a scanner, Reuters TV reported.

He was removed on a stretcher with a broken arm, his eyes covered by cloth to protect them from the shock of daylight. His mother and sister were killed.

Mexican rescuers working at a collapsed building in the town of Caraballeda rescued another 11-year-old boy, Rodriguez posted on X late on Saturday, showing crews carrying a small figure on a stretcher out of the rubble.

“In these hours each life is hope for Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, as the government also shared a video of a young man being removed from ruins by rescuers.

The government also posted videos of Rodriguez meeting with international rescuers, where she gave the figure of people saved on Saturday.

The government has also said more than 3,000 people were injured and a similar figure was living in shelters.

In Caraballeda on Saturday, U.S. rescuers worked alongside remaining civilian volunteers, some of whom were searching for their own family members.

Rescuers had originally spray-painted the rubble with the name of the apartment building that used to stand there. By Saturday evening they had marked debris with coding indicating they believed no living person remained in the ruins.

Pope Leo on Sunday told worshippers gathered for the Angelus prayer in Rome that he wanted “to express my closeness to the Venezuelan sisters and brothers affected by the recent earthquakes” and expressed gratitude to rescue workers.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X that the EU had mobilized 5 million euros ($5.9 million) in emergency assistance and that its Copernicus satellite system is helping map the damage and direct assistance to the areas most in need.

A senior U.S. official said on Saturday that a funding package worth hundreds of millions of dollars is expected to be announced within the next day or so, in addition to $150 million that the Trump administration had already committed.

The disaster could have political consequences for Rodriguez, who has portrayed herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president under predecessor Nicolas Maduro.

Power throughout the region was gradually returning. Venezuela’s power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.

Read: Venezuela earthquake kills dozens as rescue efforts intensify

The Ajman Government Human Resources Department has announced reduced official working hours for government employees during the summer as part of its Sayfuna Mutawazin (Our Summer, Balanced) initiative.

The move is designed to foster a healthier work environment while strengthening the balance between employees’ professional and social lives. The initiative also aligns with the objectives and programmes of the Year of the Family.

Under a circular issued to all government entities in the emirate, official working hours from Monday to Thursday will be reduced to seven hours a day, running from 7:30am to 2:30pm. The revised schedule will be in effect from 29 June 2026 to 28 August 2026, a WAM report said.

Flexible schedules permitted

The circular states that Friday working hours will remain unchanged at four and a half hours, from 7:30am to 12:00pm, in line with existing Ajman Government regulations.

The Department said government entities may introduce flexible working arrangements, provided employees complete no fewer than the official working hours outlined in the circular.

It added that entities operating on a shift system will be responsible for determining the start and end times of shifts according to operational requirements and the nature of their services, while ensuring government services continue to be delivered efficiently and effectively.

The Ajman Government Human Resources Department also affirmed its readiness to provide technical and advisory support to government entities to help ensure the smooth implementation of the circular and its provisions.

The Central Government has announced a revision in passport application fees, with the new charges set to come into effect from July 1 under the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026. The revised fee structure increases the cost of fresh passport applications, passport reissues, Tatkal services and replacement passports for lost or damaged documents, an AIR news report said.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the fee for a fresh 36-page ordinary passport or the reissue of a passport has been increased to INR2,500 from the existing INR1,500. Applicants opting for the Tatkal scheme for a 36-page passport will now have to pay INR5,000, up from the earlier INR3,500.

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For those applying for a 60-page ordinary passport or seeking its reissue, the revised fee has been fixed at INR3,500, compared with the previous INR2,000. Under the Tatkal scheme, the fee has been increased to INR6,000 from INR4,000, according to news reports.

Higher charges for replacement of lost or damaged passports

The revised rules also increase the fee for replacement passports issued in cases of loss or damage.

Under the new structure, the fee for replacing a lost or damaged 36-page passport has been fixed at INR5,000. Meanwhile, applicants seeking a replacement for a lost or damaged 60-page passport will have to pay INR6,000.

The revised payment structure has been introduced through amendments to the Passports Rules, 1980.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Passports Rules, 1980, namely — 1. (1) These rules may be called the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026. (2) They shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of July, 2026,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ notification reads.

Validity rules and fee concession remain unchanged

The Ministry also reiterated the validity period for passports issued under the revised rules.

“The validity of passports issued under serial number I(a) shall not exceed ten years, and the validity of passports issued under serial number I(b) shall be for five years or until the applicant attains the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier,” the MEA said.

The notification further confirmed that certain categories of applicants will continue to receive a fee concession.

