At a Vatican ceremony led by Pope Leo XIV, an Italian teenager known as “God’s Influencer” will become the first millennial Catholic saint.
Carlo Acutis, who passed away from leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15, is to be buried in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.
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Carlo was born in London, England, in 1991, to Italian parents. He used his computer skills to record online miracles and other aspects of the Catholic faith.
Catholic youth around the world were drawn to the story of the cyberapostle, who is alleged to have attended Mass daily and shown kindness to bullied children and homeless people. He will now have his status at the same level as Francis of Assisi.
The teenager’s body is found in a glass-walled tomb in Assisi, a medieval city and pilgrimage site in the central region of Umbria, in jeans and a pair of Nike trainers, and is surrounded by tens of thousands of people annually.
On April 3, 2025, a group of believers prayed in front of Carlo Acutis’ tomb in Assisi’s Shrine of the Renunciation, a branch of the Church of Saint Mary Major.
Carlo, according to the Vatican, has performed two miracles since his death, the first of which was the recovery of a Costa Rican student who had suffered a pancreatic malformation. Both parents pleaded with the teenager for assistance.
The mother of Carlo, Antonia Salzano, claimed that her son had the ability to see that “every person is unique and unrepeatable, originals and not photocopies,” according to the AFP news agency.
Leo will celebrate the anniversary of Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian man who was known for helping those in need and passed away from polio in the 1920s with a ceremony scheduled for April, which was later postponed due to Pope Francis’ death.
Carlo’s sainthood was brought forward by Francis because he believed the church needed a person like him to convert young Catholics to the faith while addressing the benefits and drawbacks of the digital era.
In a 2019 document, Francis wrote, “Carlo was well aware that the entire apparatus of communications, advertising, and social networking can be used to lull us, to make us addicted to consumerism and to buying the most recent thing on the market.”
He was aware of how to communicate values and beauty using the new communication technology.
Pope Leo XIV makes a wave to the faithful and some people pose Carlo Acutis for an open-air audience at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square.
Leo inherited the cause, and he also cited artificial intelligence as one of humanity’s greatest challenges.
The website about alleged Eucharistic miracles that Carlo founded is his most well-known tech legacy, which is available in nearly 20 different languages.
After warning Palestinian residents to leave the area or risk being killed as a result of the ongoing siege and widespread starvation in the area, the Israeli army bombed another high-rise in Gaza City.
In a map released on Saturday, the Israeli military designated more high-rise buildings as targets. In the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, it bombed the 15-story Soussi Tower, which is opposite a building belonging to the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA).
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Given how long the people are allowed to evacuate, “These attacks are causing panic among the people.” According to Hani Mahmoud, a journalist from Gaza City, “Half an hour or an hour is not enough time for people to leave these buildings.”
Without providing any further details, the Israeli military claimed in a statement that Hamas used the buildings to gather intelligence to track down the Israeli army. Additionally, it claimed that armed Palestinian organizations had dug a tunnel and planted “numerous explosive devices” there.
The claims were refuted by the Gaza-based government media office, which called them “part of a systematic deception used by the occupation to justify the targeting of civilians and infrastructure” and forced Palestinians to flee their homes. Israel allegedly destroyed 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure, according to the statement.
In response to Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City despite international criticism, the 12-storey Mushtaha Tower, which was bombed and ground zero on Friday, was close by.
The Israeli military has killed at least 68 Palestinians and injured 362 others in the Gaza Strip over the past day, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health on Saturday afternoon.
23 aid workers were killed and 143 were hurt by Israeli forces, totaling 23. Israel-caused starvation also claimed the lives of at least six more Palestinians, bringing the total number of starvation deaths during the war’s nearly two years to 382, including 135 children.
Since Israel’s initial attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 64, 368 Palestinians have been killed and 162 have been wounded.
Israel bombs the area and establishes a new “humanitarian zone.”
According to sources at Nasser Hospital in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a tent that housed displaced people in the area claimed the lives of at least two Palestinians and many others.
The Israeli army designated this area as a “humanitarian” or “safe” zone in the beginning of the conflict, but it has since been bombed repeatedly, killing hundreds of displaced civilians.
The Israeli army had announced the establishment of another similar area in al-Mawasi, which runs along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, just before the most recent bombings. It claimed that the area would have facilities like field hospitals, water lines, desalination facilities, and food distribution.
Palestinians mourn the loss of loved ones killed by the Israeli military on September 6, 2025 [Hamza ZH Qraiqea/Anadolu]
According to a report from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Palestinians don’t trust the so-called humanitarian area because tents there have already been attacked by Israel numerous times and aren’t safe.
However, residents of Gaza City have few other choices: if they stay, they run the risk of dying, and if they leave, they face road dangers and may need to move their valuables south.
