Latest news with #BlueTeam
Arab Times
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Arab Times
Kuwait begins intense training ahead of Asian Futsal Cup qualifiers
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 3: The Kuwait futsal team kicked off training recently at the Jleeb Youth Center as it prepares to host the Asian Cup Futsal qualifiers from September 20 to 24. Under the guidance of Spanish coach Bruno Garcia, 22 players are currently participating in the sessions. Training will continue until August 21, when the team will leave for an overseas training camp in Spain. This camp will feature several friendly matches to help the squad sharpen its skills. The team is scheduled to return from Madrid on September 4, after which they will hold an internal training camp from September 9 to 14. During this period, the Blue Team will play two friendly matches against Vietnam on September 11 and 13. Following these friendlies, the team will enter its final preparatory camp starting September 18 to finalize its readiness for the qualifiers. The team is placed in Group A alongside Australia, Mongolia, and India. The Blues begin their campaign against India on September 20, followed by matches against Mongolia on September 22, and Australia on September 24. The tournament features eight groups, with the top two teams from each group plus the seven best second-place teams advancing to join host Indonesia for the 18th edition of the Asian Cup, scheduled to start next January.
Arab Times
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Arab Times
Kuwait falls to Egypt, remains winless at the Arab Basketball Championship
MANAMA, July 28: Kuwait endured its third consecutive defeat at the 26th Arab Basketball Championship, falling to Egypt 65-96 in the third round of the tournament being held in Bahrain until August 2. In other results from the round, Algeria beat the UAE 99-61, while Tunisia edged past host Bahrain 97-86. At the end of the third round, Tunisia and the UAE led the standings with 5 points each, having secured two wins and one loss. Egypt and Algeria followed with 4 points apiece from two victories. Bahrain also had 4 points, but from one win and two defeats. Kuwait (3 points) remained winless, while Qatar trailed with 2 points from two losses. As a result of the defeat, Kuwait lost its chance to contend for a top-three finish. The Blue Team will sit out the fourth round and return to action tomorrow against Algeria in the fifth round. Previously, Kuwait had lost to the UAE 79-87 and Tunisia 61-86. The loss to Egypt was further compounded by an injury to Kuwaiti player Hussein Ashkanani, who suffered a severe shoulder dislocation during the match. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he required surgery. Awaid Al-Enezi, head of the Kuwaiti delegation, expressed gratitude to Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, for personally sponsoring Ashkanani's treatment. Al-Enezi commended Sheikh Isa's continued support and contributions to Bahraini and Gulf basketball.
Elle
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
All the Brutal Games Played in 'Squid Game' Season 3
Spoilers below. The dust has finally settled on Squid Game season 3, but some of those games are still living in our heads rent-free. While previous seasons tortured players with bloody rounds of red light, green light, spinning top, and more, the final chapter upped the ante with some of the deadliest contests yet. From extreme versions of hide-and-seek to jump rope, here's what the battle royale consisted of in Squid Game's final season. Season 3 began with a chilling reinvention of a childhood classic, hide-and-seek. The rules are simple: Contestants are divided into two teams by the random draw of blue and red balls. The Blue Team, armed with keys, must hide from the Red players and try to unlock the right door to exit the course within 30 minutes. Meanwhile the Red Team, equipped with knives, is tasked with hunting down and killing the Blues. The stakes are clear: Failure to eliminate at least one Blue player results in immediate execution for the Red players. Blue players who are unable to escape will be eliminated as well. In a macabre twist before the game, players are allowed to negotiate their fate by swapping roles, which is essentially an invitation to betray—or be betrayed—before the first move is made. As the stakes get higher in episode 2, so does the tension. The Blue Team's keys are revealed to be of three distinct shapes—circle, triangle, and square—and all three are needed to unlock the right door. This means players will have to cooperate and escape together, or steal one another's keys, to make it out alive. Innocent playground games are once again taken to a lethal extreme in Squid Game season 3. In this version of jump rope, players must traverse a bridge while leaping over a swinging rope, all under the gaze of giant dolls Young-hee and Cheol-su. The challenge is as much about timing and nerve as it is about endurance: to pass, players must reach the other side within 20 minutes. The order in which they cross the bridge within the time limit, however, is entirely at their own discretion. To make the course even more dangerous, players must cross a gap in the middle of the bridge, or fall stories below to their death. As the fourth episode commences, the jump rope ordeal persists, but with a devastating twist: Player 222, Kim Jun-hee, has died and her baby, who was born during the games, must now bear her mother's number. The new addition makes the stakes all the more stressful for the other players, who are now pitted against each other and an infant. In true Squid Game fashion, the penultimate game is a test of both strategy and savagery. Players ascend a sequence of geometric pillars—shaped as a square, triangle, and circle—each serving as the stage for a brutal pushing contest. Survival demands that the players push off at least one contestant per round. Each round is governed by a strict 15-minute limit, initiated only when the players press a button. Those who survive each round get to move onto the next pillar and so forth, until there is only player left standing. The series finale unfolds atop the final pillar of Sky Squid Game, where the remaining contestants grapple with the ultimate question of humanity: How much are they willing to sacrifice to survive? In this bleak social experiment, the games are not only dangerously clever, but also reveal the deepest and darkest facets of the human condition.
