Tawakkalna monthly transactions reach 4.4 billion as Saudi app expands
UAE at the G20 finance meeting backs future skills and global debt action
Global Village Season 31 opening date: what Dubai visitors should know
Adobe and Humain AI firm launch $4 billion free tools deal in Saudi Arabia
Tim Cook last day as Apple CEO: John Ternus takes over $4 trillion firm
US ban on Chinese robots widens the AI supply chain fight with Beijing
TDRA grants Starlink license to provide satellite internet services in UAE
India’s economy beating estimates as Q1 FY27 GDP hits 7.8% in June quarter
OpenAI’s advertising revenue reaches $1 billion run rate before its IPO
Museum of the Future closure begins September 1 before 2027 Dubai relaunch
Edition 005 Aug 2026
Live News
News
Tawakkalna monthly transactions averaged more than 4.4 billion over the past six months, a figure that shows how deeply the platform now sits in daily life across Saudi Arabia. Alongside that count, the app drew 13.3 million active users each month. Dr. Esam Alwagait, director of the National Information Center at SDAIA, shared the data during a panel at the LEAP 26 conference in Riyadh on Tuesday. He said the volume points to how much people rely on the platform and how mature the Kingdom’s data systems have become.
What the numbers say about everyday use
Behind every count of Tawakkalna monthly transactions is a person renewing a document, checking a permit, or handling something that once meant a trip to a government office. The Tawakkalna app began as a health tool and grew into a single door for a wide set of Saudi digital government services. Eng. Ahmed Alsuwaiyan, governor of the Digital Government Authority, joined the same discussion. He said services from 62 government entities now run inside the app, a sign of how far Tawakkalna government integration has come. The panel looked at how bringing those services together changes the experience for the person on the other side of the screen.
Adobe and Humain AI firm launch $4 billion free tools deal in Saudi Arabia
- Adobe expanded its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s communications ministry and the Humain AI firm, opening free tools to eligible citizens and residents.
- The 12-month offer covers Adobe Firefly Standard and Adobe Express Premium features, with a value that Adobe puts at over $4 billion.
- A new image model built around Saudi culture will let users make pictures from prompts written in Arabic.
- Access starts reaching users late in 2026, with a startup track to follow in early 2027.
- AI & Tools
Tawakkalna monthly transactions and the 2030 goal
Alwagait laid out where the work is headed. By 2030, the plan calls for zero duplication of information, zero paper, and close to 100 percent proactive services. In practice, that means a service reaches you when you need it, without asking you to resubmit data the government already holds. Your privacy stays protected through the process. He framed the current results as a move toward an integrated, beneficiary-centered system rather than a finished product.
Reaching full integration of government app services is a starting line, not a finish. Alwagait described a shift away from searching through more than 1,700 separate services toward something that anticipates need. Artificial intelligence sits at the center of that change. The pilot phase of a smart assistant called Shamel now points people to the right service and steps, based on what their situation calls for. For someone facing a life event like a new job, a move, or a birth, the aim is a path that already knows the next step.
Why integration matters to the person using it
Alsuwaiyan said the real gain runs deeper than gathering services in one place. The point, he explained, is a government experience that holds together around the person using it, saving time and effort while lifting the quality of each service. He credited clear governance, shared standards, and national digital tools for that result. Rising Tawakkalna active users track with this steady expansion, and the growth in Tawakkalna monthly transactions reflects trust as much as convenience.
That trust carries weight in global rankings too. Alsuwaiyan tied the work to stronger efficiency in government spending and a better standing for the Kingdom in worldwide digital government measures. For the millions who open the Tawakkalna app each month, the payoff is simpler. Fewer forms, less waiting, and a service that meets them where they stand.
- By icn@admin
HEADLINES
Advertisement
- UAE
UAE at the G20 finance meeting backs future skills and global debt action
- By Amira Khalil
- 3 min read
- India
India’s economy beating estimates as Q1 FY27 GDP hits 7.8% in June quarter
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 3 min read
- Insurance
UAE Insurance Sector Growth 2025: Total Assets Reach AED164.9 Billion Mark
- By Rami Al-Saadi
- 3 min read
- UAE
UAE at the G20 finance meeting backs future skills and global debt action
- By Amira Khalil
- 3 min read
- India
India’s economy beating estimates as Q1 FY27 GDP hits 7.8% in June quarter
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 3 min read
- Insurance
UAE Insurance Sector Growth 2025: Total Assets Reach AED164.9 Billion Mark
- By Rami Al-Saadi
- 3 min read
- Taxes
UAE vape tax from September 1: what the AED 1 per mL rule means for you
- By Leila Al-Khatib
- 3 min read
- Aviation
New Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) targets 260 million passengers
- By Mariam Al-Yazidi
- 3 min read
- Starlink
TDRA grants Starlink license to provide satellite internet services in UAE
The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has granted Starlink Satellite Communications LLC a 10-year General Space Services License, authorising the company to establish, operate, and manage a public satellite communications network and provide broadband satellite internet services in the UAE, WAM announced. The license marks an important milestone in the UAE’s regulatory framework […]
- By Tariq Al-Mansouri
- 3 min read
- Apple Inc.
