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Saudi Communications Ministry, Savvy Sign MoU to Develop Gaming, Esports Talent at LEAP 2026

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
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Saudi Communications Ministry, Savvy Sign MoU to Develop Gaming, Esports Talent at LEAP 2026

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Savvy Games Group signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop national talent, build career pathways, and support the growth of startups in the gaming and esports sector.

The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the tech event LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, aims to contribute to the development of the sector and boost its competitiveness.

The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation between the two sides to leverage MCIT's talent pool and programs.

It also provides for expanded collaboration with national academies, particularly Tuwaiq Academy and the Saudi Digital Academy, to equip national talent with the skills and expertise required in the labor market.

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports.

The cooperation will also make the Masterclasses program available to participants in the ministry's programs to develop their technical and professional skills and bolster their readiness to join the sector.

The MoU also provides for the integration of Savvy Academy's Nine66 Incubator Program with the Center of Digital Entrepreneurship incubator, expanding support for entrepreneurs and improving startups' access to specialized programs, expertise, and growth opportunities in the gaming sector.

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'Godfather' Star Al Pacino to Receive Life Achievement Award from Actors' Guild

FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
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'Godfather' Star Al Pacino to Receive Life Achievement Award from Actors' Guild

FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
FILE - Honoree Al Pacino appears at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Celebrated actor Al Pacino will receive a lifetime achievement award for his career achievements and humanitarian work next year, the actors' union SAG-AFTRA has announced.

The American actor, best known for playing Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" films is the 62nd recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. The union will present the award to him in Los Angeles at the 33rd Actor Awards on February 28, 2027 as part of a ceremony to be live-streamed on Netflix.

Pacino's recognition follows a career spanning more than six decades across film, television and stage. He is known for numerous memorable characters, including real-life police officer Frank Serpico ⁠in 1973's "Serpico," Miami ⁠mobster Tony Montana in 1983's "Scarface" and more recently Hollywood agent Marvin Schwarz in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

The award is presented annually to an actor who embodies the "finest ideals of the acting profession," according to the union.

"I wondered and wandered most of my life but have always felt at home with a script ⁠and my fellow actors," Pacino said in a statement from the actors' union.

"It's the work and the actors along the way that have been among the greatest joys of my life. It's an honor to be recognized by SAG-AFTRA in celebrating the journey," he added on Thursday.

Pacino won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in the 1992 film "Scent of a Woman," and has also won multiple Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards.

"Like so many actors, I have spent my life in awe and appreciation of the ⁠force of ⁠nature that is Al Pacino. When you watch him perform, you are witnessing a student and a master," SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin added in the statement.

Pacino also participated in the "America: A Tribute to Heroes" telethon following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and in 2009 received the Arthritis Foundation's Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award for his charitable work.

The 86-year-old actor was born Alfredo James Pacino in New York. He struggled throughout the 1960s to find steady work before his eventual film breakthrough in 1972's "The Godfather."

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, influencers and other entertainment and media professionals.

Entertainment

Ailing UK Director Mike Leigh Wishes He Could Make ‘100 More Films’

English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
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Ailing UK Director Mike Leigh Wishes He Could Make ‘100 More Films’

English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
English screenwriter and film director Mike Leigh attends the premiere of "Tender Loving Care" at the BFI London Film Festival 2026 in London, Britain, 15 October 2026. (EPA)

British filmmaker Mike Leigh told AFP Thursday he regretted he could not make "another hundred films" because of ill health, as he attended the London premiere of his prize-winning latest work.

Leigh, 83, has myositis, an autoimmune disease that affects the muscles, and now uses a walking stick.

"It's only because I have a medical condition that makes it difficult to do stuff, but otherwise I'd love to make a hundred more films," he told AFP on the red carpet at the London Film Festival ahead of the screening of his film, "Tender Loving Care".

"But it may not be possible, just from a practical point of view."

Leigh won the top prize last month at the San Sebastian film festival for the drama about social workers supporting vulnerable people, expected to be his last feature.

He won top prize at the Cannes film festival in 1996 for "Secrets and Lies" and at Venice in 2004 for "Vera Drake".

Actress Alice Bailey Johnson, one of the new film's stars, said she was "heartbroken" at the prospect that this could be the socially engaged filmmaker's final work.

"But if it is, then I can't express how honored I feel to be part of it," she told AFP before the screening.

"It's just a wonderful moment, and I will treasure it forever."

Entertainment

Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Bollywood Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India after Participating in Protest

12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 October 2026, India, New Delhi: Protestors confront the police during a demonstration by members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Photo: Yousuf Sarfaraz/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Indian authorities ‌have asked Bollywood actor Imran Khan to leave the country by the end of the month, saying he breached immigration laws after joining a protest against the election commission chief, local media reported on Thursday.

-Khan, 43, is a US citizen, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Under Indian law, foreigners' participation in political protests may be treated as a violation ‌of immigration and ‌visa rules.

- Khan was given ‌until ⁠October 28 to ⁠leave the country, the Times of India newspaper said

- The actor participated in a rally in Mumbai on October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list revisions that critics and opposition parties ⁠say favor Prime Minister Narendra ‌Modi's party

- "Apparently I’m ‌going for a drive," the actor wrote on ‌his Instagram on the same day, with ‌a picture of him posing with a victory sign in the back of what looked like a police van

- A complaint was filed against ‌him at a police station in Mumbai, saying Khan had breached the ⁠law, ⁠and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, a federal government agency responsible for tracking and monitoring foreign nationals in India, sent him a notice to leave based on the complaint, the Indian Express said

- Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters

- A nephew of actor Aamir Khan, and hailing from an illustrious film family, Imran acted in several hit Bollywood films from 2008 to 2015, before suddenly retiring.