COLOMBO — Sri Lanka deployed troops to its main maximum-security prison in Colombo and two other jails on Friday, following unsuccessful breakout attempts in which three inmates were killed and 23 wounded, a government minister said. Authorities suspect possible sabotage and a wider conspiracy as a series of disturbances across several prisons in the country appeared to have been coordinated. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament that unrest had recently been reported at the Negombo, Mahara, Magazine, Kuruwita and Pallansena prisons. “When all these incidents are considered together, they appear to be organized acts of sabotage and part of…
Author: Editorial Team
RIYADH — The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan is not intended to establish a military axis or sectarian bloc and is not linked to nuclear ambitions or an arms race, Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Amb. Dr. Rayed Krimly said on Friday. Krimly said the agreement is focused on building sustainable defense capabilities and does not come at the expense of Saudi Arabia’s strong and strategic relations with its Gulf, Arab and international partners. He stressed that the pact does not threaten the security of any country in the region and should not be…
Powered by the GPT-5.6 model family, ChatGPT Work combines connected workplace context, research, content creation, and task execution as OpenAI expands AI beyond conversational assistance Dubai — OpenAI has outlined its expanding vision for agentic AI in the workplace, positioning ChatGPT Work as a system capable of moving beyond answering questions to researching, creating and completing complex professional tasks. During a recent media education session, OpenAI demonstrated how ChatGPT Work brings together its latest GPT-5.6 models with connected workplace applications, files, research tools and automation capabilities. The session was hosted by Andy Rogerson, EMEA Communications at OpenAI, and Conor Spicer, Technical Lead…
DUBAI, 7th August, 2026 (WAM) — Dubai Police have launched Horizon X, a new initiative designed to transform future opportunities into innovative projects that strengthen institutional readiness and accelerate the development of next-generation policing solutions. Led by the Future Foresight Centre, the initiative supports Dubai Police’s commitment to embedding a culture of innovation and future foresight by enabling general departments and police stations to identify emerging trends, develop forward-looking ideas and convert them into practical projects that support strategic priorities and enhance policing services. Expert Brigadier Hamdan Al Ghassieh, Director of the Future Foresight Centre, said Horizon X reflects Dubai…
DUBAI, 7th August, 2026 (WAM) — Dubai Airports hosted the Dubai Mallathon initiative, launched by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, at Dubai International (DXB), in line with the leadership’s vision of making health and wellbeing a natural part of everyday life, and bringing the citywide wellbeing initiative to an airport environment for the very first time, by transforming DXB into an indoor walking track. The first Dubai Mallathon at DXB session took place at Terminal 3 Departures, bringing together Dubai…
MAKKAH — Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on Friday, establishing a collective defense framework under which any armed attack against one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all. The agreement was signed by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during the Makkah Joint Defense Summit at Al-Safa Palace. The leaders sign the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on Friday. — SPA Erdoğan and Sharif visited Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Custodian…
TEHRAN — Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator has slammed what he described as Amercan “theater diplomacy on loop,” referring to President Donald Trump’s pattern of repeatedly ordering attacks on Iran and then calling them off. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made the remarks in a social media post on Thursday, just days after Trump called off his latest planned strikes, claiming that “the perimeters of a deal” had already been agreed to with Tehran. “‘Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. Ghalibaf said the use of bullying, broken…
SHARJAH, 7th August, 2026 (WAM) — Invest Bank (INB) today announced a 61 % year-on-year increase in Profit Before Tax to AED80.5 million. According to its financial results for the half-year ended 30th June, 2026, the Bank continued to strengthen its performance momentum, recording second-quarter Profit Before Tax of AED58 million, up 159 % from the first quarter. The Bank continued to strengthen its financial position during the same period, with total assets reaching AED16.1 billion, up 27 % year-on-year and 14 % year-to-date, marching towards the highest-ever balance sheet since inception. Customer deposits grew to AED13.3 billion, up 30…
Rakuten Mobile recently utilised Anthropic‘s Claude model as part of their efforts to expand the capabilities of its corporate generative AI service. The Japanese operator is employing the model to boost the research and data analysis capabilities of Rakuten AI for Business, a shift it stated would help companies to make decisions. Research capabilities cover collection and organisation of external information, a function Rakuten expects to help companies conduct market research, assess their competition and plan strategy. The data analysis element involves assessing internal data to highlight trends and present the information in a comprehensible format. Rakuten expects the facility…
SANAA — As many as 58 members of the Yemeni government forces were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday in drone and missile attacks carried out by Houthi rebels, according to medical sources. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks were in retaliation for what they described as a recent military buildup against the Iran-backed group. The attacks killed at least 38 government troops and injured 29, two medical sources told AFP. Military sources have told the pro-government newspaper Aden al-Ghad and the anti-Houthi Belqees TV website that more than 40 troops were killed. The exact death toll was…