A 19-year-old law student raised in the UAE has been crowned Miss Universe India 2026, securing the opportunity to represent India at the 75th Miss Universe pageant scheduled to take place in Puerto Rico later this year.
According to media reports, Kaziah Liz Mejo, who was born in the UAE to parents from Kerala, won the national title at the Miss Universe India 2026 finale held in Jaipur on August 23. She succeeded outgoing titleholder Manika Vishwakarma after emerging as the winner from a field of more than 50 contestants from across India. The judging panel included former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen alongside other former beauty queens and industry figures.
Raised in Abu Dhabi, Mejo is pursuing a law degree while building a career in modelling. Her victory marks another milestone in a pageant journey that has gathered momentum over the past two years. She previously won Miss Teen Diva 2024 and finished as the first runner-up at Miss Teen International 2025 before claiming the Miss Universe Kerala title earlier this year.
Beyond pageantry, Mejo is trained in classical dance and has participated in music and acting, reflecting the increasingly multidisciplinary profile of contestants competing on international beauty platforms.
Mejo will now begin preparations to represent India at the 75th Miss Universe competition in Puerto Rico, where she will compete against contestants from around the world for the international crown. India has won the Miss Universe title three times previously, through Sushmita Sen in 1994, Lara Dutta in 2000 and Harnaaz Sandhu in 2021.
Why your next flight could face more turbulence than before
Experts say the future of flight safety will depend on combining real-time aircraft data, artificial intelligence and more advanced atmospheric forecasting
The recent Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi that experienced a sudden altitude loss, leaving passengers and crew injured, has once again thrust turbulence into the spotlight. While investigators continue examining the precise cause of the incident, aviation experts say the event highlights a much broader challenge confronting airlines worldwide: predicting clear-air turbulence before aircraft encounter it.
Unlike thunderstorms, clear-air turbulence cannot be seen by pilots or detected by conventional weather radar, making it one of the industry’s most persistent operational challenges.
“Clear-air turbulence is hard to predict because, unlike a thunderstorm, it doesn’t appear in standard meteorological models and, in real time, doesn’t show up on radar,” says Maya Shpak, CEO of SkyPath, whose turbulence intelligence platform is used on more than 40,000 flights daily by airlines including Emirates, American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.
“These legacy models are excellent at detecting convective activity, the visible, moisture-driven weather that shows up on a screen, but clear-air turbulence leaves no visible signature and gives no visual warning. It’s invisible until you’re already in it, which is why the industry has struggled with it for more than 30 years.”
She says even accurate weather forecasts often lack the precision pilots need.
“A regional forecast can be completely accurate and still tell a crew almost nothing they can act on. It might say rough air exists somewhere along a 300-mile corridor, but not whether it’s at 35,000 feet or 37,000, or whether it starts in 20 minutes or two hours.”
“The decisions that actually prevent injuries — which altitude, which heading, when to secure the cabin — happen in feet and minutes, not across a stretch of sky that size.”
Maya Shpak, CEO of SkyPath
Aircraft become the sensors
Instead of relying solely on weather models, airlines are increasingly using aircraft already in the sky as real-time turbulence sensors.
SkyPath’s platform uses a patented algorithm running on pilots’ existing cockpit iPads, combining onboard motion data with ADS-B information, Eddy Dissipation Rate measurements, pilot reports and machine-learning forecasts to create a live turbulence map.
“SkyPath turns every aircraft already in the air into a turbulence sensor,” says Shpak.
“Weather radar detects convective activity, thunderstorms and storm cells, not clear-air turbulence, which produces no radar return at all. SkyPath fills that gap, using the aircraft itself, and thousands of others flying the same skies, as the sensor network.”
The technology reflects a broader shift across aviation.
“A few years ago, turbulence management was mostly reactive… That’s changed. Safety officers and flight operations leaders aren’t asking whether they should do something about turbulence anymore. They’re asking where to find the best, most current data so that they can be proactive in planning and preparing.”
Climate change and El Niño add new complexity
The challenge is becoming more pressing as scientific evidence points to increasing turbulence in many parts of the world.
Professor Paul Williams, head of the Department of Meteorology and professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, says recent research has identified a connection between El Niño and stronger clear-air turbulence.
“When we analysed 40 years of atmospheric data recently, we found strong evidence to support this idea.”
“During a typical swing from strong La Niña to strong El Niño conditions, we found that the wind shear at flight cruising altitudes over the North Atlantic increases by around 35%, and the amount of clear-turbulence increases by around 30%.”
“These impacts on turbulence are not confined to the North Atlantic, but extend all around the world, including Asia.”
Williams says climate change is reinforcing that trend.
“I have been studying the link between climate change and turbulence for 15 years.”
“We see it in observational data since satellites began observing the atmosphere in 1979, we see it in supercomputer simulations of the future climate, and we understand the basic physical mechanisms involved.”