“There shall be a discount of ten per cent in passport fee for fresh applications (and not for re-issue) in respect of minors up to the age of 8 years and senior citizens (persons above the age of 60 years),” it added.

Separately, the Ministry of External Affairs recently clarified that an Indian passport is strictly a travel document and should not be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship. Officials said the primary purpose of a passport is to facilitate international travel and establish the holder’s identity while abroad, an NDTV news report conveyed.

The revised fee structure is expected to affect all fresh passport applicants and those seeking reissues or Tatkal services from July 1 onwards.

The AD-300 arrived three months early, a 50-metre-high fully automated walking island rig that can move between wells without dismantling, equipped with AI systems and hybrid power capability. For ADNOC Drilling, it’s more than an engineering achievement. It’s a statement about where the industry is heading: a shift toward automation, intelligence and scale working together.

CEO Abdulla Ateya Al Messabi sees AD-300 as the first of six rigs under a $1.54bn contract, each one deepening the company’s capabilities through 2027. We spoke with him about what the rig signals, why AI matters in industrial operations, and how this investment translates into both safety and performance.

AD-300 has attracted attention as a major milestone. Why does it matter beyond the rig itself?

It signals a broader shift in how we deliver energy because we are redesigning offshore well delivery around automation, data and intelligence so we can operate more safely, more efficiently and with greater consistency at scale. This is a 50-metre-high, fully automated walking island rig delivered nearly three months ahead of schedule. At the same time, it is a visible step-change in capability. This is a walking rig that can move between wells without being dismantled, reducing downtime and accelerating delivery.

AD-300 integrates a unique combination of automation, artificial intelligence, digital systems and hybrid power capability, with the option to connect to the grid.

Taken together, this makes it one of the most advanced island rigs in operation globally. The point I would emphasise is that AD-300 is the first of six next-generation island rigs under a $1.54bn drilling services contract across 2024–2025. The first rig proves what the design can do, and six of them will ultimately reshape capability at fleet level.

Why is ADNOC Drilling accelerating automation and AI now?

The future of energy will be won by those who can combine scale with intelligence. Performance expectations are higher, and our customers expect safer operations, faster delivery and stronger economics. Automation and AI help us respond to all of that because they reduce manual intervention in higher-risk environments, improve real-time visibility, support predictive maintenance and enable faster, better-informed decisions.

On AD-300 specifically, AI-enabled systems support real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance, improving visibility and reducing operational surprises. More fundamentally, they allow us to move from a traditional operating model to one built around repeatability, productivity and disciplined execution. That is where this sector is heading, and we intend to lead that transition.

Many companies talk about AI. What does it actually change in an industrial setting?

In our world, AI has to be practical. It has to improve how assets perform, how our people work and how decisions are made. In this case, AI and digital systems support real-time monitoring, performance optimisation and predictive maintenance, providing earlier visibility on issues, better operational insight and fewer surprises. For example, automated pipe handling and AI-enabled monitoring reduce manual intervention in complex operating environments.

Combined with automation, they also remove people from some of the most manual and higher-risk activities. The impact is operational, stronger uptime, more consistent execution and better well delivery performance. When that intelligence is combined with physical capability, such as a rig that can move seamlessly between wells, you begin to see the full impact on productivity and delivery.

How does this investment translate from capex into operational performance?

Ultimately, technology spending must be measured by the quality of the operating model it creates. The logic runs in two steps. First, capex discipline, investing in assets designed to perform better for longer, with more embedded intelligence and lower friction across the operating cycle. Second, OPEX performance, reducing downtime, lowering manual intervention, improving maintenance planning and increasing execution consistency.

Delivering AD-300 ahead of schedule also enables earlier revenue generation, directly improving return on capital. When you do both well, the asset raises the productivity baseline of the fleet. Smart capital deployment should translate into a structurally stronger operating profile over time.

Is this primarily a safety story or a growth story?

It is both, and while the two are connected, safety comes first. If automation can reduce exposure to higher-risk tasks, that is a meaningful and non-negotiable advance. Automation reduces personnel exposure in higher-risk environments while improving consistency and uptime. At the same time, those same technologies improve uptime, compress non-productive time, support more predictable delivery and help generate stronger returns from the assets we deploy.

What should the market take away from this milestone?

That ADNOC Drilling is investing ahead of the curve and executing against that investment with discipline.

AD-300 is a visible moment, but the bigger message is the kind of company we are building, more advanced, more resilient, more productive and more clearly aligned with where the UAE energy sector is going.

The remaining rigs will be deployed in phases, which gives us good visibility on revenue and supports our growth into 2027. This programme is evidence that the strategy is already in motion.