Page 2 - Uae Economy

'Societal misalignments' could make AI dangerous, warns OpenAI CEO

The CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said on Tuesday that the dangers that keep him awake at night regarding artificial intelligence are the very subtle societal misalignments that could make the systems wreak havoc. Sam Altman, speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai via a video call, reiterated his call for a body like the International Atomic Energy Agency to be created to oversee AI that's likely advancing faster than the world expects. There's some things in there that are easy to imagine where things really go wrong. And I'm not that interested in the killer robots walking on the street direction of things going wrong," Altman said. "I'm much more interested in the very subtle societal misalignments where we just have these systems out in society and through no particular ill intention, things just go horribly wrong. However, Altman stressed that the AI industry, like OpenAI, shouldn't be in the driver's seat when it comes to making regulations governing the industry. We

Looking to deepen India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he is looking forward to further advance India's comprehensive strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates during his two-day visit to the Gulf nation. After concluding his two-day visit to the UAE, Modi will travel to Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday afternoon. In his departure statement ahead of the two-nation visit, Modi said he was also looking forward to meeting Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, saying the country continues to witness "tremendous growth and transformation" under his leadership. The announcement on Modi's visit to Doha came on Monday against the backdrop of Qatar releasing eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel. "India and Qatar enjoy historically close and friendly relations. In recent years, our multi-faceted ties have continued to deepen in all spheres, including high level political exchanges, growing trade and investment between two countries, strengthening of our energy partnership,

OpenAI's Altman in talks to raise funds for chips, AI initiative: Report

The amounts Altman has discussed are outlandishly large by the standards of corporate fundraising, the report added. Investors have valued OpenAI at more than $80 billion

Qatar's credit rating upgraded by Moody's to match France, UAE, overtake UK

The rating company also changed Qatar's outlook from positive to stable, meaning another upgrade is unlikely in the short term

India, France, UAE conduct joint mega air exercise over Arabian Sea

India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carried out a mega air exercise over the Arabian Sea against the backdrop of the rising global concerns over Houthi militants targeting several commercial vessels in the strategic waterways in the region. The exercise 'Desert Knight', conducted on Tuesday, featured several frontline aerial assets and combat jets of the air forces of the three countries, officials said. The Indian Air Force (IAF) component at the drills consisted of Su-30 MKI, MiG-29 and Jaguar fighter jets besides AWACS (airborne early warning and control aircraft, C-130-J transport plane and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. "The main focus of exercise 'Desert Knight' was on enhancing synergy and interoperability between the three air forces," the Indian Air Force said. The exercise took place in the Indian FIR (Flight Information Regions) and with IAF aircraft operated from several bases in India. All airspace worldwide is divided into FIRs and each of them is manag

US sanctions Hong Kong, UAE firms over 'financial support' to Houthi rebels

The two companies sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Friday were Hong Kong-based Cielo Maritime and UAE-based Global Tech Marine Services

UAE President Al Nahyan addresses Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024

Following his speech, PM Narendra Modi, in a post on social media platform X, lauded the UAE President and said that his statements were very encouraging

UAE president, WHO chief discuss cooperation and health challenges in Gaza

The WHO Director-General congratulated the UAE president on the successful hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the UAE at the end of last year

Saudi Arabia's fund outpaces Singapore's GIC with $31.6 billion splurge

Overall, sovereign wealth funds controlled by the hydrocarbon-rich governments of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar took five spots on a list of the top 10 most active funds last year

Lahore receives first artificial rain to combat smog with UAE's assistance

Lahore, one of the world's most polluted cities, on Saturday received its first artificial rain, following an experiment conducted by Pakistan's Punjab government with the help of the UAE to combat smog. Addressing a press conference here, the Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the experiment was conducted in 10 areas of Lahore and it was successful. Around 10 per cent of areas in Lahore received rainfall today due to cloud seeding experiments, he said, adding that at least 48 flares were deployed for cloud seeding. "Light showers were witnessed in the 10 areas of 15 km radius. The results of the experiment are being further gauged," he said. "Not a single penny was spent for the artificial rain. To combat smog, the government is ready to take any measure," the chief minister said. He also thanked the UAE government's help in initiating the artificial rain, also known as cloud seeding, to wash away pollutants in the air in the provincial capital. Last month, lo

Lopsided COP28 boon for India's growing coal and crude oil appetite

India supports changes in global stocktaking text, but weak stand by rich nations to help the fossil fuel economy in the country

COP28: Activists allowed into UAE can demonstrate under strict guidelines

As participants at the United Nations' COP28 climate talks filed in on Sunday for another day of talks, they found themselves greeted by a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates a protest. From activism about the Israel-Hamas war to environmental issues, activists allowed into the UAE can demonstrate under strict guidelines in this autocratic nation. Others from organizations long banned by the country also have been let in, providing them some the opportunity for the first time in about a decade to offer criticism though many acknowledge it may see them never allowed back in the country. One of our major issues with COP28 is the fact that the UAE government is using this to burnish its image internationally and the fact that limited protests are allowed ... is a good thing, said Joey Shea, now on her first trip to the Emirates as a researcher focused on the country at Human Rights Watch. "But at the end of the day, it helps to create this very false image that the UAE does have ..