“For flight routes in the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, including the Middle East, Asia, the North Pacific, North America, the North Atlantic, and Europe, the projections are for hundreds of per cent more turbulence by the 2060s.”
Professor Paul Williams, head of the Department of Meteorology and professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading
Beyond safety, a business issue
While passenger safety remains paramount, airlines also face significant operational and financial implications.
Shpak says a five-year study by one airline found a 40-50 per cent reduction in turbulence-related injuries after integrating real-time turbulence intelligence into daily operations.
“Cabin crew accounts for 80% of turbulence-related injuries industry-wide, so that’s a direct safety and liability line item.”
She adds that turbulence-related rerouting, altitude changes and additional fuel burn account for roughly 1-2 per cent of fleet fuel costs, with airlines using the technology recovering an estimated 0.5 to 1 per cent of fleet fuel costs per aircraft each year. Fewer severe encounters also reduce the need for post-flight aircraft inspections.
AI becomes the next safety layer
Both experts believe the next major advance will come from combining atmospheric science with AI and live aircraft observations.
“The biggest breakthrough would be to move from forecasting turbulence indirectly — from large-scale atmospheric conditions — to predicting the turbulence itself,” says Williams.
“Ultimately, I expect the biggest gains to come from combining physics-based forecasting, machine learning, and real-time aircraft observations into a single system that continuously updates the predicted turbulence along each flight route, which is exactly the approach that SkyPath are taking.”
Shpak agrees that turbulence intelligence is becoming as fundamental to aviation as traditional weather forecasting.
“Absolutely. It took decades to develop tools for wind shear and icing, which are now mandatory, and no aircraft flies without them.”
“Turbulence has historically been treated as background risk, but that is no longer the case.”
For airlines operating through the Gulf, where long-haul networks connect Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, she argues that real-time turbulence intelligence is rapidly becoming core operational infrastructure rather than an optional safety enhancement.
While the investigation into the Air India incident continues, the episode has reinforced a wider industry message: turbulence may never be eliminated, but the ability to anticipate and avoid it is becoming one of aviation’s fastest-moving areas of innovation.
Bitcoin lands inside Rakbank Islamic: What customers can now do from the app
The new service combines everyday banking with access to virtual assets, allowing customers to access Bitcoin through Rakbank Islamic while transacting directly from their current or savings accounts in UAE dirhams
Rakbank announced on August 24, that Rakbank Islamic customers can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin through Bitpanda’s regulated virtual asset trading platform directly from the Rakbank mobile app.
The new service combines everyday banking with access to virtual assets, allowing customers to access Bitcoin through Rakbank Islamic while transacting directly from their current or savings accounts in UAE dirhams.
As interest in virtual assets continues to grow, customers are increasingly looking for ways to participate through trusted and transparent channels that align with their personal values. Rakbank’s new offering provides customers with a convenient way to access Bitcoin through a banking experience designed around their financial preferences and values.
By removing the need to transfer funds to and from external exchanges, customers can fund transactions directly from their Rakbank Islamic accounts, creating a more seamless experience while avoiding foreign exchange conversion costs.
Through the Rakbank app, customers can access Bitcoin through the Islamic Banking platform, supported by secure infrastructure and the confidence of banking with Rakbank.
Regulated infrastructure
The service is delivered through Bitpanda Broker MENA DMCC, Bitpanda’s Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)-regulated entity, while Rakbank facilitates access through its mobile banking app in accordance with Shari’ah principles.
Vikas Suri, MD, Wholesale Banking Group – Products at Rakbank, said: “At Rakbank, our focus is on making innovation accessible in a way that reflects our customers’ needs, values and aspirations.
“With this launch, Rakbank Islamic banking customers can access Bitcoin directly through the Rakbank mobile app, funded in UAE dirhams and supported by trusted, regulated infrastructure, while maintaining the Islamic values and principles that guide their financial decisions.
“By combining the convenience of everyday banking with responsible access to virtual assets, we are giving customers greater confidence, clarity and control as they explore this emerging asset class.”
Expanding access to virtual assets
The launch reflects growing customer interest in virtual assets and Rakbank’s commitment to delivering innovative financial solutions while maintaining standards of customer protection, transparency and regulatory alignment.
The milestone also positions Rakbank as the first conventional bank with an Islamic banking window to enable access to virtual asset trading through a regulated partner platform, further expanding access to virtual assets through a secure banking experience.
Bitpanda is one of the world’s leading digital asset infrastructure providers and is regulated by multiple European financial authorities. Its institutional technology business, Bitpanda Enterprise, is trusted by leading global financial institutions.
The launch builds on Rakbank’s strategic partnership with Bitpanda and reinforces the bank’s commitment to responsible innovation through trusted, regulated partnerships. By combining virtual asset innovation with the values and principles that underpin Rakbank Islamic, Rakbank continues to expand customer access to emerging financial technologies through a secure, transparent and customer-centric experience.
