KANSAS CITY — Lionel Messi celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday while enjoying one of the most memorable World Cups of his remarkable career, with Argentina already through to the knockout stage and the captain standing alone as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. Messi marked the occasion alongside his Argentina teammates at the team’s training base in Kansas City, Missouri, during his sixth World Cup appearance and his fifth birthday celebration at the tournament. The Argentina captain has been the driving force behind his team’s strong start, scoring all five of Argentina’s goals so far — including a hat trick…
Author: Editorial Team
MANAMA — Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states welcomed all efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions across the region. They underscored the importance of safeguarding security and stability while ensuring freedom of navigation along vital maritime routes. The US-Iran de-escalation agreement must guarantee Gulf security and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the ministers emphasized. They made the remarks during a joint ministerial meeting between GCC foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday. Their discussions centered on the latest developments concerning the Iranian issue and the strategic…
MANAMA — Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed regional and international developments, most notably the US-Iran agreement and the progress made in negotiations between them. Their meeting was held on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United States in Manama on Thursday. Topics such as importance of freedom of international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions, and the developments in Gaza and Lebanon were also figured in their talks. The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Minister…
Shaffra, a Saudi-based enterprise AI company building autonomous AI workforce infrastructure for governments and large organisations, has launched Subconscious AI at The Shaffra Convergence in Riyadh. Introduced before senior government representatives, enterprise leaders, investors, and technology stakeholders, Subconscious AI marks a major step in Shaffra’s vision to move enterprise AI beyond chatbots and copilots toward intelligent AI workforces that can operate with memory, context, and governance inside real organisations. Subconscious AI has been developed as the cognitive intelligence layer within Shaffra’s Enterprise AI Workforce Platform. It enables autonomous AI teams to remember what matters, prioritise relevant knowledge, and reason with…
MANAMA — Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized their commitment to solidifying regional security and further bolstering strategic partnership between the two sides. Their discussions at the GCC-US Joint Ministerial Meeting, held in Manama on Thursday, focused on the latest developments regarding the Iranian issue and the strategic partnership between the two sides. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is among the GCC foreign ministers attending the meeting. Addressing the meeting, Rubio said the United States wanted to ensure the interests of its partners and allies in…
MIAMI GARDENS — Neymar made his long-awaited return to international football on Wednesday as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer came off the bench in a 3-0 victory over Scotland at the World Cup. The 34-year-old forward entered in the 76th minute at Hard Rock Stadium, marking his first appearance for Brazil since 2023 after recovering from a right calf injury that had sidelined him for the team’s opening two matches. Neymar’s return came as Brazil secured top spot in Group C and advanced to the knockout stage. “I’m very happy to be wearing the national team jersey again after three years,”…
RIYADH — More than 1.3 million productive pomegranate trees in Saudi Arabia produce over 39,700 tons annually, meeting growing consumer demand during the summer season. The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture said that pomegranates are among the Kingdom’s promising economic crops. As part of its “Sweet in Season” campaign, cultivation is concentrated in Asir, Makkah, Tabuk, Qassim, and Al-Baha, with varying production levels in other regions. The campaign aims to introduce consumers to the Kingdom’s diverse local fruits and their peak seasons throughout the year, promote national products, raise quality and safety standards, and improve the marketing of locally…
SEATTLE — Qatar crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their final Group B match on Wednesday, ending their campaign with just one point. Karim Alajbegovic opened the scoring for Bosnia before Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada scored an own goal, with substitute Ermin Mahmic adding a late third. Hassan Al Haydos scored Qatar’s only goal. The defeat left Qatar bottom of Group B with one point after opening the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland before suffering consecutive defeats against Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina…
WASHINGTON —The White House on Wednesday asked the US Congress to approve $87.6 billion in additional funding, mostly to meet “urgent needs” connected with the US war on Iran, setting the stage for another fight with lawmakers already frustrated with the conflict. The supplemental funding request, posted on the White House website and transmitted to Congress, includes $67.15 billion for the military, in addition to some $1 trillion appropriated last year and another $1.5 trillion President Donald Trump wants for next year. The White House Office of Management and Budget sent the formal request for the funds on Wednesday in…
Raja Agrawal, VP-Middle East and Africa, Nebius. The AI cloud company deepens its regional push, with the Dubai-based hire leading go-to-market strategy across enterprises, governments, and research institutes. Nebius, the AI cloud company listed on Nasdaq, has appointed Raja Agrawal as Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, deepening its commitment to one of the world’s fastest-growing AI and cloud markets. Based in Dubai, Agrawal leads the company’s go-to-market strategy for the region, expanding customer adoption across enterprises, governments, research institutes and the public sector. Agrawal brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of enterprises and…