After weeks of ground assaults, those who have returned to their homes in Zeitoun, a neighborhood in Gaza City, discovered everything they owned destroyed.
Aqeeel Kishko, a resident, told Al Jazeera, “What we have built in 50 years was flattened in five days.” Buildings, roads, and infrastructure remain intact. We are walking on both dead bodies and ruins with our loved ones.
Nohaa Tafish claimed that the largest urban center in Gaza would never be resurrected.
What would people go back to? She said, “There can’t be anything else to go back to.”
A well-known Iranian singer was due to play a massive concert at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Tower as part of a state-organized demonstration of national unity following the 12-day conflict with Israel by now.
However, the authorities canceled Homayoun Shajarian, a traditional singer and the son of Mohammad Reza Shajarian, who had been receiving much publicity at the late Friday concert.
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Shajarian announced online that the 30-member orchestra’s instruments and equipment were not permitted on the site two days prior to the event. He added that there was no way to organize the crowd, which could have a million people in it.
Videos that were widely circulated online claimed that Tehran Municipality employees welded shut-off gates to the tower’s square, preventing the installation of audio equipment. The square, which was extensively decorated a month earlier for the first month of the Islamic calendar’s first month, is frequently used for state-organized events.
The hardline former lawmaker Alireza Zakani, who has served as Tehran’s mayor since 2021, suggested there was a lack of coordination between government officials, and that the event should have been held in a stadium instead.
Iranians in Tehran, Iran [File: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]
The incident sparked a furore online, with many interpretations pointing to political and social divides at a time when the West may soon be lifting sanctions against Iran and there are worries that Israel and the United States will launch an Iranian missile attack.
The free concert in Tehran’s heart was a welcome idea for some people because it could provide a rare opportunity for those experiencing hardship while also surviving in an ailing economy plagued by persistent, ongoing inflation.
The concert was seen as an attempt by the state to stifle popular support while leaders in Israel and the West openly discuss regime change in Iran, according to some Iranians who are opposed to the theocratic establishment abroad.
Some of Shajarian’s foreign-based critics of Iran’s establishment were critical of the singer’s alleged support for the state at the concert, especially given that his late father was known as the “voice of the people.” Other critics had anticipated that a sizable crowd of people would organize anti-government demonstrations.
Hamid Resaee, a hardline member of parliament, suggested the government planned the rushed concert to “distract the people” from the country’s severe power blackouts, water crisis, and devaluing currency.
The culture ministry expressed regret for the cancelled event, saying that “we all lost” a missed chance for cohesion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is depicted on a billboard in Tehran, Iran. [File: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]
Local media largely supported the concert, with exceptions from hardline and conservative outlets, who generally oppose significant public events that are not entirely under the control of the state.
Even the pro-reforms Shargh newspaper criticised the anti-establishment diaspora for its criticism of the concert, calling them too extreme and “having taken the people hostage.”
Without any formal explanation as to why the concert had been blocked numerous times before and why it was approved this week, Shajarian claimed that he had originally requested permission to take the performance to the stage seven years ago and only recently received government approval.
The singer addressed the criticism in a lengthy post online after the event was called off. He argued that the effort was meant to avoid being “covering up problems, but to provide a moment of good feelings to people who deserve joy,” and that it should not be “entangled with politics.”
Outside pressure rises.
The Iranian state insists on unity despite the concert attempt’s failure and increasingly uses centuries-old Iranian history to spout nationalist ideas, something it lacked before the most recent conflict with Israel.
Authorities have spoken extensively about territorial integrity and cohesion among Iran’s various ethnic groups in recent months in Tehran and across the nation. They have also displayed banners depicting Persian kings defeating invading foes.
Iran has only recently been under increased pressure from the US, Israel, and their allies in Europe, with the intention of ending its nuclear program.
The remaining European signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement, which US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, are urging France, Germany, and the UK to reinstate all UN sanctions lifted as a result of the landmark agreement.
The nation’s markets are also tense because Western powers are attempting to blacklist Iran until a deal is reached regarding its nuclear program.
On Saturday, the US dollar changed hands in Tehran for about 1.02 million rials, which is a little better than the previous all-time low of 1.06 million rials, which was set earlier in the week.
When Carlos Alcaraz faces Jannik Sinner in the US Open 2025 final, the most intense rivalry in modern men’s tennis will start to unfold in New York.
For tennis fans, it’s a chance to watch the game’s current and future players compete in a Grand Slam final for the third time in 2025.
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As the year’s Grand Slams come to an end, the meeting gives the young stars an opportunity to earn yet another significant trophy.
Everything you need to know about the match is listed below:
The Alcaraz vs. Sinner US Open final will take place when?
Sunday at 2 p.m. (18:00 GMT) is the day of the game.