Al Ansari Exchange teams up with RTA to bring nol travel cards to more Dubai branches
The collaboration expands Al Ansari Exchange’s portfolio of third-party products while giving residents and visitors greater access to Dubai’s integrated mobility payment system
Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s leading remittance and foreign exchange company and a subsidiary of Al Ansari Financial Services, has partnered with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in association with MDX Technology Solutions ME, to make nol Travel Cards available at selected branches across Dubai.
The collaboration expands Al Ansari Exchange’s portfolio of third-party products while giving residents and visitors greater access to Dubai’s integrated mobility payment system through its extensive branch network.
Image credit: Supplied
Expanding access across Dubai
Residents and visitors can now purchase nol Travel Cards from selected Al Ansari Exchange branches, distributed through MDX Technology Solutions ME, the RTA-authorised distributor of nol Travel Cards. The move provides an additional point of access to one of Dubai’s most widely used mobility payment solutions.
The partnership also supports Al Ansari Exchange’s strategy of developing a connected physical and digital ecosystem, giving customers convenient access to a broader range of everyday financial and lifestyle services.
Image credit: Supplied
One card for transport and more
The nol Travel Card enables cashless payments across Dubai’s public transport network, including the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, public buses, marine transport and public parking. It is also accepted at more than 14,000 retail outlets across the UAE.
Through the nol Pay App, cardholders can additionally access more than 200 lifestyle offers and discounts.
Commenting on the collaboration, Musad Ibrahim Alhammadi, director of Automated Collection Systems at Corporate Technology Support Services Sector, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said: “Expanding the availability of nol Travel Cards through strategic collaborations supports RTA’s efforts to make mobility services more accessible across Dubai. Providing additional distribution channels contributes to wider adoption of digital payment solutions and enhances the travel experience for residents and visitors.”
Ali Al Najjar, CEO of Al Ansari Exchange, added: “As customer expectations continue to evolve, we are expanding the role of Al Ansari Exchange beyond traditional financial transactions by bringing together financial, payment and everyday lifestyle services through both our branch network and digital platforms. Making nol Travel Cards available through our branches complements our broader strategy of creating a seamless customer experience while supporting Dubai’s vision for a smart, digitally connected city.”
ADIB appoints first chief AI officer to drive Vision 2035
The appointment builds on ADIB’s existing digital banking platform, with the bank saying more than 94 per cent of its transactions are now conducted through digital channels
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has appointed Pedro Uria-Recio as chief AI officer, creating a new executive role to accelerate the bank’s artificial intelligence strategy as part of its Vision 2035 transformation programme.
The appointment underscores ADIB’s ambition to embed AI across its operations to improve customer experience, strengthen risk management, enhance operational efficiency and equip employees with advanced digital tools.
Pedro will lead the next phase of the bank’s AI strategy, focusing on scaling AI responsibly across the organisation while building the governance, infrastructure and internal capabilities needed to support long-term adoption.
The move forms part of ADIB’s Vision 2035, which aims to position the lender as the world’s most innovative Islamic bank by making banking faster, simpler and more personalised.
“Artificial intelligence is not simply a technology initiative; it is one of the principal transformation enablers of our strategy and our ambition to become the world’s most innovative Islamic bank,” said Mohamed Abdelbary, group CEO of ADIB.
“Our objective is to embed AI across ADIB in ways that deliver tangible value: making banking simpler, faster, and more personalised for our customers, giving our colleagues better tools and insights, strengthening decision-making and risk management, and improving the way we operate.”
Abdelbary added that Pedro’s experience in translating AI and data into measurable business outcomes would help accelerate the bank’s AI adoption while maintaining strong governance and accountability.
Pedro joins ADIB with more than two decades of experience in artificial intelligence, data and technology leadership. Most recently, he served as Chief Data & Artificial Intelligence Officer at CIMB Bank in Malaysia, where he led the deployment of generative AI, agentic AI and advanced analytics across the banking group.
He has also held senior leadership positions at True Corporation, Axiata Group and McKinsey & Company, advising organisations on technology, digital transformation and innovation. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a degree in Telecommunications Engineering.
“I am delighted to join ADIB at a defining stage of its transformation,” Pedro said.
“Vision 2035 sets a clear and ambitious direction for the Bank, and AI will be one of the key enablers of delivering that ambition.”
“My focus will be on turning that potential into tangible outcomes for customers, colleagues, and the Bank: deploying AI responsibly at scale, building strong internal capabilities and creating solutions that make banking more intelligent, personalised, and efficient.”
The appointment builds on ADIB’s existing digital banking platform, with the bank saying more than 94 per cent of its transactions are now conducted through digital channels.
