The Agenda

That cheap flight deal you saw online may not be the price you pay by checkout. So why do advertised airfares change so quickly, and how can travellers avoid a surprise at the final booking page?

Dubai’s exhibitions and events sector is moving to reassure the market ahead of the next major events season.

A home sold means funding for another home.

Meet the Dubai resident who's flying all the way to the US to watch the FIFA World Cup live.

Is your dog left-pawed or right-pawed?

And a whale shark has been spotted at Jumeirah Fishing Harbour. Find out exactly where.

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Thousands of seafarers are stranded around the Strait of Hormuz, raising urgent questions about abandonment, responsibility and who protects crews when conflict reaches the sea. We speak to Ben Bailey from The Mission to Seafarers about what support is available for crews stuck on board, and what shipowners and governments should be doing now.

Mobile phone use behind the wheel nearly killed Emirati Juma Almheiri, leaving him in a coma for 45 days.

An influencer mum has been banned from posting pictures of her children online. Find out why.

And if you were told to evacuate an aircraft, would you leave everything behind?

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According to industry leaders in the country, Spain is seeing a surge in demand as some tourists choose destinations such as the Costa Blanca instead of holidays in the Middle East and North Africa. 

We get the latest from the Philippines after the deadly earthquake struck Mindanao.

The World Cup starts this week, but could heat and humidity be one of the biggest risks for players and fans?

And we get details about a rare sighting of a great white shark in the Mediterranean.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says around four billion people now live in areas with a risk of dengue, across regions including the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Islands. How worried should we be about mosquito-borne diseases?

If you are travelling to Europe this summer, you may need extra time at the airport. Find out why.

The World Cup starts this week, and demand is huge, but how many fans can actually afford to be there? 

And one of the UAE’s most elusive wild cats has been caught on camera in Fujairah for the first time in at least a decade.

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From September 2026, the new academic year, KHDA inspections will resume after a two-year pause, but with schools given no more than 24 hours’ notice before a team arrives.

We are almost 14 weeks on from the start of the conflict on February 28th, but only now are we beginning to get a clearer picture of what it has actually done to buyer behavior. Are people still applying for property mortgage? Or are they delaying it? Are approvals moving at the same pace? 

A series of studies suggests weight loss drugs may be linked to a lower risk of developing several cancers, including breast, lung and pancreatic cancer.

And why do musicians across the Middle East may be missing out financially? 

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We often talk about the Strait of Hormuz in terms of oil, gas, shipping routes and global trade. But on board the vessels caught up in this crisis are more than 20,000 seafarers, unable to leave, and waiting for clarity on when it will be safe to move. 

AI may feel invisible, but behind every prompt, image, search and video is a rapidly expanding physical system: data centres, cooling systems, chips, electricity grids, critical minerals and, eventually, electronic waste.

We look at the UAE’s first health insurance add-on that freezes a customer’s premium for up to five years. 

When does normal bird behaviour become a pest problem? Why are some sites seeing far more activity than others? And what can be done to manage birds humanely and safely in urban spaces? 

A growing network of cooled walkways inside parks in Abu Dhabi is being introduced to help residents walk, exercise and use community facilities even during the summer heat.

And if you are planning a team activity this summer, what if it could be more than just a day out of the office?

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Dozens of vessels have reportedly made the crossing in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks despite threats ranging from sea mines to missile attacks. How exposed is global shipping, and what risks remain?

The UN is warning the world to prepare for what could become one of the strongest El Niño events in decades. So can artificial intelligence help us forecast dangerous heatwaves before they strike? 

Cybercriminals are moving faster in the UAE, with automated attacks up 62 per cent and password reset attacks up 300 per cent, according to new data.

We also speak to an Emirati cybersecurity researcher about the technology she’s built to detect manipulated images, video and audio.

And do you know why you get brain freeze whenever you eat ice cream?

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If you work in the private sector, you should have received your salary latest by today, 1st of June. That's under the updated wage protection rules from Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. It's removed a 15-day grace period, a buffer you might say for employers. For employees, that offers clarity and certainty, but for some SMEs, the issue is timing.

The UAE is advising citizens not to travel to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan unless necessary, following Ebola-related health developments in the region. We get the latest information about Ebola virus with global health specialist Dr Margaret Harris.

The Emirates is lowering the age of legal adulthood from 21 to 18. What does it actually mean in practice, and what rights and responsibilities will now apply from the age of 18?

Jewellers are seeing growing demand for what some are calling “self-engagement” or “commitment-to-self” rings.

And can mosquitoes become attracted to insect repellant?

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The deadline for the UAE climate law is fast-approaching. By the end of the month, businesses will be required to measure, report and work to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. But are they ready?

As we face record-breaking temperatures here in the UAE, and Europe also sees summer highs striking before spring is even over, is it time to start naming heatwaves like we do hurricanes? 

A major new UAE report claims that more effective obesity intervention could add $51 billion to the country’s GDP by 2031.

Falling birth rates are now a global concern, with populations shrinking in more than two-thirds of countries worldwide. We ask if technology is making it harder for people to couple up, settle down and start families.

And we discuss the groundbreaking satellite system that can potentially detect poachers before they strike. 

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The National Centre of Meteorology has issued a weather alert, with temperatures forecast to exceed 50 degrees Celsius in parts of the country during the Eid Al Adha break.

Students and parents here in the UAE are raising concerns about a new CBSE re-evaluation process, after some pupils said their marks did not reflect their expected performance.

We also look at the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda that has prompted emergency funding, travel screening and concern about cross-border spread. 

Researchers in China have found a way to hide chat bot commands inside ordinary audio. The concern is that a malicious audio clip could quietly tell an AI system what to do, without users noticing. 

And could palm oil be made without palm trees?

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