BUILT.

A wounded flydubai captain’s decision to open the cockpit door helped turn a potentially catastrophic mid-air security incident into a story of survival for more than 170 people. Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was seriously injured during an altercation in the cockpit of flydubai flight FZ1073 on September 30. Despite his injuries, Machchhar reportedly managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and overpower the alleged attacker. The aircraft lost 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to CNN, before control was restored. Off-duty pilots traveling on board later helped bring the aircraft safely into Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Passengers subsequently returned safely to Israel. Machchhar, who joined flydubai in 2022 after around 11 years with SpiceJet, is now being recognized for the presence of mind he showed while seriously injured. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with his family and praised his actions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also publicly commended the captain. Remarkably, Machchhar had spoken about the role of the crew in an aviation emergency in a podcast about a year earlier: “When something goes wrong in the air, who is going to save your life? The crew can save your life.” The circumstances behind the incident are still being established. The UAE Attorney-General has formed a specialized Public Prosecution team to investigate the facts and motive, including whether the incident was connected to terrorist activity or involved prior planning or direction. UAE authorities have specifically urged against speculation until the investigation is complete. What is already documented is the response on board: an injured captain, crew members, off-duty pilots and passengers acting within minutes to secure an aircraft carrying more than 170 people. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

The biggest shift in real estate may not be what developers build, but what they create around it before the first resident moves in. For Mohamed Alabbar, Founder and Chairman of Emaar Properties and Eagle Hills, the traditional residential product- the one, two, or three-bedroom apartment has changed relatively little. The real work increasingly lies outside it: public spaces, landscaping, schools, wellness, food, culture and the experiences that turn buildings into communities. Speaking at LIVEX 2026, Alabbar told Gulf News that his teams now begin projects with what he calls “activation”, making an area useful and attractive before selling property. In Belgrade, that meant transforming 1.5 kilometers of riverfront with cycling, walking and running routes, playgrounds, landscaping and food concepts before homes were built or sold. Over roughly nine years, Alabbar said property values there increased from about €1,700 to €6,000 per square meter. Technology is changing the process too. Alabbar said master plans that once took around six months can now be produced in hours using in-house digital tools. At Eagle Hills’ Maldives Waterfront and Marina project, advances in recycling water from air-conditioning condensation, showers and sinks could potentially remove the need for a desalination plant. But Alabbar also stressed what happens after development. Entering a community means becoming a guest, he said, which requires developers to understand local culture, listen to residents and authorities, and continue to maintain the public spaces around what they build. “Don’t be a cheater. Invest in the side parks,” says Alabbar. His message at LIVEX was ultimately less about selling real estate than about creating places people want to spend their lives in and continuing to look after them once construction is finished. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

Twenty-six letters drawing on nearly six decades of public service will form Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s latest book, moving from lessons on governing and leadership to personal reflections on family, marriage and legacy. The Letters, the second part of Lessons from Life, will be released in Arabic across the UAE on October 1, with an English edition following on October 15. Written by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the book brings together letters addressed to his children, family, leadership team, fellow citizens and the wider world. The first is addressed to UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom Sheikh Mohammed calls his “brother, friend and companion on the journey.” Other letters shared ahead of publication include messages to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, his wife Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum, and members of his team. The subjects move well beyond personal memories. Sheikh Mohammed writes about justice and the responsibilities of leadership, the importance of staying close to people, how cities attract talent and ideas, and how institutions must adapt as technologies such as artificial intelligence accelerate the pace of government. At the heart of the collection is a question of what remains after a lifetime of public service. “We do not live forever through our years, but we remain through the impact we leave, our ideas and our work,” Sheikh Mohammed writes. As reported by Khaleej Times, the 26 letters bring together experiences, decisions and lessons from a public career approaching 60 years — intended not simply as a record of the past, but as lessons for those who will carry responsibility next. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

AI could help diagnose disease and stretch limited health budgets further, but much of the technology being developed today is designed around the needs of wealthier countries. An Abu Dhabi-based health institute is working to narrow that gap by bringing AI training and technology directly to public health leaders in countries carrying some of the world’s heaviest disease burdens. During the UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) launched two AI training programs and formalized a partnership with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria focused on country-led malaria control and elimination. The initiative comes as shrinking donor budgets increase pressure on health systems to make better use of limited resources. AI could support areas such as disease surveillance and diagnostics, while helping countries develop capabilities aligned with their own health priorities rather than simply importing technologies developed elsewhere. GLIDE is already testing that approach in Madagascar, where an AI-assisted microscopy project is being used to detect and diagnose neglected tropical diseases and address shortages of specialists trained in conventional microscopy. “We believe that AI has a lot of potential to support not only one country or one geography, but also we can use it as a tool to bridge the gap of inequity in healthcare,” Dr Farida Al Hosani, Chief Executive Officer of GLIDE, told The National. The institute is currently working on about 14 projects across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, combining the UAE’s work in disease elimination with its growing capabilities in artificial intelligence. The focus is not simply on exporting AI technology, but on equipping health officials with the skills to determine where it can solve real problems, how it should be deployed, and how it can strengthen existing health systems. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