ADIB serves more than 2.7 million customers and added 125,000 new customers in the first half of 2026. The bank said continued investments in technology, AI and talent will support the next phase of its growth under Vision 2035.
Unpaid fines? Dubai Police issues warning for drivers, vehicle owners
Drivers and vehicle owners are called on to regularly review their traffic records and address outstanding fines before they escalate into more serious consequences
Dubai Police has urged vehicle owners to settle accumulated traffic fines and keep their registrations up to date, warning that unpaid penalties can result in vehicle impoundment, legal action, heavier financial burdens and the suspension of vehicle-related transactions.
The warning comes as the force steps up its enforcement and public-awareness efforts, with officials also urging families to prepare children mentally and physically for the new academic year.
Brigadier Juma Salem bin Suwaidan, director of the General Department of Traffic at Dubai Police, called on drivers and vehicle owners to regularly review their traffic records and address outstanding fines before they escalate into more serious consequences.
497 vehicles seized over accumulated fines
Suwaidan revealed that field teams from the Traffic Violations Monitoring Department seized 497 vehicles during inspection campaigns in the first half of this year after identifying accumulated traffic fines.
Some of the vehicles had fines running into tens of thousands of dirhams, while several owners had failed to renew their vehicle registrations for years, he said.
The official stressed that allowing fines to accumulate and driving vehicles with expired registrations reflects irresponsible behaviour and a disregard for regulations intended to protect lives and property, a Dubai Police media report conveyed.
“Driving an unregistered vehicle poses a serious risk to the safety of both the driver and other road users, especially if the vehicle has not undergone technical inspection to confirm its roadworthiness,” Suwaidan said.
He explained that traffic fines are not simply a mechanism for collecting penalties. They are also intended to deter dangerous driving, discourage repeat violations and strengthen compliance with traffic laws.
Repeated violations, he noted, increase the risks faced by drivers and other road users and can contribute to accidents, fatalities, injuries and material losses.
Suwaidan said Dubai Police would maintain a firm approach to vehicles with accumulated fines and continue inspection campaigns targeting vehicles involved in traffic violations or operating with non-renewed registrations.
He added that leniency in settling fines or leaving a vehicle unregistered does not remove the owner’s legal responsibility.
Dubai Police uses an integrated system of smart technologies to identify wanted vehicles and locate them on roads, in parking areas and in public spaces, helping officers improve enforcement efficiency and take swift legal action.
Police urges owners to act before enforcement
Before taking legal action, the General Department of Traffic contacts vehicle owners through phone calls, text messages and email, urging them to settle outstanding fines and renew their vehicle registrations.
According to Suwaidan, the campaigns are not solely focused on impounding vehicles. They are also designed to raise traffic awareness and encourage greater responsibility among drivers.
He urged vehicle owners to update their contact information with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai so they can receive notifications and alerts about fines.
Drivers are also encouraged to check their traffic records regularly instead of allowing penalties to build up until they become difficult to pay.
Dubai Police provides several channels for checking and paying fines around the clock, including its smart app, website, self-service kiosks and Smart Police Stations (SPS).
Vehicle owners can also use flexible instalment options to manage outstanding traffic fines, including through the Dubai Police app, the “Tabby” service and interest-free instalment arrangements offered in cooperation with authorised entities.
“These options help vehicle owners manage their financial obligations, settle accumulated fines, and avoid the legal and financial consequences of delayed payment,” Suwaidan said.
Dubai Police turns attention to children ahead of new school year
The force’s wider public-safety messaging also extends to families, with the Child and Woman Protection Department at Dubai Police’s General Department of Human Rights urging parents to prepare children mentally and regulate their sleeping schedules ahead of the new academic year.
The department said advance preparation and consistent sleep routines can help children transition more smoothly into school, strengthen their self-confidence and give them a greater sense of safety and reassurance.
“Advance preparation helps ease back-to-school anxiety, especially for children starting a new learning experience or transitioning to a different educational stage,” the department said. “Positive conversations with children about what to expect at school also help them feel more confident and reassured about their school day.”
Parents were advised to gradually adjust children’s bedtimes and wake-up times before classes begin so that their routines align with the school schedule. Creating a calm sleeping environment and ensuring children receive adequate rest were also highlighted as important steps.
The department added that encouraging children, listening to their concerns and reinforcing their confidence in their ability to manage the school day can help them begin the academic year with a positive mindset.
Taken together, the latest messages from Dubai Police underline the importance of preparation and responsibility, whether on the road or at home. For vehicle owners, that means addressing fines and registration requirements before enforcement action is taken. For parents, it means helping children establish healthy routines and feel prepared for the return to school.
Suwaidan ultimately urged drivers to make traffic compliance a lasting habit, stressing that settling fines is a legal responsibility, while avoiding violations in the first place remains the best way to protect lives, property and safety on Dubai’s roads.