The final between Alcaraz and Sinner will take place where?
The Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York, is home to the renowned blue hardcourts that make up the final game.
What transpired during the most recent Alcaraz-Sinner game?
The pair last squared off in the Cincinnati Open final on August 18, but Sinner’s retirement caused the match to end prematurely. After 23 minutes of play, the Italian declared unwell in the sweltering conditions.
Alcaraz claimed the title of champion, but he later admitted that winning trophies is not his style.
Alcaraz has defeated Sinner how many times?
nine . Since their initial encounter in 2021, the Spaniard has outperformed his rival in 13 meetings.
In their five meetings in 2025, Sinner has won once.
When did Sinner last defeat Alcaraz?
Sinner won his first Wimbledon trophy in July after defeating Alcaraz. The Italian won his second Grand Slam of 2025 with a four-set victory in the close contest (4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4).
How long did the Alcaraz-Sinner match last in the French Open final?
In the French Open 2025 final, the young stars battled for five hours and 29 minutes to captivate audiences with top-notch tennis in one of the most entertaining Grand Slam finals ever to occur.
Alcaraz won his second Roland Garross title in a row by winning the five-set classic (44-6, 6-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6).
The French Open 2025 final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was five sets, five and a half hours long.
Alcaraz has won how many US Open titles?
One . Alcaraz won the US Open in 2022, marking his first Grand Slam victory. He had a shock second-round exit in 2024 at the hands of Botic van de Zandschulp and was unable to do it in 2023 when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
At the US Open, have Alcaraz and Sinner ever squared off against one another?
The pair’s only previous encounter at the tournament was in 2022’s quarterfinals. Their rivalry was ignited by yet another epic. Alcaraz won four sets in a five and a half-hour and 15-minute contest that ended in New York just before 3 a.m.
Alcaraz and Sinner have won how many Grand Slam titles?
Alcaraz has five titles to his name – one at the US Open (2022), two at Wimbledon (2023, 2024) and two at the French Open , (2024, 2025).
In addition to winning four Grand Slam titles, Sinner has won one at Wimbledon (2025), two at the US Open (2024), and two at the Australian Open (2024).
What are the overall stats for Sinner v. Alcaraz?
Win-loss record in 2025:
Alcaraz: 60-6 Sinner: 37-4
winning-loss record in a career
Alcaraz: 269-62 Sinner: 300-84
Titles in 2025
Alcaraz: 2 Sinner: 6
titles of careers
Alcaraz: 22 Sinner: 20
Money for a career
Alcaraz: $48.5m Sinner: $46.3m
[File: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images] Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
How did Alcaraz get to the US Open final?
First round: defeated Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Second round: defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
Third round: defeated Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
Fourth round: defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6, 6-3, 6-4
Second round: defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Third round: defeated Denis Shapovalov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Fourth round: defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals: defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals: defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
What was said about the final by Alcaraz?
Just the starting point for the match; I just wanted to maintain that level throughout the entire match.
I think I’m doing that in this tournament, which I’m very proud of.
What has Sinner said about the final in Alcaraz?
We like to see each other on the court because, given our ranking, it indicates that we are performing well in the tournament.
“Sunday is a very special day and an amazing final once more.
“It seems like our rivalry started here, playing a fantastic match. We are now two different players with different levels of confidence.
The US Open final will be held for what reason?
Following visits to the Super Bowl in February and the FIFA Club World Cup final in July, the US president plans to make his first major sporting event appearance at the tennis showpiece.
According to a US Tennis Association spokesman, the president will watch the final from his or her suite as a client guest.
Trump will be a guest of the association, but that is unknown. Trump will make his first Grand Slam appearance in New York since 2015 with the event.
Alcaraz said he would “try not to think” about the president’s presence at the final.
Although I don’t want to be nervous about it, I believe that watching a tennis match makes it great that there is a president there.
What does the US Open winner’s prize money consist of?
The winner will also receive a $5 million prize money in addition to a glittering trophy.
Where can I watch the US Open tennis final live on television?
Local and regional broadcasters as well as digital streaming services from around the world will broadcast the game.
On Sunday at 15:00 GMT, Al Jazeera Sport will broadcast the final live from the 15:00 GMT to 12:00 GMT.
This year’s Grand Slam final was Round III. Twitter.com/Twitter.com/mY6qIhkgl
Tunis, Tunisia – Volunteers at 61 Station Street in Tunisia are busy escorting and recording donations for the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, one of four Global Sumud Flotilla organizers, in an effort to end Israel’s occupation of Gaza.
The boats were initially scheduled to depart from Tunis on Thursday. However, the Tunisian boats will have to wait until the Spanish flotilla, which is being delayed by a storm, arrives that is led by, among others, Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist.
