HID Global^®, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, today announced a new app, HID Approve^™, which turns a mobile device into a handheld validation device or “authenticator” that verifies online access and transaction requests, such as digital banking transactions or corporate VPN access. HID Approve adds a new level of trust for consumers and employees to transact securely. 

Instagram have just launched two new ways to share in the moment on Instagram -- live video in Instagram Stories, and ephemeral photos and videos for group and 1:1 conversations in Direct. Both of these features share a similar goal: to give people the flexibility to capture and share all their moments in a fun, low-pressure way.

Today we're making the biggest update to Instagram Stories since launch.

Twitter and Sela Sport today announced they will partner to live stream matches during the 2017 Arab Championship, the Arab world's inter-club football tournament, to a global audience. This marks the first live streaming deal for football on Twitter with a partner in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Al Masah Capital Limited, an alternative asset management firm based in Dubai, has signed a new partnership with LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, to bring the art and science of social selling to its operations across the region. Leveraging the power of a 433 million member professional network, Al Masah Capital will implement LinkedIn’s latest generation of Sales Solutions to quickly find, qualify, and create new leads, while allowing sales management to accelerate the social-selling capabilities within the organization.

For the second year in a row, the Apps and Social Platforms industry struggled to create intimate bonds according to MBLM’s UAE Brand Intimacy 2018 Report, the largest study of brands based on emotions. Brand Intimacy is defined as a new paradigm in marketing, which leverages the emotional bonds between a person and a brand. The study reveals that top intimate brands deliver superior results related to revenue and profit growth by creating deeper relationships with their consumers.

Bareburger, the better-for-you burger chain known for their commitment to serving food made with fresh, local ingredients, has taken a huge stride towards embracing 3D technology with the announcement of their future plans to introduce an Augmented Reality Menu. The first step towards this initiative, offers customers a ‘taste’ of the future technology plans, launching in the form of a new Augmented Reality Snapchat Filter, engaging audiences with a special celebration of the Holy Month.

Poor management, distraction, social media, and excessive workloads are the top four reasons for human error in the workplace, according to a snapshot poll* conducted by Centrify, the leader in securing hybrid enterprises through the power of identity services, at this year's recently concluded GITEX Technology Week 2017 in Dubai, UAE.

Recent research from Hotels.com™ has revealed that Chinese millennials born after 1990 are pushing the boundaries of international travel, increasing their travel expenditure in the past year by a staggering 80 per cent to fund social media-influenced trips full of edgy experiences, high tech accommodation and exotic delicacies.

Twitter’s public nature allows Muslims all over the world to access real-time information and connect with one another during #Ramadan. From faith and wellness to food and entertainment, live conversations unfold during the holy month keeping everyone informed about #WhatsHappening in the moment.

In times of crisis, connecting is more important than ever. Today we're announcing an update to Safety Check, called Community Help, that lets people ask for and offer help such as food, shelter and transportation after a crisis.

Facebook is challenging developers across the Middle East and Africa to create innovative bots in the Bots for Messenger Developer Challenge.  This aligns with Facebook’s commitment to promote innovation in the Middle East and Africa by providing developers and start-ups with the tools they need to build, grow, monetize, and measure products and services.

In a recent interview on Sharjah’s first English language radio channel, Pulse 95 Radio, Brittany Kaiser who worked as a former director at the London-based political analysis company, Cambridge Analytica, which is facing unprecedented backlash for being involved in two of the most controversial campaigns in history – Brexit and the 2016 US presidential campaign – has told listeners that most election laws have not developed as far as the technologies running them have.

Facebook has announced that Arabic is now available as a language on the latest version of the Facebook for iPhone. In addition to the existing availability of Arabic on desktop and Android, this move will help people across the region use Facebook in their native language. This is just another example of Facebook's commitment to the MENA region.

Throughout the week at GITEX, young entrepreneurs have had the unique opportunity to benefit from the experience and expertise of some of the world’s most successful startup heroes at the GITEX Global Startup Movement.

Facebook IQ commissioned research company Kantar Media to conduct a biometrics lab, and a survey among 1,999 people ages 18+ in the UAE and UK who regularly watch short-form videos online.

Your birthday is always a particularly fun day, and millions of people celebrate their birthdays every day on Facebook. In fact, more than 100 million birthday posts are made every day. Starting this week, people can continue the party with new, customized birthday videos from Facebook that stitch together the messages received from friends and family and photos you're tagged in on your birthday.

Today, Facebook is launching Watch Party to all Groups around the globe. Watch Party is a new way for people to watch videos on Facebook together in real time. Once a Watch Party is started, participants can watch videos, live or recorded, and interact with other viewers around them in the same moment. Facebook continues to develop new ways to bring people together around video; creating connections and igniting conversations— and Watch Party, is the next step in bringing this vision to life.

Facebook announced today that Workplace (formerly known as Facebook at Work) will now be available to any organization across the MENA region that wants to use it. Workplace is a communications platform that helps organizations collaborate better, using familiar Facebook features like News Feed, Groups and Messages.

Facebook has announced a partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid School for Communication (MBRSC) at the American University in Dubai, to launch a dedicated Blueprint program to empower pre-professional students with Facebook Advertising knowledge, and introduce them to partners for internship opportunities, to provide them with real-life experience before they are hired for full-time roles.