Tim Cook’s last day as Apple CEO arrived on August 31, 2026, ending a run that began when Steve Jobs resigned in
- By Salma Al-Tamimi
- 3 min read
- Tesla Inc.
Pushing the Tesla Cybertruck into the Luxury Segment With a $5,000 Hike
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 3 min read
- META
Meta’s Bombastic $17 Billion Settlement Signals Shift for Teen Safety Rules
- By Tariq Al-Mansouri
- 3 min read
- Trade
Turkiye Exports to Islamic Countries Reach $41.5 Billion in 2026
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 4 min read
- Media
- By Mariam Al-Yazidi
- 3 min read
Mada Media Books AED1.5 billion in Media contracts Across 683 Dubai Assets
- Apple Inc.
Tim Cook last day as Apple CEO: John Ternus takes over $4 trillion firm
- By Salma Al-Tamimi
- 3 min read
- Tesla Inc.
Pushing the Tesla Cybertruck into the Luxury Segment With a $5,000 Hike
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 3 min read
- META
Meta’s Bombastic $17 Billion Settlement Signals Shift for Teen Safety Rules
- By Tariq Al-Mansouri
- 3 min read
- Trade
Turkiye Exports to Islamic Countries Reach $41.5 Billion in 2026
- By Adnan Al-Jaziri
- 4 min read
- Media
Mada Media Books AED1.5 billion in Media contracts Across 683 Dubai Assets
- By Mariam Al-Yazidi
- 3 min read
- Free zone
Dubai Free Zones Ranked: The Top 10 That Decide Who Wins and Who Pays More
- By Leila Al-Khatib
- 12–14 min read
Entertainment
ICN RED
Global viral moments, fashion frontiers, sports, and the heartbeats of global music culture.
Trending Now
- Lamborghini
Lamborghini Revuelto SV arrives as brand’s most powerful car ever
The Lamborghini Revuelto SV launched Friday as a limited-edition hybrid version of the automaker’s V12 flagship, and the company is calling it the fastest, most powerful production car it has ever built. Only 1,963 will be made worldwide.
The number carries meaning. It marks the year Lamborghini was founded, a detail the brand has leaned on before with other limited runs. Buyers who secure one join a small club that tends to hold its value well after the sale.
What powers the Revuelto SV?
The Revuelto SV starts with Lamborghini’s naturally aspirated V12 engine and pairs it with three electric motors. Combined, the setup pushes output past 1,050 horsepower, enough to send the car from a standstill to 100 kph, or 62 mph, in 2.4 seconds. That places the Revuelto SV among the quickest production cars sold anywhere.
Alessandro Farmeschi, the Revuelto’s product line director, told CNBC the SV gives buyers a way to push further into what the platform can do. “The Revuelto SV gives our customers the opportunity to go beyond in terms of performance,” he said. He described the goal as building something race-oriented while keeping the experience fun rather than purely clinical.
The V12 remains central to that mission. Farmeschi pointed to engine sound as a defining part of what buyers expect from the brand. “The V12 has been the key since the very beginning, since the foundation of the company,” he said. The hybrid system adds power without pulling focus from that signature note.
Design changes built for the track
Lamborghini announced that beyond the powertrain, the Revuelto SV picks up sharper aerodynamic elements. Lamborghini reworked the fins, wings, and air intakes to direct airflow more precisely and generate added downforce at speed. A retuned suspension and new carbon-ceramic brakes back up the extra power, and a new Pilota driving mode unlocks a setup built specifically for track use.
The cabin follows the same theme. Lamborghini refitted the interior to feel closer to a race car or fighter jet cockpit than a road car. Buyers can choose sport seats built around a carbon shell, or step up to optional monocoque carbon fiber race seats. The latter trade some comfort for a more direct connection to the car, similar to what a driver would find in motorsport.
