Author: Trendici

Dubai has launched a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) workforce initiative to transform how government employees use and apply emerging technologies in public service delivery, marking another step in the UAE’s broader ambition to become a global leader in AI-driven governance. The AI Workforce Transformation Program (AI+), announced by Digital Dubai in collaboration with the Dubai Government Human Resources Department and the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence, will train 50,000 government employees across the emirate. The programme sits under the umbrella of the Dubai Future Foundation and is designed to embed AI capabilities across all levels of government operations. Officials…

Over the four-day Easter weekend of 18 to 21 April 2025, customers of British high street fixture Marks & Spencer (M&S) took to social media in droves to lament an apparent outage that was causing disruption to in-store contactless payments. At first glance, the disruption appeared to be the result of a run-of-the-mill IT glitch that happens from time to time, but by Tuesday 22 April, it was starting to become apparent that something far more sinister was going on. M&S shut down multiple public-facing services, such as online shopping and in-store click and collect, and CEO Stuart Machin…

Image: DC_Studio/Envato The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is moving toward its first mandatory national survey of data center energy use, reflecting a growing view in Washington that modeled estimates are no longer enough. Utilities and regulators are being asked to plan for rapidly rising AI-driven electricity demand, even though national reporting on data center power use remains incomplete. WIRED reported that the EIA told senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley it plans to develop a mandatory nationwide assessment after its pilot work is complete. What the EIA pilot is actually asking In its March 25 announcement, the EIA said…

Chris Smith bought his first Lotus, an Elise S, in 1996, when he was 23. “It was my only car and people said I was crazy,” he recalls. “But every journey was great fun. I had it for seven years.” He’d owned a BMW 3 Series before and it was another German car that subsequently replaced the Lotus. “I bought a Porsche Cayman,” he says. “It was a great car but it was big and too comfortable and lacked the Lotus magic.” So back to Lotus he went, this time buying a 2010 Elise S3: “It had the 1.6-litre Toyota…

The UK government has set up a £500m Sovereign AI Unit to turn British artificial intelligence (AI) research into companies that can stoke economic growth. Technology secretary Liz Kendall is launching the unit today, at the King’s Cross headquarters of self-driving car company Wayve. In a speech to an invited audience of investors, founders, researchers and policymakers, she will say: “If we believe AI is absolutely critical to our economic prosperity and our national security, which I do, then this fund, and the even bigger ambition behind it, is one of the single most important things this government will…

Dacia is priming a sub-£16,000 city car as one of four new EVs it will launch between now and 2030 – and it has now been spotted testing for the first time. The new model is twinned with the Renault Twingo, and the close ties between the two models are evident. Like its retro sibling, the Dacia has a raked C-pillar, curved roofline and rounded rear windows, plus similar surfacing around its wheel arches. Yet significant differences are also evident: it loses the Twingo’s signature rounded front light design for a thin gloss-black panel, like that on the Spring. At the…

As geopolitical tensions continue to shape the Middle East, the UAE’s education sector is undergoing a rapid transformation – one that places resilience, digital continuity and distance learning at its core. At the centre of this shift is Ankabut, an education technology (edtech) enabler, which is redefining how institutions prepare for disruption while accelerating long-term digital transformation. For Tarek Jundi, CEO of Ankabut, resilience is not a reactive measure but a foundational design principle. “When disruption strikes, we don’t scramble. We activate what we have already built,” he said. This approach has proven critical as schools and universities across…

Toyota has updated the Yaris Cross with a fresh look that brings it into line with the brand’s newer models, such as the Aygo X and Prius. Key changes include new LED headlights with C-shaped daytime running elements, plus a new honeycomb-style front grille. Inside, the sports seats that were previously exclusive to the second-from-top Excel trim level are now standard on Design, a grade below. Design also gains ambient lighting and a wireless phone charger as standard. Excel, meanwhile, gains a power-opening boot, and electric folding door mirrors have been made standard across the range. The entry-level 116bhp 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid…

You may already have read Illya Verpraet’s comprehensive report on the new Volkswagen T-Roc, dispatched from Lisbon in November. And, in just a couple of months’ time, you’ll be able to read an even more comprehensive review bolstered by economy and performance figures obtained at Horiba Mira proving ground, when the T-Roc undergoes its full road test. But in case this is somehow not enough T-Roc for you, here’s a brief report from the car’s fresh-off-the-boat arrival into the UK – a market where the first-gen model was spectacularly successful between 2017 and 2025, even as its specific niche became…

Japanese company now sells no electric cars in the UK as it struggles with electrification globally Take a look at Honda’s UK website and you will notice a big omission: no electric car. Given that car makers here are legally bound by the ZEV mandate to hit an EV sales ratio of 33% this year, how does the Japanese company avoid fines?  The EV paucity comes after Honda decided to axe the Chinese-built e:Ny1 after less than three years on sale in the UK. It struggled to generate organic sales without the help of discounts, selling just 7122 examples here. Honda has told…