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On Sunday, the Tunisian flotilla will join the other one, with all the vessels heading eastward in parallel and heading eastward.
Doctors, activists, convoy organizers, lawyers, and social media influencers will be on board the vessels. Along with the holds are some heartfelt messages and gifts from Tunisian children to their counterparts in Gaza and cardboard boxes filled with infant formula and medicine.
Before even reaching Gaza’s territorial waters, the Israeli army has intercepted or attacked all of the seven flotillas that have entered the country since 2010. Conscience, which was only 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Malta’s shores, experienced two strikes from Israeli-armed drones on May 2.
Raring to leave
Tunis, Bizerte, Beja, Sousse, Sfax, and Gabes are all currently undergoing thorough preparations for the flotilla. Many of the volunteers who work in Tunisia’s donation centers have a close relationship with Gaza, and many have watched as more than 62, 000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombardment there for almost two years.
Many of you are familiar with the efforts of local political activist Hatem Laayouni and the Tunisian-led Sumud convoy that attempted to pass through the month prior.
Many people are now volunteering to supply and sail in the most recent flotilla, which seems to have made Gaza feel within reach. “Tunisians no longer believe that Palestine is far away. Nearly everyone in Palestine. A volunteer who uses the name Sahraoui asserts that it is undoubtedly not far away.
Volunteers from all over the world are participating, especially since Gaza is currently officially in a famine, and they are aware of their limitations.
The team that led the Maghreb flotilla has quickly put together a plan. The flotilla’s organizing committee launched a fundraising campaign and a request for in-kind donations on August 22. The vessels were purchased ten days later.
We’re good at sharing the number of boats, according to Ghassan Boughdiri, a member of the organizing committee, adding, “We have the exact number we need.”
Once the flotilla is ready to sail, Boughdiri confirmed that the names and number of participants would be shared.
Donations
Organizers are prepared to provide more donations once Israel lifts its blockade, with large amounts of donations already being collected and packed into cardboard boxes.
The only things left to do are getting the vessels equipped with wi-fi, cameras, life jackets, and other safety tools, after the preparations have been completed for the most part.
Tunisians continue to queue up long at Station Street to donate money and other items in exchange for this.
The number of people who showed up to give donations, according to Boughdiri, is what makes this campaign unique. “We’ve had people bringing five and 10 dinars]$1.70 to $3.40]. These five dinars are so priceless for us, especially if your day’s pay is [$6.80] per day. It demonstrates how effectively we are helping our neighbors in Gaza.
There is hope that the world will be forced to act if Israel attempts to violently stop the boats as the world’s population grows in support of the flotilla.
However, Israel still has a higher chance of using violence, despite international law allowing the flow of humanitarian aid on flotillas to crises.
A former member of the finance, energy, and foreign ministries, Anutin Charnvirakul, the newly elected prime minister of Thailand, has appointed a top oil and gas executive and diplomat.
Anutin made the announcements on Saturday, saying that a nation that is rife with political and economic unrest would gain confidence from his first cabinet picks.
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He described diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow, energy executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon, and economist Ekniti Nitithanprapas as “top executives in the organizations they will be responsible for”.
While Auttapol helmed the nation’s largest company, the state-owned energy firm PTT Group, Ekniti is a finance ministry official who was once seen as a potential candidate for governor.
As a fragile truce with neighboring Cambodia is in place, former permanent secretary Sihasak will step down as minister as a result of a five-day conflict that resulted in at least 43 deaths in July.
A day after Anutin was elected as prime minister, outperforming the most successful political party in Thailand’s history, the appointments were made official.
The ruling Pheu Thai party, the populist juggernaut of powerful billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who left Thailand late on Thursday for Dubai, where he spent the majority of his 15 years of self-imposed exile, was humiliated by Anutin’s victory over rival contender Chaikasem Nitisiri on Friday.
Anutin’s withdrawal from Pheu Thai’s alliance in June caused the political crisis, which was followed by last week’s dismissal by a Thai court of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter and protege.
Following Thaksin’s return from exile in August 2023, the Supreme Court will rule on his hospital stay, which some analysts predict will result in his jail sentence. The Constitutional Court last month cleared Thaksin of a royal insult case, promising that he would go back to Thailand for the verdict.
Anutin, a conservative with a power transcending party lines, gained control of parliament after forging an alliance and a pact with the progressive opposition and the People’s Party, the largest force in the chamber, and promising to hold a referendum on constitutional amendment amendment and hold an election in four months.
He urged people to unite late on Friday, saying that the government would “strictly enforce the law” and that all parties needed to “move our country forward in the manner that could compensate the opportunities that were lost.”
There won’t be any offering assistance to anyone, it won’t be used to hurt anyone, and no one will seek retribution for it.