The UAE is accelerating the development and deployment of defense technology, with capabilities originally planned for years ahead now being considered for earlier introduction. The shift follows the February 28 escalation, which Hamad Al Marar, Managing Director and CEO of EDGE Group, says has not changed the group’s overall strategy, but has increased the speed at which it is bringing capabilities into operational use. Within 48 hours of the escalation, EDGE deployed systems along the UAE’s shore border and established what Al Marar described as a geofence around the country, using its own equipment alongside systems supplied by allies. “The only thing that changes in our strategy because of the conflict is acceleration,” Al Marar told Gulf News in an exclusive interview. That acceleration includes working with international technology partners to shorten development and qualification timelines, as well as assessing acquisitions, intellectual property and technologies that could bring capabilities into service sooner. EDGE is also increasing its focus on counter-drone systems, electronic warfare, autonomy, and longer-range capabilities, while Al Marar says that retaining technical knowledge and design capability within the UAE will allow systems to be modified more quickly as threats evolve. The strategy could increasingly extend across the Gulf. Al Marar called for deeper GCC defense cooperation, including shared manufacturing, strategic technology hubs and production distributed across multiple countries to reduce dependence on any single facility or supply route. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

The UAE is teaching children how to use AI at the same time as it is taking screens out of some of its classrooms. The two policies may appear contradictory, but they reflect a distinction the UAE is making between understanding technology and depending on it to learn. An AI literacy framework has now become a mandatory part of the curriculum across UAE state schools, from Kindergarten to Year 12, following a pilot during the 2025-26 academic year. International schools can adapt the framework for their own curricula. The move comes as AI is already embedded in students’ lives. 64.3% of UAE students report using AI at least weekly to support their learning, compared with an OECD average of 45.5%, according to PISA 2025 data cited by Tes. But the curriculum is designed to teach students how AI works, where bias can enter systems and how to evaluate their outputs, rather than simply giving them more access to AI tools. More than a quarter of the framework focuses on ethical AI use, while students in Years 4 to 7 will initially learn about it without screens. At the same time, the UAE has removed screens from the teaching of math, science, English and Arabic up to Year 6 after a nine-school pilot found students in classrooms without digital devices improved at twice the rate of those in regular classes, according to Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of Education. “We are a country that is for technology, and pupils need to learn how to use it, but also when to use it at the appropriate time, not a replacement for thinking, not a replacement for foundational knowledge that is required,” says Al Amiri in an interview with Tes. The approach puts a different question at the center of AI in education: not simply how early children should start using the technology, but how early they should learn when- and when not- to rely on it. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

The ability to distinguish fact from fabrication is becoming a security issue for governments as technology makes false information faster and easier to produce and spread. For leaders, that means managing threats that no longer exist only in the physical world. UAE Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi spoke at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, saying that fake news and misinformation were treated as genuine security threats during the Iran war, as reported by The National. Technology has intensified that challenge, giving those seeking to cause harm increasingly sophisticated tools to create and distribute misleading content at speed. “There were two kinds of strikes, from the sky and behind our screens,” says Al Kaabi. Al Kaabi also pointed to the growing influence of young people and the platforms they use, calling for the region’s youth to be empowered to shape its narrative. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

In the competition for global capital, the Middle East is building an advantage that does not appear on a balance sheet: trust. Investors are increasingly treating a country’s reputation, international standing and ability to build relationships across markets as part of the economic equation, not separate from it, says Dr. Raja Al Gurg, Chairperson and Managing Director of Al Gurg Group. The UAE offers a particularly interesting example. In a recent article published on LinkedIn, Al Gurg points to its rise into the world’s top 10 for soft power, alongside major international platforms including Expo 2020 Dubai, COP28 and the World Governments Summit. But soft power is not built by governments alone. Companies, boards and institutions also contribute to a country’s standing through the standards they uphold and the relationships they build, with that accumulated trust eventually reflected in trade, investment and commercial partnerships. “Partners choosing where to invest are no longer weighing reputation against economics. They are treating reputation as economics,” says Al Gurg. Capital will remain fundamental to the region’s growth. But as Gulf economies compete for investment, talent and international partnerships, trust is increasingly becoming part of the economic infrastructure that supports them. BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

Dubai has announced 10 days of official mourning following the passing of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the younger brother of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “May Allah have mercy on you, my brother. You are now with our Lord, the Most Generous, the Almighty. You are gone from our sight, Ahmed, but never from our prayers or our hearts,” Sheikh Mohammed said in tribute to his brother. For more than six decades, Sheikh Ahmed was closely connected to Al Wasl, becoming one of the defining figures in the club’s history and its spiritual father. His establishment of Jebel Ali Racecourse in the early 1990s also helped shape the UAE’s horse-racing sector and strengthen Dubai’s position on the international sporting stage. Flags will be flown at half-mast across the emirate throughout the mourning period. Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will be remembered for his decades of service and his enduring contribution to Dubai’s sporting legacy. Built. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.

As banking becomes increasingly digital, RAKBANK is betting that the next competitive advantage will be keeping a human relationship at its center. The UAE bank has unveiled a new brand identity as it expands beyond its community banking roots into SME, Wealth and Wholesale Banking, while increasing its use of artificial intelligence and digital services. The scale of that shift is already visible. RAKBANK says it has supported more than 250,000 businesses, while its mobile and digital platforms have recorded more than 50 million logins. Its in-app digital assistant, rai, is now used by more than 270,000 customers. At the same time, the bank emphasizes that greater automation should not mean removing people from banking altogether, particularly for decisions involving homes, businesses, and wealth. Speaking with Campaign Middle East, Raheel Ahmed, Group Chief Executive Officer of RAKBANK, said: “Technology gives speed, but people give confidence.” The new identity includes a redesigned logo, typography, tone of voice and app experience, and comes as RAKBANK continues to invest in its digital and AI capabilities. After more than five decades in the UAE, the repositioning reflects a broader question facing banks as technology takes on more of the customer journey: how much can be automated without losing the trust and relationships on which banking still depends? BUILT. Leadership. Vision. Legacy.