Abu Dhabi Police has launched a public initiative centred on its traffic points programme, inviting residents to access services and boost awareness of road safety across the emirate.

The General Headquarters announced that its platform will run at Al Mushrif Mall from April 20 to May 20, 2026, between 4:00pm and 10:00pm. The initiative aims to educate motorists about traffic points regulations while promoting safer driving behaviour through direct engagement, a post on the Abu Dhabi Police official X account said.

Officials said the programme reflects continued efforts to strengthen community outreach and encourage compliance with traffic laws.

Warning on unauthorised parades

In a separate advisory, Abu Dhabi Police warned against organising celebratory parades or public gatherings without prior approval.

“Strict adherence to regulatory frameworks is essential to uphold public safety and mitigate risks to lives and private property,” the authority said.

Read more-Dubai completes Hessa Street revamp, travel time now just 4 minutes

The Directorate General of Traffic and Patrols highlighted the dangers of spontaneous road gatherings, noting that behaviours such as leaning out of windows or sunroofs pose serious risks, a WAM report said.

Authorities stressed that such violations will be penalised. Under Article 1 of the Federal Traffic Law, reckless driving carries a Dhs2,000 fine, 23 traffic points, and 60-day vehicle impoundment. Article 94 adds that participation in unauthorised parades results in a Dhs500 fine, four traffic points, and a 15-day impoundment for light vehicles.

Alert over remote-control app scams

Abu Dhabi Police also warned of rising cyber fraud involving remote-control applications as part of its “Be Aware” campaign.

“These applications are increasingly exploited by fraudsters to gain access to devices and steal sensitive information,” officials said.

Scammers often trick victims into downloading such tools under the pretext of offering technical help, enabling full control over phones or computers. Police emphasised that banks never request confidential details such as passwords, PINs, or one-time passwords.

Residents were urged to avoid suspicious calls and download apps only from trusted sources. In case of fraud attempts, the public should report incidents via the “Aman” service by calling 8002626, sending an SMS to 2828, or visiting the nearest police station.

In global trade today, logistics has moved from the background to the centre of business strategy, shaping how companies scale, compete, and respond to disruption. From geopolitical tensions to the rapid rise of e-commerce, supply chains are under constant pressure to be faster, smarter, and more resilient.

Against this backdrop, Kami Viswanathan, president of FedEx Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, is navigating one of the most complex operating environments in the industry.

Here, she shares how FedEx is redesigning its network for a world of continuous disruption, the evolving role of logistics in driving growth, and what it takes to lead in a sector that is rapidly redefining itself.

As a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated industry, what advice would you give women entering logistics today that goes beyond work harder and be resilient?

In an increasingly fluid global business environment, supply chain resiliency is becoming more critical than ever. Logistics is no longer a back-end function; it is central to how businesses grow and compete. That shift alone makes this one of the most exciting industries for women to step into today.

As the backbone for global trade and commerce, logistics offers many opportunities for career growth. Be intentional about where you place yourself. Choose organisations where performance is rewarded, where leaders invest in people, and where you are given the space to lead early. Organisational culture will accelerate or limit your trajectory far more than any single role.

Second, don’t self-select out of operational or technical roles. Some of the most influential positions in logistics sit at the intersection of operations, engineering, and decision-making. Women who lean into these spaces early build disproportionate credibility.

Third, build your voice, not just your capability. In a complex, fast-moving industry, asking the right questions and challenging assumptions is often more valuable than having all the answers.

And finally, think of your career as a portfolio of experiences, not a ladder. Don’t be risk-averse in taking on new projects. Logistics offers exposure across markets, functions, and technologies. The more deliberately and boldly you navigate that breadth, the faster you move from participant to leader.

Supply chain shocks have shifted from rare events to a recurring reality. How is FedEx redesigning its network and decision-making processes to operate in a constant state of disruption rather than reaction?

Disruption is no longer episodic; it is structural. The real shift for us has been moving from a model of recovery to a model of continuous adaptation.

At FedEx, resilience is engineered into both our physical network and our decision-making architecture. Our multimodal network across air, road, and ocean ensures we are not dependent on a single corridor or geography. Investments such as our hub at Dubai World Central, the Middle East Road Network, and expanded presence and connectivity in Saudi Arabia are designed to increase route density and give us options when conditions change.

