Author: Gulf News Week

Families and educators debate whether the nine-day break should mean complete rest or light learning routines for studentsThe nine-day Eid break is approaching for schools across the UAE, with families preparing for travel, gatherings and time away from classrooms.With many residents planning overseas trips during the holiday, parents are once again navigating a familiar challenge — how to balance rest and family time with maintaining academic routines at home.This has reignited a long-running debate in UAE households: should students be given homework during school holidays at all?While some parents insist breaks should be fully free of academic pressure, others say…

Companies in the GCC countries have strong ambitions for artificial intelligence (AI), but now they need to turn pilot projects into measurable performance, says Korn FerryMore than nine out of 10 companies in the GCC – 93 per cent – are already exploring, piloting or deploying artificial intelligence (AI) across different functions, according to a new study released on Thursday.According to the “AI Adoption in Human Capital: GCC Report 2026” released by Korn Ferry, nearly half of the organisations surveyed — 49 per cent — are actively piloting AI solutions, signalling growing momentum towards full-scale deployment.“The GCC has no shortage…

Dozens of vehicles, including fuel tankers, minibuses and trucks, have been set on fire near Mali’s capital, Bamako, as jihadists step up a blockade of the city, the BBC has confirmed.Videos filmed from passing vehicles and verified by the BBC show the charred remains of the vehicles from on a road about 45km (28 miles) west of Bamako. There are no reports of casualties – those on board were said to have been asked to get out before the vehicles were burnt.Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group affiliated to al-Qaeda, imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year,…

Under the unified system, patients could seek treatment at the nearest suitable hospital or specialised centre regardless of emirateEmirati patients may soon be able to access hospitals and specialised treatment across the UAE more easily under the country’s newly approved national healthcare and health insurance system, experts told media.Healthcare leaders said that the move could remove long-standing barriers that often limited patients to hospitals within their own emirate due to insurance restrictions, especially in cases involving cancer treatment, cardiac care, and complex surgeries.Earlier this week, the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved a unified national healthcare and…

LIVEFiles related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as trade envoy in 2001 releasedMinisters agreed in February to publish documents related to his appointment to the post.

Preliminary investigations indicate the fault resulted from a misjudgement while operating the crane and a failure to secure the carrier safelyA recovery truck driver died after a vehicle fell on him while it was being unloaded in the Al Qusais industrial area, prompting Dubai Police to issue a renewed safety warning for all recovery operators.The driver died at the scene despite the ambulance and rescue team arriving in time, police said. Brigadier Juma Salem bin Suwaidan, Director of the General Department of Traffic at Dubai Police, said the incident was reported to the Command and Control Centre at the General…

The Democratic Republic of Congo has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.Preparations have been moved to Belgium amid the upsurge, which is thought to have killed 139 people out of 600 suspected cases.The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”, but said it was not at pandemic level.Jerry Kalemo, a spokesperson for the national football team, told international media that pre-tournament games in Europe would go ahead as planned, as the squad gears up for their first…

The fatal crash of two planes off the coast of Florida more than 30 years ago is at the heart of the criminal charges against Cuba’s former leader Raúl Castro the US revealed on Wednesday.The attack by the Cuban military on a civilian plane sparked one of the biggest crises between Cuba and the US, with effects lasting to this day.Cuban fighter jets shot down the two small planes – which belonged to a group of Cuban exiles in Miami – in the waterway between the Caribbean island nation and the US state of Florida, with all four on board…

The impact of the conflict will not stop at energy price hikes. It will spread to various sectors and last years.If tomorrow Iran, the United States and Israel were to announce a peace deal and the Strait of Hormuz were to reopen, the war would not be over.Wars do not end when the missiles stop flying. They end when the structural damage they inflict on the global trading system finishes working its way through prices, contracts, balance sheets and political legitimacy.By that measure, the impact of the 1990 Gulf War, for example, lasted decades. Iraqi crude oil production did not…

The IQRA programme does not rely on additional school hours or expensive technologyA new independent evaluation in Ras Al Khaimah has found that an early Arabic literacy programme known as IQRA has helped young learners achieve reading gains equivalent to an additional 25% of a school year.The programme, developed by the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation, is designed to strengthen foundational Arabic reading skills in the early years of schooling. Following the findings, it will now be rolled out across private schools in Ras Al Khaimah from September 2026. It will be introduced to children in KG1 through…