Pricing and demand for the Revuelto SV
The Revuelto SV starts at $741,172, a jump over the standard Revuelto that reflects both the added hardware and the limited production run. Lamborghini’s past limited editions have often sold out before the public even sees a formal announcement, and SV variants in particular tend to draw stronger demand and higher resale prices in the collector market.
Farmeschi framed the appeal beyond raw numbers. “When you buy a Lamborghini, you buy a Lamborghini because you want it, because you like it, you want to experience driving it, but also because it’s a car that keeps its value over time,” he said. For a car built in such small numbers, that combination of desire and scarcity tends to matter as much as the spec sheet.
Photo Credit: Lamborghini
- Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo and Georgina wedding: what happened at the private Cascais ceremony
The Ronaldo and Georgina wedding finally happened, and it looked nothing like the spectacle fans expected. Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez married in a private civil ceremony in Cascais, a coastal town west of Lisbon, on Tuesday, 11 August. Ronaldo’s management team confirmed the news. The couple kept it small. Only their five children were there.
They told the world in one image. Both posted a wedding photo on social media showing their rings. No press. No staged reveal. The picture did the talking, and it drew millions of reactions within hours.
A date with meaning
The timing was not random. The wedding fell exactly one year after Georgina announced their engagement. On 11 August 2025, she shared a photo of her engagement ring on Instagram and confirmed that Ronaldo had proposed. Twelve months later, they made it official. Fans had waited a long time for this. For years, people wondered whether the couple would marry at all.
Their story started in Madrid in 2016. Georgina was working at a Gucci store when the two met. The relationship went public the following year, and they have built a family since. Georgina became a public figure in her own right during those years, known to a wide audience beyond football. The Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez wedding closes a chapter fans have followed for almost a decade.
The venue mix-up
The Ronaldo-Georgina civil ceremony stayed short and personal. Their two daughters, Alana Martina, born in 2017, and Bella Esmeralda, born in 2022, were present. Ronaldo is also father to Cristiano Jr. and twins Eva and Mateo. All five children stood with the couple.
The family has known loss too. In April 2022, while Georgina was expecting twins, the couple lost their baby son. Bella, his twin sister, survived. That history sits behind the quiet tone of the day.
The Ronaldo and Georgina wedding had fed speculation across Portugal for weeks. Days before the real event, hundreds of people gathered outside Funchal Cathedral in Madeira. Rumours had spread that the pair would marry there. The ceremony at the cathedral belonged to a different Portuguese couple. If you followed the chatter, you were probably watching Madeira. The couple were somewhere else.
Cascais gave them the privacy they wanted. The Ronaldo wedding in Cascais, Portugal, stayed secret until the photo appeared. The town sits about 20 miles from Lisbon and draws visitors for its beaches and quiet streets. It suited a couple who kept the guest list to their own children.
Where Ronaldo stands now
Ronaldo, 41, plays for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. He joined after leaving Manchester United at the end of 2022. He has won the Ballon d’Or five times and has worn the shirts of Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Now Cristiano Ronaldo is married to Georgina, and the two begin their next stage as husband and wife. The Ronaldo and Georgina wedding stayed their own, quiet and close, in a life lived mostly in public.
- Myriam Fares
Myriam Fares first concert in the Netherlands arrives at Amsterdam hall
Myriam Fares’ first concert in the Netherlands is scheduled for Friday, October 2, 2026, at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The Lebanese singer will share the stage with her full live band. SOUK Amsterdam Arabic Festival presents the show, and an afterparty follows the performance. This date is her Dutch debut after more than two decades on stage.
Who is Myriam Fares
Fares is known across the Arab world as The Queen of Stage. Her career began in 2003 and has spanned more than twenty years. Live shows blend Arabic musical traditions and instruments with modern pop, choreography and dance. She works as a singer, performer and songwriter, drawing on influences from several parts of the Arab world. Beyond music, she has also worked as an actress, producer and entrepreneur.
The venue sits at the center of the plan. Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam ranks among the city’s best-known concert halls, and it has hosted the SOUK festival in past years. This edition places Fares in the Main Hall with her own band. The concert brings the performer to Dutch audiences for the first time. Arabic pop, dance and live music fill the evening inside the historic building. Myriam Fares’ first concert in the Netherlands caps a run of high-profile appearances abroad.