In recent months, disruptions across parts of the Middle East have required rapid adjustments to traditional air and ground corridors. At FedEx, this has meant activating alternative gateways and strengthening regional road connectivity to ensure shipments continue to move across markets.

What truly changes the equation is data. Tools like FedEx Surrou and SenseAware allow us to predict risk, not just respond to it, particularly for high-value, time-sensitive shipments.

The outcome for customers is simple: earlier visibility, more routing choices, and the ability to make better decisions ahead of disruption, not after it.

E-commerce competition is increasingly defined by delivery experience. How is FedEx helping retailers turn logistics into a competitive advantage rather than a cost centre?

Across the Gulf’s fast-growing e-commerce market, logistics is becoming a key driver of conversion and customer loyalty. In many ways, the delivery experience is now an extension of the brand experience.

The delivery journey plays a critical role in shaping customer trust and repeat purchases. Factors such as shipping costs, delivery timelines, and clarity on duties and taxes can directly influence buying decisions and overall satisfaction.

At FedEx, our focus is on helping reduce this complexity through integrated, digitally enabled solutions. Services like FedEx International Connect Plus are designed to offer a balance of speed and cost efficiency for cross-border shipments, while our digital tools provide greater transparency on duties, taxes, and delivery timelines upfront.

The post-purchase experience is equally important. Digital capabilities such as FedEx Delivery Manager and Picture Proof of Delivery give consumers greater control and confidence, while seamless returns solutions help retailers close the loop and encourage repeat purchases.

Increasingly, customers are not looking for standalone services, but for integrated, end-to-end solutions that support the entire e-commerce journey.

SMEs are central to economic diversification across the Gulf and emerging markets. Where do you see the biggest logistics gaps preventing SMEs from scaling internationally?

As Gulf economies accelerate diversification, SMEs are playing a central role in driving cross-border trade.

While small businesses are often competitive on product and innovation, expanding globally introduces additional considerations such as regulatory requirements, customs processes, and limited shipment visibility. These can make planning and scaling more challenging.

Fragmentation can further add to this, as SMEs often work with multiple providers across transport, clearance, and last-mile delivery, increasing coordination efforts and costs.

The opportunity, therefore, is simplification. At FedEx, our role is to bring these elements together through an integrated network and digital platform, so businesses can access global markets without having to build that infrastructure themselves.

When logistics becomes seamless, SMEs can focus on what they do best, building and selling great products, while scaling internationally with far greater certainty.

For many SMEs, the challenge is less about opportunity and more about navigating the systems around it.

Sustainable logistics often comes with higher short-term costs. How do you balance environmental commitments with commercial realities?

FedEx has a long track record of managing environmental impacts, and we’ve made significant progress growing our business while reducing our emissions in our operations. Efficiency is often overlooked as a key driver while other innovations mature and costs normalise. In logistics, efficiency is the foundation of any sustainability initiative, particularly in markets like the UAE, where sustainability is increasingly a national priority.

Every improvement in route optimisation, fleet modernisation, or facility design helps reduce emissions while also enhancing operational efficiency. This principle underpins how we invest across our network.

At the same time, we take a measured approach in our transition to zero tailpipe-emission vehicles to ensure the technology meets the demands of our operations. The deployment of electric fleets in markets such as the UAE and investments in more fuel-efficient aircraft are all part of building a lower-emissions, higher-efficiency network. Facilities like our hub at Dubai World Central further reinforce this approach through sustainable design, energy efficiency, and renewable energy integration.

Tools like FedEx Sustainability Insights (FSI) are another important level. FSI provide customers with greater visibility into the environmental impact of their shipments, enabling more informed decision-making.

Ultimately, sustainability at scale is most effective when it is embedded into how the network operates, rather than treated as a parallel initiative.

With regional champions and digital-native logistics players gaining ground, what truly differentiates FedEx today: network scale, technology, reliability, or customer experience?

What differentiates FedEx is not scale, technology, or reliability in isolation, but how we integrate these capabilities into a single, connected operating system for global trade.

Across the industry, players bring different strengths. At FedEx, our focus is on connecting more than 220 countries and territories through a unified network that brings together our physical infrastructure with real-time data intelligence.

Our hub at Dubai World Central and Middle East Road Network illustrate how we seamlessly integrate air and ground operations to enhance both speed and flexibility across the region.

