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Meet Fahad Toonsi, Secretary-General of the Saudi Secretariat for the G20

Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Toonsi.
Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Toonsi.
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Meet Fahad Toonsi, Secretary-General of the Saudi Secretariat for the G20

Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Toonsi.
Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Toonsi.

Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Toonsi was chosen as secretary-general of the Saudi Secretariat for the G20 for his prestigious career in the Royal Court.

Coming from a background in economy, management and engineering, he has been tasked with organizing the G20 in Saudi Arabia, the world’s premier economic event that brings together the leaders of the globe’s top economies.

Toonsi has been an adviser at the Royal Court since December 2018. His appointment as secretary-general did not come out of the blue, but it is based on his experience in overseeing the implementation of various initiatives and programs that are part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

In 2011, he graduated with a bachelor’s in production engineering and mechanical systems design from the College of Engineering at King Abdul Aziz University. He then earned a master’s degree in international business management from London’s prestigious King’s College. He obtained a doctorate in financial economics and corporate governance from the same university in 2008.

Toonsi has presented several researches and studies on global governance. One tackled global governance in wake of the 2011 financial crisis and another in 2010 covered the application of governance systems in companies operating in the Middle East and North Africa. Toonsi has participated in numerous seminars and scientific conferences, including one on governance solutions held in the United States in 2014.

Toonsi has been the secretary-general of the Strategic Management Office of Vision 2030 and the secretary-general of the boards of directors for megaprojects which have been launched by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund: Qiddiya, Neom, AMAALA and the Red Sea Project.

From 2013 to 2015, Toonsi worked at the Saudi Crown Prince’s diwan as an advisor on governance in tackling affairs at councils and committees. He has been active in contributing to the development of projects chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the MiSK Foundation and Ministry of Defense.

Toonsi’s work has not been limited to Saudi Arabia, but he has been involved as manager on international corporate governance projects in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Toonsi was the first to reveal Crown Prince Mohammed’s idea to develop a logo for Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20.

In February, he revealed that the general secretariat of the G20 had approached various global companies for the design and many proposals were rejected. He said that he then met with the Crown Prince to discuss what feature really represents Saudi Arabia and the idea to host a local competition in Saudi Arabia to come up with the design was born.

Ultimately, a design presented by Saudi Mohammed al-Hawas won and is now the G20 2020 logo. The logo features the al-Sadu, or an embroidery form common in the Arabian Peninsula.

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Sports

Scaloni Running Out of Superlatives as Messi Continues to Break Records

Messi participated as a substitute against Jordan and succeeded in scoring Argentina's third goal (Reuters)
Messi participated as a substitute against Jordan and succeeded in scoring Argentina's third goal (Reuters)
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Scaloni Running Out of Superlatives as Messi Continues to Break Records

Messi participated as a substitute against Jordan and succeeded in scoring Argentina's third goal (Reuters)
Messi participated as a substitute against Jordan and succeeded in scoring Argentina's third goal (Reuters)

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he is running out of ways to describe the performances of Lionel Messi after seeing his captain become the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches in their 3-1 win over Jordan on Saturday.

Messi was introduced from the bench on the hour mark at Dallas Stadium and netted an 80th-minute free kick to continue a scoring run that saw him surpass the mark he shared with France's Just Fontaine and Brazilian Jairzinho.

"It's a little bit of an uncomfortable situation when people ask me that and I don't know what to say," Scaloni said when quizzed once again about Messi's performance.

"Today he could've played 90 minutes and, without ⁠undermining our opponent, ⁠he wanted his team mates to have time on the pitch and to save himself for what's coming up.

"He doesn't think so much about the numbers that people are talking about. The only word that comes to mind is that I'm surprised."

Messi's strike put the seal on a largely comfortable win for the champions, who took a two-goal lead into the interval ⁠following a Giovani Lo Celso free kick and a penalty from Lautaro Martinez.

Those goals were the first not scored by Messi for Argentina at the current World Cup, before the 39-year-old took his total to a tournament-leading six.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group J - Jordan v Argentina - Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas, US - June 27, 2026 Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni gives instructions to Lionel Messi during a hydration break REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Scaloni had made nine changes to his starting line-up and he was pleased with the performances of those who had featured little in the tournament so far.

"It's a very positive opinion that I have, especially as I was able to include all the players, this was a goal we always set for ourselves," Reuters quoted him as saying.

"I believe all of them deserve to enjoy ⁠coming to ⁠a World Cup and playing at a World Cup and we were able to give them minutes. I think they played quite well in a difficult match.

"They showed me today that I can count on them."

Argentina next take on Cape Verde in the round of 32 in Miami and Scaloni said he would not underestimate the debutants.

"Based on what I've seen, I'm not surprised," he said of their progress to the knockout rounds. "They're a good team, they have made it very difficult for the three opponents they have played.

"Spain couldn't beat them, Uruguay couldn't either. They're a fast team, they play well with a high caliber of play. I can guarantee you they're a team that's going to make it difficult for us."

Technology

Google Limits Meta’s Use of its Gemini AI Models, FT Reports

(FILES) A photo taken on May 19, 2026 shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google displayed on a smartphone (bottom) in front of the Google's logo on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
(FILES) A photo taken on May 19, 2026 shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google displayed on a smartphone (bottom) in front of the Google's logo on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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Google Limits Meta’s Use of its Gemini AI Models, FT Reports

(FILES) A photo taken on May 19, 2026 shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google displayed on a smartphone (bottom) in front of the Google's logo on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
(FILES) A photo taken on May 19, 2026 shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google displayed on a smartphone (bottom) in front of the Google's logo on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Google has put limits on Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models after the social media company sought more computing capacity than the rival tech group could provide, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Google, owned by Alphabet, told Meta around March it could not meet the full Gemini capacity the company had sought to purchase, the newspaper said, adding ⁠that the shortfall disrupted ⁠and delayed some of Meta’s internal AI projects.

Several other Google clients have also been affected, though to a lesser extent, according to the report. Meta has been particularly impacted due to its exceptionally high ⁠demand for Google’s models, the FT said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.

Due to the restrictions, Meta has encouraged staff to be more efficient with AI tokens, the units that measure AI usage, the FT report said.

Even as companies ⁠continue ⁠to spend billions on chips and data centers, they are still struggling to secure enough computing power to support the growing demand for AI services.

Revenue at Google Cloud grew to $20 billion in the first quarter ended March, but CEO Sundar Pichai said computing power constraints prevented even higher growth and contributed to the cloud unit's backlog nearly doubling quarter on quarter.

World

France Records 1,000 Excess Deaths During Record-breaking Heatwave

Tourists with umbrellas walk in Paris during a heat wave, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Tourists with umbrellas walk in Paris during a heat wave, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
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France Records 1,000 Excess Deaths During Record-breaking Heatwave

Tourists with umbrellas walk in Paris during a heat wave, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Tourists with umbrellas walk in Paris during a heat wave, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heatwave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher.

Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about ⁠deaths in residential ⁠care and homes.

Europeans have been enduring blistering conditions during a heatwave that has been linked to dozens of deaths - shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure.

Scientists have said the heatwave, which ⁠began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average.

The heatwave has been moving east. But while France's weather agency said the extreme heat had diminished in most parts of the country, some areas in the northeast were still under a ⁠heatwave ⁠advisory, Reuters reported.

Rooftops are seen during a heat wave in Lyon, central France, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper that the impact of the heatwave could linger for as long as 10 days after the weather had ebbed.

"The episode is not finished," she told broadcaster BFM.

Most of the deaths involved people aged 65 and older, though the health effects of the extreme heat affected all categories of the population, Sante Publique said.