Recent releases and tour dates
Fares performed during the Qatar Formula 1 Grand Prix. She reached a wider global audience with Tukoh Taka, the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem for the 2022 World Cup, recorded with Nicki Minaj and Maluma. Her track Goumi became a global dance hit, with millions of people joining its challenge on TikTok. A Netflix documentary, Myriam Fares: The Journey, gave viewers a closer look at her personal life and creative work. Recent Myriam Fares tour dates and stage shows have carried her across the region and further afield. In 2025, she released La Habibi. Her latest single, Ma Btaarefne, arrived in June 2026 through her own label, Myriam Music.
How to attend the concert in the Netherlands
Planning for the first concert in the Netherlands starts with the ticket date. Myriam Fares concert tickets go on sale on Friday, August 7, 2026. SOUK Amsterdam Arabic Festival organizes the event, so ticket details run through the festival and the venue. The Main Hall seating and the planned afterparty give attendees a full evening rather than a short set. For fans across Europe, Myriam Fares’ first concert in the Netherlands offers a rare chance to see the performer live in the region. The date falls on a Friday, which suits travel plans for visitors from nearby countries.
- Movies
Marvel’s star Sebastian Stan welcomes first child with Annabelle Wallis, reports say
Sebastian Stan welcomes first child with partner Annabelle Wallis, several entertainment outlets reported this week. TMZ, People, and Us Weekly said the couple became parents in July. Neither Stan nor Wallis has confirmed the birth in public. The reports rely on sources described as having direct knowledge of the couple.
Stan is 43. Wallis is 41. The two have kept their private life quiet for years, and the baby news arrived the same way, through unnamed sources rather than a formal statement. Reporters have not learned the baby’s name, sex or exact birth date.
Reports say Sebastian Stan welcomes first child
Word that Sebastian Stan welcomes first child spread across entertainment sites within hours. Each outlet placed the birth last month. The reporting leaned on people described as close to the pair, not on any statement from the couple. That silence fits a pattern. Stan told Vanity Fair in 2025 that real privacy is hard to hold onto now, and he and Wallis have guarded theirs closely.
The pregnancy itself became public earlier this year. Stan confirmed it in a May 2026 interview with Deadline, and Annabelle Wallis, pregnant at the time, showed her baby bump on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival soon after. Before that, photographers had caught the couple on a walk in New York, where the bump was visible.
Sebastian Stan and Annabelle Wallis, a quiet couple
The pair were first linked in May 2022. They appeared together at Robert Pattinson’s birthday party in New York, and a since-deleted photo seemed to show them kissing. Wallis had ended a four-year relationship with actor Chris Pine not long before. For years, fans typed “Sebastian Stan girlfriend” into search bars, since the couple rarely appeared in public together.
They broke that habit once. At the 2025 Golden Globes, they made their red carpet debut as a couple. Stan won Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, for A Different Man. He closed his acceptance speech by pointing toward Wallis and saying, “Annabelle, I love you.” The two shared a kiss after the win.
Careers on either side of the birth
Stan built his name in Marvel films. Known to fans as the Winter Soldier, the Sebastian Stan Marvel run includes Avengers: Endgame and Thunderbolts, with Avengers: Doomsday still ahead. He also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Donald Trump in The Apprentice.
Wallis has her own slate. The Peaky Blinders actress Annabelle Wallis has appeared in The Mummy, The Tudors and the horror film Annabelle. She stars next in the action film Mutiny alongside Jason Statham, and she is set to appear in Netflix’s Unabomb.
Stan on becoming a father
Long before the phrase “Sebastian Stan welcomes first child” ran as a headline, the actor spoke about the role ahead. In a May interview with Deadline, he was plain about it. He said, “I want to be a good dad. I’m feeling the responsibility of being a good father. And not to mention a good man.” Age, he added, had shifted how he saw those roles. “I’m 43, and I feel, in a lot of ways, I’m just starting to learn now. It’s just crazy to me.”
He tied that view to his stepfather, whom he credited with a “quiet integrity” and “quiet strength.” Stan described a model of steady presence: “You’ve got to provide and protect.” With the birth now reported, the news that Sebastian Stan welcomes first child closes a chapter the couple had kept mostly to themselves.
Tawakkalna monthly transactions reach 4.4 billion as Saudi app expands
Tawakkalna monthly transactions averaged more than 4.4 billion over the past six months, a figure that shows how deeply the
- By Amira Khalil
UAE at the G20 finance meeting backs future skills and global debt action
The UAE at the G20 finance meeting brought a clear message to Asheville: economies grow when people gain new skills.
- By Amira Khalil