Author: Arabian Media staff

Image. Etihad Etihad Airways will begin non-stop flights to Charlotte, North Carolina, starting May 4, 2026, marking the airline’s sixth US  destination and its first direct service to the city. The move makes Etihad the first airline from the Gulf region to offer direct connections to Charlotte, further strengthening air connectivity between the UAE and US. The new route will operate four times a week using Etihad’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring Business and Economy class cabins. The service is aimed at providing travellers increased access to Etihad’s global network via Abu Dhabi, while also promoting the UAE capital’s hospitality…

As cold, still weather settled across Britain on January 8 and with coal-fired power plants turned off for good, the team in charge of keeping the country’s lights on turned to other power sources hundreds of miles away. National Grid’s Energy System Operator paid up to £179 per megawatt hour — more than double the typical rate for electricity bought a day ahead — to import electricity from Denmark via the Viking Link, a 475-mile undersea cable that stretches between Jutland and Lincolnshire. Denmark, in turn, had to pull in electricity from Germany. “It was a tight day,” said Fintan Devenney,…

Image: Air Arabia Air Arabia has announced it’s launching direct flights to Krabi, Thailand, further expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia. Starting November 28, the new service will operate daily from Sharjah International Airport to Krabi International Airport using Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said in a statement. The schedule includes four weekly evening departures from Sharjah at 10:45pm, arriving in Krabi at 8:10am the following day, and three weekly morning departures at 8:15am, arriving at 5:40pm. Return flights from Krabi are scheduled at 10:10am and 6:40pm on alternating days. Krabi flight launch reflects increasing demand: Air Arabia GCEO “We…

Nvidia is seeking to reduce its reliance on Big Tech companies by striking new partnerships to sell its artificial intelligence chips to nation states, corporate groups and challengers to groups such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google. This week, the American chip giant announced a multibillion-dollar US chip deal with Saudi Arabia’s Humain, while the United Arab Emirates announced plans to build one of the world’s largest data centres in co-ordination with the US government, as the Gulf states plan to build massive AI infrastructure.These “sovereign AI” deals form a crucial part of Nvidia’s strategy to court customers far beyond Silicon Valley. According…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.At the start of last month, the 1,500 staff at a British law firm called Shoosmiths received some unexpected news.The firm had created a £1mn bonus pot that would be shared out between them, as long as they collectively used Microsoft Copilot, the firm’s chosen generative AI tool, at least 1mn times this financial year.In other words, they had 12 months to rack up enough Copilot prompts between themselves to unlock the £1mn.David Jackson, their chief executive, did not think this would…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Gaming, video streaming and social media have had a far bigger impact on alcohol consumption than Gen Z concerns over its effect on health, according to the head of one of the world’s largest brewers.Atsushi Katsuki, chief executive of Japan’s Asahi, said “there’s no doubt” the rise of digital entertainment platforms had hit demand for his sector’s products far more than abstinence driven by concerns over the harmful impact of drinking.“Alcohol used to occupy a much bigger share of people’s entertainment and…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The European Central Bank must stand ready to lower borrowing costs to “slightly below” 2 per cent as global trade wars threaten to drag down consumer prices, a top official has said. “If I look at the economy — the shocks we are confronted with and the uncertainty on growth — it might warrant to be mildly supportive,” Belgium’s central bank governor Pierre Wunsch told the Financial Times in an interview ahead of the ECB’s next meeting on June 5. This could…

The chief executive of one of Europe’s biggest staffing companies is talking ice hockey. “As they say in Canada, skate where the puck is going to be,” says Sander van ’t Noordende of Randstad. “If the jobs are moving there, we need to make sure we are there.”Van ’t Noordende has led Randstad, one of the world’s largest recruitment and staffing businesses, since 2022, after he missed out on the top job at Accenture. He is now trying to navigate a labour market in turmoil.Employers are facing obstacles finding staff in an era of low post-pandemic unemployment. Yet uncertainty linked…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.China has begun allowing some shipments of rare earths under new export control rules, but the slow pace of approvals threatens disruption to global supply chains, according to industry participants.Beijing in early April placed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements and permanent magnets that are vital for products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines, humanoid robots and fighter jets.Exporters, China-based industry groups and supply chain experts said that after weeks of delay, Beijing’s commerce ministry had approved some licences for…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Retail & Consumer industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.On, the Swiss footwear company backed by tennis star Roger Federer that is one of the world’s fastest-growing running brands, is stepping up a push to tap the booming health and fitness industry in China as it looks to the Asian powerhouse economy to drive further expansion.Known for the distinctive holes in their springy “CloudTec” soles, On’s shoes have become a popular choice both among runners and leisure consumers, from Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs to trendsetters in the trainer hotspot…