The Agenda

Have you ever read a comment online and wondered whether a real person wrote it? This week, a senior UAE official warned that social media bots are being used to inflame tensions between countries in the region. 

Do you understand your child's slang terms?

We're living longer, but how many of those extra years are we actually spending in good health? 

Divers off the coast of Turkey say they’ve found the oldest shipwreck in the world.

Yas Island is gearing up for one of its busiest periods of the year, with Formula 1, international concerts, championship golf and comedy shows all on the calendar over the next few months. 

And would you still order food online if you knew it would never arrive?

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Attacks on container ships in the Strait of Hormuz are rising to record levels. What does it mean for shipowners trying to get cargo around the world for their customers?

Apple says extraordinary demand for its foldable iPhones means some customers will have to wait until January for their new devices. But the wider smartphone market is facing a chip shortage, so what does that mean for us as consumers with Christmas approaching?

We’re also opening the phone lines for our regular consumer hour, your chance to ask Dubai’s Consumer Protection Department about your rights. We have a particular focus on holiday homes in Dubai, but you can ask director Ahmad Ahli about any consumer issue.

Would you spot a scam if it called you today? Dubai has created a virtual Emirati grandmother to help.

And imagine ordering dinner from a food delivery app. You choose your meal and watch the driver approach, but the restaurant doesn’t exist and the food never arrives. That’s the whole point of a bizarre new website attracting millions of visits. We speak to the founder.

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One of Britain’s top schools is ditching laptops and bringing back pen and paper, saying pupils concentrate better and finish homework faster. 

So have schools gone too far with technology? We hear from Zaineb Mahdi, who oversees digital technology and innovation at GEMS Education, and from a neuroscientist whose research suggests children understand more of what they read on paper than on a screen.

Driverless electric Glydways pods are being tested at Bluewaters Island in Dubai. How do they work, and when could we all be travelling in one? We speak to the CEO of Glydways as he takes a ride around the city.

A new study shows grandparents are spending big on luxury holidays instead of leaving it all to their children. It’s called SKIING - Spending the Kids’ Inheritance. Is it happening in your family?

And finally, Finland has opened Quietchella, a festival with no stage lights, no speakers and no headline acts. The stars are the wind, the birds and the bog moss.

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The UAE’s space economy has grown by 27% in a year, with private companies now behind almost half of all spending. 

HE Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, explains the role of the private sector in that figure.

Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar shares his views on Dubai’s investment outlook as business leaders gather at the RISE Expo, and we look at how new entertainment attractions are bringing more tourists to the country.

After heavy rain, hail and lightning across parts of the UAE, with more unsettled weather forecast, is your home ready? We find out how to protect it from leaks, damp and mould.

Mike Rigby, the new head of IAAPA MENA, the region’s theme park trade body, says the Middle East is giving Orlando a run for its money. He helped build parks like Legoland Dubai’s water park, and tells us how the business is doing now.

What happens to the sofa you’ve outgrown? A new UAE-born app wants you to give it away for free, so someone nearby can use it.

And Oaka, an energetic Australian koolie her last family found too much to handle, has been chosen as the new koala rescue dog. Josey Sharrad of the International Fund for Animal Welfare tells Katie why she stood out.

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Hackers turned the fridges in hundreds of French supermarkets into ovens, heating freezers to 50 degrees and forcing shops to throw away their fresh and frozen food. How did it happen, and could it happen here?

Meanwhile, could leaving a bad Google review land you in legal trouble in the UAE? Dubai Police are issuing a warning about when online criticism crosses the line.

Plus, putting a child through 14 years of private school in Dubai can cost more than 400,000 dirhams. Instead,would you also start a pension for a baby? 

One dad has, for his two children, and they can’t touch it until they’re 57. Is it smart planning, or are there better ways to save for your kids?

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Around 400 Filipino expats have lost their hard-earned money and some are also facing mounting overstay fines after an alleged massive visa scam committed by a UAE-based company. We speak to two victims who paid around AED 9,000 and AED 15,000 each and until now waiting if their visas will still be processed.

What legal options do the victims have? Can they still get their money back? We get the answers from Atty Barney Almazar.

We give you the latest update on Saudi Arabia.

Why are we so fascinated by skyscrapers?

And the DP World Tour is drawing a line in the sand, telling golfers they'll have to choose between its tournaments and LIV Golf from next season. 

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is mourning the death of twelve people killed in an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. The mass casualty event also saw more than 300 people injured, some of them critically according to Saudi authorities. How significant is this for KSA and international aviation? 

Dubai is cracking down on shared housing, with new rules that could force some tenants to move out. We get the latest straight from the Dubai Municipality.

A mother here in the UAE is reportedly planning to give ChatGPT a role in raising her son after she dies, allowing AI to continue offering him advice and guidance. But could artificial intelligence really preserve a parent's personality? 

More GCC citizens could soon be able to visit Europe without applying for a Schengen visa.

And could coffee waste be the secret to growing more food in the desert?

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Dubai bans families and single tenants from sharing a unit under tougher shared housing rules. What does it mean if you rent a room, and could you be forced to move?

KHDA wants to hear from parents stuck in school traffic. Why is it running a survey on the school commute?

Half term is here, and UAE staycation bookings are up nearly a third. Where is everyone heading, and are there last-minute bargains?

Abu Dhabi’s packed entertainment season adds Black Coffee and The Phantom of the Opera. Has international confidence returned?

Do cats make us happier? New research says countries with more cats are happier, with a strange twist involving a parasite.

And we meet the 16-year-old who is the youngest member of Dubai Police’s triathlon team.

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Abu Dhabi researchers have launched a new AI model designed to understand Emirati Arabic. We'll discuss why the UAE needs its own ChatGPT equivalent.

As global technology leaders gather in Abu Dhabi for AI Everything, the boss of French AI company Mistral says the UAE needs powerful AI systems under its own control to defend against cyber threats.

Thousands of robots will be roaming the streets of Abu Dhabi within months - that's one of the revelations from the event. We find out what they'll be doing and how soon you could see one.

We're also looking at the war for UAE talent. If you quit tomorrow, could your boss stop you going to work for their biggest rival? Top lawyers say employers are increasingly enforcing non-compete clauses. We find out why, and how much breaking one could cost you.

It's still months away, but we're already thinking about Christmas, because we're being warned it could cost more this year. We dig into a new global survey warning of double-digit cost increases across supply chains.

Meanwhile, Dubai is getting a colourful new look, with redesigned street signs and neighbourhood names. We find out why your house could soon be getting a number plate.

And scientists have discovered that butterflies may use the patterns on their wings to create optical illusions, confusing predators and helping them escape being eaten.

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The UAE has begun putting limits on how much salt, sugar and fat can go into some of the foods we eat every day. The new resolution covers packaged foods made in the UAE or imported, including by companies in free zones. It starts with bread, sweetened milk drinks, flavoured yoghurt and laban, salty snacks and processed cheese. The limits come down in stages until the end of 2030. On The Agenda, we get more details about the new resolution from Nouf Khamis Al Ali, Director of the Health Promotion Department, Ministry of Health and Prevention.

What does an AI-native city looks like?

If you have a pool in the UAE, you may have noticed the costs to keep it are rising. Why?

And some parents are posting their children's pictures in Facebook groups, asking strangers to remove the watermark, and photographers say that puts children at risk.

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