Author: Emirates Insight

ALA Developments, a newly established luxury residential developer, has announced a development pipeline worth approximately AED1 billion ahead of its formal market launch in January, targeting Dubai’s evolving cohort of quality-focused property buyers. “Dubai’s real estate market has evolved beyond scale alone,” said Hassan Raza, chairman of ALA Developments. “Today’s buyers are discerning, globally exposed, and focused on how a home is designed and how it performs over time. Our developments are guided by that shift.” Founded in January 2025 by Dubai-based entrepreneurs with more than three decades of cross-sector business experience in the UAE, the developer is positioning itself…

RAIN and NIGHT follow suit today in terms of daily gains. Bitcoin’s gradual price recovery to almost $90,000 came to another halt yesterday when the asset was suddenly rejected and dumped by roughly three grand in minutes. Most larger-cap alts have mimicked BTC’s performance, with ETH sliding toward $2,900 again, while XRP has slipped to $1.85. BTC Stopped at $89.5K The primary cryptocurrency had a wild week before the Christmas holidays when it pumped and dumped on several occasions from around $85,000 to $90,000, only to mark a local low at $84,400 after the US CPI numbers for November…

Dubai Future Foundation has released a special edition of its annual Global 50 Report, presenting fourteen opportunities for international collaboration selected from more than 200 future scenarios explored since 2022. “We continue to collaborate with global experts in foresight and future design, building on Dubai’s leadership as a hub for activating future opportunities and as an international platform for cooperation,” said Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation. “Our objective is to create common ground around global solutions that strengthen communities and safeguard a better future for humanity.” Mapping opportunities across global megatrends The report, titled Global Solutions and Shared…

TechCrunch’s Equity crew is bringing 2025 to a close and getting ahead on the year to come with our annual predictions episode! Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan were joined by Build Mode host Isabelle Johannessen to dissect the year’s biggest tech developments, from mega AI funding rounds that defied expectations to the rise of “physical AI,” and make their calls for 2026.  The group tackled everything from why AI agents didn’t live up to the hype in 2025 (but probably will in 2026), to how Hollywood will push back against AI-generated content, to why VCs are facing a serious liquidity crisis.   Listen to the full episode to hear: …

Riyadh Air has launched an employment-first overseas scholarship programme aimed at training a new generation of Saudi engineers and pilots, with participants hired by the airline before beginning their studies abroad. The initiative, introduced under the ‘Employment-First’ Overseas Scholarship Programme, will begin with specialised engineering tracks in Australia, followed by a commercial pilot training pathway in the United States. The programme forms part of the ‘Promising Path’ track within the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Scholarship Program, in collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Transport & Logistics Services and the General Authority of Civil Aviation. New scholarship trains…

USX suffered one of 2025’s sharpest stablecoin depegs, plunging to $0.10 before market makers restored liquidity. The USX stablecoin on Solana lost its dollar peg on December 26, collapsing to just $0.10 on secondary markets. This sudden drop, caused by a severe lack of liquidity, marks one of the most extreme depegs for a major stablecoin this year. Market Strain and Rapid Response According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, which raised an alert about the event, the depeg was a direct result of a liquidity drain on trading platforms. The stablecoin’s developer, Solstice, responded quickly. In a statement posted…

French startup Ÿnsect shot into the spotlight when “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. touted its merits on the Late Show during Super Bowl weekend 2021. Now, nearly four years later, the insect farming company has been placed into judicial liquidation — essentially bankruptcy — for insolvency.  The company’s demise is hardly a surprise, as Ÿnsect had been embattled for months. Still, there is plenty to unpack about how a startup can go bankrupt despite raising over $600 million, including from Downey Jr’s FootPrint Coalition, taxpayers, and many others. Ultimately, Ÿnsect failed to fulfill its ambition to “revolutionize the food…

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports, including re-exports, rose by 32.3 per cent year-on-year in October 2025, according to figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), underscoring continued momentum in the Kingdom’s trade diversification efforts. National non-oil exports increased by 2.4 per cent compared with October 2024, while total merchandise exports climbed 11.8 per cent. As a result, the trade balance surplus expanded by 47.4 per cent year-on-year during the month. Imports also grew, rising 4.3 per cent in October 2025. The ratio of non-oil exports to imports improved to 42.3 per cent, up from 33.4 per cent a year…

XRP continues to be deep in the red yearly. With 2025 almost in the history books, it’s time to reflect on certain market behavior, and Ripple’s XRP is quite a curious case. The company behind it is about to notch its perhaps best year to date. It concluded the lawsuit against the US SEC, which had lasted since the end of 2020, announced numerous partnerships with some big names, and completed several significant acquisitions, including the prime broker Hidden Road for well over $1 billion. Its native token also had a highly impressive year, until July, that is. It…

If you thought Dubai couldn’t outdo itself for New Year’s Eve, Atlantis The Royal just raised the bar… WAY UP. Celebrating NYE at the ultra-luxury resort comes with a jaw-dropping price of AED 140,000 for the night. But that’s not even the full story. Want instant updates? Follow Lovin on WhatsApp, and never miss a beat! There’s a 5-night minimum stay (no exceptions) To ring in New Year’s Eve at Atlantis The Royal, guests must book at least five nights, before or after December 31. That means you can’t just pop in for the fireworks, you’re committing to a full luxury…