Sharjah Children Reading Festival

Instagram star Samira Kazan turns cooking into a colourful adventure at SCRF 2025 with rainbow hummus

@alphafoodie founder wows audience with vibrant take on Levantine cuisine, teaching children the power of experimenting with colours, flavours — and life.

Sharjah, April 29, 2025

It was a riot of colours and flavours at the Cookery Corner of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) 2025 as award-winning food blogger, recipe developer, and influencer Samira Kazan took the stage to showcase a vibrant world of Levantine cuisine.

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Business & Investments

RetailGPT: An AI-powered ally for UAE retailers

Dubai, UAE; 29 April 2025: As Dubai plays host to the world’s most forward-thinking minds at Dubai AI Week, RetailGPT, a generative AI Platform designed to bridge digital and physical retail, is showing how the sector can align with the country’s tech-enabled transformation.

A study of the retail market in the UAE shows that E-commerce, while growing rapidly, only represents about 15% of the market but is the primary driver of recent growth – a signal that UAE retailers must connect their digital and physical worlds to stay relevant, and  RetailGPT is built to do just that.

Sadique Ahmed, Pathfinder CEO

Backed by over 20 years of consumer behaviour data from tech solutions provider Pathfinder, RetailGPT turns shopper insights into action. The mobile-first platform uses Generative AI to help supermarkets personalise how they engage with customers – suggesting what they may want to see, buy, or return for, based on real patterns of behaviour.

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Business & Investments

United Foods Company reports strong FY2024 performance

Board of Directors proposes 100% cash dividend of paid-up capital, reflecting robust financial performance and dedication to consistent returns to shareholders

Financial Highlights (Year ended 31 December 2024):

  • Sales volumes increased 5.9%, highlighting strong market demand across core categories
  • Gross revenue reached record of AED 601.7 million, up from AED 589.4 million in 2023
  • Gross profit expanded 8% to AED 99.6 million, underscoring operational efficiency
  • Profit before tax and remuneration is increased by 22% to AED. 37.5 million
  • Net profit after tax and remuneration was AED 30.8 million
  • Earnings per share increased 11% to AED 1.02 (2023: AED 0.92), representing stronger shareholder returns
  • Total assets increased to AED 439.4 million, while equity reached AED 344.5 million

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 29 April 2025 – United Foods Company (PSC) (DFM: UFC), a leading UAE-based food manufacturing and distribution company, announced financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2024.

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Sharjah Children Reading Festival

Japan’s Airfootworks’ gravity-defying act at SCRF 2025fills young audiences with awe and inspiration

Trailblazing Japanese troupe brings their signature ‘floating’ illusion and boundary-pushing dance to the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, inspiring a new generation of performers

Sharjah, April 29, 2025

The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) welcomed Airfootworks – Japan’s gravity-defying acrobatic act, who gave hundreds of schoolchildren an electrifying performance.

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Sharjah Children Reading Festival

Education systems must evolve to nurture creativityin the age of AI, acclaimed authors opine at SCRF 2025

Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival panel stress the urgent need for collaboration between families, schools and policymakers to foster creativity and critical thinking

Sharjah, April 29, 2025

Education systems worldwide are at a critical crossroads, caught between the industrial-age model of standardisation and the fast-changing demands of a digital, AI-driven world. That was the resounding message from a panel discussion on “Education Systems and Students’ Creativity” held at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) on Monday.

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