At the same time, the scale of our network, moving approximately $2tn worth of goods annually, generates rich data insights. Through FedEx Dataworks, we use this data to continuously optimise routing, improve performance, and strengthen reliability.

The result is consistent, predictable outcomes at scale, which ultimately define customer experience in logistics.

As governments and businesses race to turn AI ambition into real economic value, a gap is becoming harder to ignore; strategy is moving faster than execution. In the UAE, where national targets for AI-driven growth are among the most ambitious globally, the challenge is no longer access to technology, but whether leadership is equipped to deploy it at scale.

Alexander Khanin, founder of Polynome Group, is working at that intersection through the Polynome AI Academy, an initiative designed to prepare senior decision-makers for an AI-led future.

In this conversation, he breaks down why leadership, not technology, is now the bottleneck, and what it will take to bridge the gap between experimentation and real-world impact.

The AI Academy was launched last year by Polynome Group and unveiled during the Machines Can See Summit. Tell us about the AI Academy and why it was created?

Polynome AI Academy was launched by Polynome Group and unveiled during the Machines Can See Summit in the presence of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.

We built this initiative because we saw a critical disconnect. The UAE has one of the most ambitious AI strategies in the world, targeting Dhs335bn in additional economic growth by 2031, but many business leaders responsible for executing that strategy are not fully prepared to leverage AI at scale. According to 2025 research by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), only 5 per cent of companies globally generate substantial value from AI at scale. The gap is not access to technology; it lies in leadership capability.

AI is expected to guide half of all business decisions by 2027. The AI Academy’s goal is to produce leaders who can make those decisions confidently. We aim to create a new generation of AI-literate executives who actively drive AI adoption, equipping them with strategic frameworks, governance models, and practical implementation knowledge to do so responsibly.

Every graduate from our first cohort has either launched new AI initiatives, accelerated existing ones, or is planning new frameworks for implementation within six months. This level of conversion demonstrates the real and pressing need for AI leadership development.

What programmes does the AI Academy currently offer, and which leadership roles and industries are you primarily targeting? When is the latest upcoming programme about?

Our flagship is the Executive Program for Chief AI Officer, developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi School of Management, a 10-day intensive in Abu Dhabi comprising 10 modules, executive seminars, case labs, site visits to UAE AI institutions, and policymaker roundtables.

The programme is designed for senior leaders, including chief AI officers, CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, and advisors, in both the public and private sectors. It targets leaders across energy, finance, healthcare, government, and logistics.

The faculty includes experts from leading organisations such as NVIDIA, BCG, Mubadala, G42, AI71, NYU Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University, and ETH Zürich.

The AI Academy plans to expand internationally with a May programme in Munich focused on robotics, industrial automation, and physical AI. Our vision is to become the go-to institution for AI leadership education.

What are some of the questions asked during training?

Many organisations are already testing multiple AI initiatives simultaneously. The challenge is deciding which ones actually deliver business value and deserve further investment, so the question we consistently hear is, “We have 40 AI pilots, how do we know which ones to scale?”

That tells you everything about where most organisations are stuck. Other recurring themes: How do I evaluate AI vendor claims without a technical background? What does responsible AI governance actually look like in practice, not in a policy document? How do I restructure my team when AI changes what half of them do?

These may sound like technical questions, but in reality, they expose a leadership issue. The bottleneck is strategic clarity, and that is exactly where we focus.

The UAE ranks among the top countries for AI readiness and investment. What are some of the changes we are seeing in the country in terms of AI that will support future economic growth?

The UAE is moving from strategy to infrastructure at a remarkable speed. The AI market here is projected to generate over $46bn by 2030. Several federal entities have already brought in chief AI officers to steer initiatives and make sure projects actually deliver impact.

Public-private partnerships are supporting this growth as well. The US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership is creating the largest AI campus outside the US, while Microsoft’s $15.2bn investment and the development of sovereign cloud capabilities are providing the foundation for advanced AI projects. These efforts are helping the UAE build sovereign AI capability, keeping the value local and setting the stage for sustainable, long-term economic growth.

The UAE is expected to add over one million jobs by 2030, with demand for tech roles rising by 54 per cent. What skills are organisations missing right now, and how can leaders close this gap quickly? How is the Academy helping organisations address the AI skills gap and shape practical AI roadmaps for real-world deployment across industries?