ICAO Secretary-General hails remarkable resilience of UAE airports

Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), underscored the remarkable resilience of UAE airports have rebounded strongly despite Covid 19

Israel-Hamas war: 1st plane of wounded Palestinian children arrives in UAE

The first planeload of Palestinian children wounded in the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip reached the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, part of a pledged relief effort by the country to aid 1,000 children. The group of 15 people, including children and their family members, made it across the Gaza Strip's Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Friday. They then took a flight to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates. Young children lay asleep on their moms' laps as the plane finally landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Some of the seats of the plane were removed to make room for the most critically wounded children, who needed to lie on stretchers. Some of the young had bandaged arms and legs. Others sat quietly next to their parents or relatives. Some traveled alone. The mood was somber and quiet inside the plane. Many of the mothers said they were exhausted. Twelve-year-old Amr Jandieh, his eyes welling up with tears, said he traveled to the Emirates alone. My dad,

International community to unite on climate action at Pre-COP meet in UAE

COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber on Monday said that the international community needs to unite on climate action and deliver a clear message of "hope, solidarity, stability and prosperity." Addressing a record number of ministers and delegations from around the world at the opening session of the Pre-COP here, the UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change pointed out that there are too many things out there dividing our world at this moment. The UAE will host the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 28) to be held from November 30 to December 12. The pre-COP, taking place on Monday and Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, is a preparatory meeting of ministers and negotiators ahead of COP28. This year's event saw record attendance, with 70 ministers and over 100 delegations coming together in the UAE capital, more than double the usual number of participants for a Pre-COP meeting. Al Jaber said, Now more than ever, we need to unite on climate and deliver a clear message of hope, ...

UAE will not host next year's COP29 climate talks, says official

The UAE has not been asked and has no intention of hosting COP29," Majid Al Suwaidi, director general of the COP28 summit said

Urban Company to sharpen gaze on Tier 2 cities, IPO imp milestone: CEO

Urban Company will sharpen its focus on Tier 2 markets in India as its foray into 40 such cities has yielded promising outcomes, and the firm is close to announcing a JV in Saudi Arabia, its CEO and co-founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal said on Wednesday. Bhal said Urban Company, the marketplace for home services, would like to go for an IPO "at the right time", and while internal preparations have started, there are no firm timelines for hitting the public markets. "We would definitely like to go public at the right time. Internal preparations have started, but I can't put a firm timeline...I think we are still some distance away, but we would like to be ready," Bhal said. Bhal termed IPO as an important milestone for Urban Company. "...We certainly want to be profitable when we go public, and it will happen at the right time," he said. The company on Wednesday launched its range of fully 'Made in India' smart RO water purifiers - marking its foray into the branded water purifiers space.

Sentro Group acquires stake in Russian bank, eyes rupee-ruble trade

Sentro Group on Thursday said it has acquired a majority stake in a Russian bank, World of Privileges, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of 50.001 per cent ownership in the 29-year-old, post-Soviet era lender is aimed at facilitating rupee-ruble trade, as per an official statement. The group said it is eyeing to ease transactions between the two countries, as trade and commerce grows with India becoming a preferred supplier of goods for Russia. "We wish to partner with Indian banks and other financial institutions for mutual Nostro/Vostro accounts, and the bank wants to expand its services through broker licence, targeting retail investor from Russia to invest in Indian market through FPI licence and other legal methods, the group's Founder and Chairman Naveen Rao said. The vision is to support the ruble/rupee payments for Russians visiting India and Indians travelling to Russia, using Indian and Russian settlement systems like UPI, RU pay card, another senior official said.

UAE investors eye infra, education, food processing, fin sectors: Goyal

Investors from the UAE are keen to invest in different sectors in India such as clean energy, infrastructure, education, healthcare, food processing, and financial services, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Thursday. He was in Abu Dhabi for the 11th meeting of the India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investments. The airline sector holds a lot of promise for UAE investors in India as New Delhi is giving lot of thrust on travel and tourism sectors, he told reporters here. Investors are very very keen to invest in infra projects, education projects, healthcare and are looking at food and food processing in a very big way," the minister said. The UAE companies are also showing a lot of interest in financial services, he said. "I believe that in the days ahead, we will see significant flow of investments both in public markets and in the manufacturing and services sector," he said. Pharma, roads and highways, ports, other infra activities, clean energy, green ..

NPCI International signs agreement with Al Etihad Payments of UAE

NPCI International Payments Ltd, the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, on Thursday inked an agreement with Al Etihad Payments of UAE to provide real-time and cost-effective cross-border remittances for the users of both countries. It would be as seamless as a domestic transaction, using a beneficiary identifier (mobile number VPA), according to the agreement. Tangible benefits of the agreement include the availability of real-time and cost-effective cross-border remittances for the users of both countries. This would also enhance the transparency for users through an upfront display of remittance amounts in both currencies with applicable charges. The linkage of card switches would enable the cardholders to use their domestic cards (without the need to have global cards issued) in each other's jurisdiction on a reciprocal basis on ATMs, PoS terminals and e-comm transactions. Further, the linkage of messaging platforms would reduce dependency on ...