Research shows that 47 per cent of C-suite leaders say their organisations deploy AI too slowly, with 46 per cent citing talent skill gaps as the top reason. The real gap is at the leadership level: executives who can evaluate AI use cases, restructure workflows, manage change, and govern AI responsibly. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that when leaders demonstrate strong support for AI, employee adoption confidence jumps from 15 per cent to 55 per cent. Leadership is the multiplier.

The academy addresses this directly. We don’t teach executives to code. We teach them to ask the right questions, build operating models, and make investment decisions they can defend.

From our first cohort: 93 per cent say their AI strategy and roadmap capabilities improved, 86 per cent have already changed their organisation’s AI governance or operating model, and 57 per cent apply programme frameworks weekly or monthly. Participants leave with an AI roadmap specific to their business, not a generic framework.

What to ask before deploying AI at scale: the executive checklist for readiness, from data foundations to change adoption and workforce capability?

Five questions every leader should answer before scaling AI.

First, data foundations: Is your data accessible, governed, and trustworthy, or trapped in silos? Second, problem-value fit: Are you solving a real business problem or chasing a trend? Only 20 per cent of organisations have redesigned workflows when deploying AI, the rest just layered it on top. Third, governance: Who is accountable when AI makes a consequential decision? If you can’t answer that in one sentence, you’re not ready. Fourth, change adoption: Have you invested in training? Employees with at least five hours of structured AI training are significantly more likely to become effective users. Fifth, workforce capability: Do you have the talent to operate AI systems after deployment and not just during the pilot? If any answer is unclear, that’s where to start.

Emirati driver Amna Al Qubaisi will become the first woman to compete in the pro category of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in the 2026 season, marking a milestone for female participation in the regional one-make championship.

Al Qubaisi will race a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992.2) with Team Jebsen, with the season set to begin at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Her move into the Pro class follows a series of firsts in her career, including becoming the first Arab woman to win a race in the Formula 4 UAE Championship in 2019 at Yas Marina Circuit.

She has also competed in the F1 Academy and participated in a Formula E test programme in Saudi Arabia.

Indonesian cosmetics group Wardah said it had appointed Al Qubaisi as its global ambassador, aligning her participation in the 2026 season with its “Own Your Finish” campaign focused on women’s empowerment.

The company also launched a new product, Staylock Lip Matte, which it said is designed for long wear in high-intensity conditions, including heat.

Al Qubaisi said racing required focus and resilience. “Being on the race-track is not just about speed, but about the courage to finish what we started,” she said.

Amna Al Qubaisi: Expanding pathways for female drivers in the sport

Her participation in the Pro class comes as motorsport series expand pathways for female drivers into higher tiers of competition, with regional and international programmes aimed at increasing representation.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is one of the region’s leading single-make racing series, featuring professional and amateur drivers across circuits in Asia.

China’s yuan held steady against the dollar on Monday, as markets await a political resolution to the Iran war, even as rising tensions over the weekend put the ceasefire in doubt.

The dollar recovered on growing uncertainty over potential talks between the US and Iran, but analysts said the yuan was set to strengthen over the long run supported by China’s economic resilience and wariness toward the greenback.

The onshore yuan changed hands at 6.8191 per dollar around midday, barely changed from the previous session’s close.

The dollar index rose slightly as concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

Tehran also said it would not take part in a second round of negotiations that the US had hoped to kick off before its two-week ceasefire with Iran expires on Tuesday.

“The market appears unwilling to pay extra risk premiums for the US-Iran talks. Each dollar rebound triggered by geopolitical risks is becoming weaker and weaker,” Huatai Futures said in a report.

The brokerage said that the market is focused on whether the ceasefire will be extended beyond the April 22 deadline and the direction of US monetary policy.

“If the ceasefire holds, and oil prices fall back further, rate cut expectations could be revived,” a scenario bad for the dollar, Huatai Futures said.

Nanhua Futures said that geopolitical uncertainty around the Middle East conflict means the yuan will likely fluctuate between 6.78-6.85 per dollar.

“But the yuan’s long-term upward trend is certain,” supported by China’s robust exports and limited exposure to oil price shocks.

Huatai Futures agreed that China’s 5 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter reflects the country’s economic resilience, while US growth is losing momentum, so “economic expectations lean towards a stronger yuan.”