The Sun
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Building cyber-resilient workforce
IN today's hyper-connected global economy, cybersecurity can be a strategic risk at the highest levels of leadership – not just a technical issue buried within IT departments. As cyber threats continue to grow in frequency, sophistication and impact, the need for a cyber-resilient workforce is no longer optional; it is a national economic and security imperative. From a senior management perspective, there is an increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals who can translate technical risks into financial and operational terms, develop business continuity plans and strategic incident response playbooks, and foster organisational cultures that prioritise cyber resilience at every level. There is urgent need for deep technical specialists – ethical hackers, cloud security architects, threat intelligence analysts and secure software developers – roles requiring technical mastery in highly specialised domains. As such, higher education institutions must step forward, not only to supply technical talent but to shape the next generation of strategic leaders who possess strategic management capabilities and technical excellence. Designing curriculum to meet industry needs To meet the rising expectations of the industry, universities must adopt an agile and integrated cybersecurity education model by: • Embedding cybersecurity education across disciplines – not limiting it to computer science but also introducing it into business, law, engineering and healthcare curricula. • Offering dual-track programmes: one for technical specialists and one for cyber-aware managers, policymakers and executives. • Constantly refreshing academic content in line with technological shifts such as AI, IoT, 5G and quantum computing threats. Curriculum development should be co-designed with industry partners, cybersecurity firms and government agencies to ensure alignment with real-world challenges, regulatory demands and technological advancements. Importance of hands-on training While higher education institutions serve as good platforms for theory-based knowledge, it is equally important to prioritise experiential learning environments that simulate real-world threat landscapes. These can include ethical hacking labs, (where students explore system vulnerabilities within controlled and ethical frameworks), Red Team/Blue Team exercises (simulating offensive and defensive cybersecurity scenarios to build critical thinking and adversarial resilience) and cyber range platforms (replicating enterprise digital ecosystems under attack, to train students in incident response, forensics and cyber crisis management). Additionally, leading universities are now leveraging innovation accelerators or cybersecurity innovation hubs to drive applied research, commercialisation and real-world impact in cybersecurity. Such platforms serve multiple purposes such as: • Nurturing cybersecurity-focused start-ups and spin-offs, led by students, researchers and faculty entrepreneurs. Funding applied cybersecurity research projects addressing industry pain points like ransomware defence, cloud security hardening and AI-based threat detection. • Creating a bridge between academia and industry, piloting cybersecurity innovations in operational environments. • Hosting hackathons, innovation challenges and incubation programmes to accelerate student-led cybersecurity solutions from idea to impact. Through these accelerators, universities can move beyond teaching cybersecurity – they become ecosystem builders for cybersecurity innovation. Role of certifications, internships and mentorship programmes In today's cybersecurity job market, academic qualifications must be ideally complemented by industry-recognised certifications such as CISSP, CEH, CompTIA Security+ and cloud-specific credentials. Forward-thinking universities integrate certification preparation into their curricula, allowing students to graduate not only with a degree but also with certifications that signal immediate employability. In addition, structured internship programmes can place students in cybersecurity roles across various industries – from banking and healthcare to critical infrastructure. By complementing this, mentorship initiatives can connect students with cybersecurity professionals, including CISOs and security entrepreneurs, offering career guidance, industry insights, and leadership development. By offering certifications, internships and mentorship opportunities, universities can provide students with a full-stack cybersecurity education experience – blending knowledge, experience and professional networks. In conclusion, higher education institutions have a unique and critical role in shaping the future of cybersecurity. By designing interdisciplinary, industry-aligned curricula; investing in experiential learning environments and innovation accelerators; and forging strong government and industry partnerships, universities can develop cyber-resilient leaders and innovators who will safeguard our digital future. In cybersecurity education, the stakes are high – and the time to act is now. Mohd Roydean Osman is the vice president of Innovation and Commercialisation at Taylor's University's Centre for Research and Enterprise: Knowledge Transfer and Commercialisation.
Focus Malaysia
11-07-2025
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
The role of higher education in building a cyber-resilient workforce
IN today's hyper-connected global economy, cyber-security is a strategic risk at the highest levels of leadership—not just a technical issue buried within IT departments. As cyber threats grow in frequency, sophistication, and impact, the need for a cyber-resilient workforce is no longer optional; it is a national economic and security imperative. From a senior management perspective, there is growing demand for cybersecurity professionals who can translate technical cyber risks into financial and operational terms, design business continuity plans and strategic incident response playbooks, and build organisational cultures that value cyber resilience from top to bottom. From a technical management perspective, the urgent need is for deep technical specialists: ethical hackers, cloud security architects, threat intelligence analysts, secure software developers—roles requiring technical mastery in highly specialised domains. As such, higher education institutions must step forward, not only to supply technical talent, but to shape the next generation of strategic leaders who possess both strategic management capabilities and technical excellence. Designing a curriculum to meet industry needs To meet the rising expectations of the industry, universities must adopt an agile and integrated cybersecurity education model by: Embedding cybersecurity education across disciplines—not limiting it to computer science, but also introducing it into business, law, engineering, and healthcare curricula; Offering dual-track programmes: one for technical specialists, and one for cyber-aware managers, policymakers, and executives; and Constantly refreshing academic content in line with technological shifts such as AI, IoT, 5G, and quantum computing threats. Curriculum development should be co-designed with industry partners, cybersecurity firms, and government agencies to ensure alignment with real-world challenges, regulatory demands, and technological advancements. The importance of hands-on training While higher education institutions serve as good platforms for theory-based knowledge, it is equally important to prioritise experiential learning environments that simulate real-world threat landscapes. These can include ethical hacking labs, (where students explore system vulnerabilities within controlled, ethical frameworks), Red Team/Blue Team exercises (simulating offensive and defensive cybersecurity scenarios to build critical thinking and adversarial resilience) and cyber range platforms (replicating enterprise digital ecosystems under attack, to train students in incident response, forensics, and cyber crisis management). Additionally, leading universities are now leveraging Innovation Accelerators or Cybersecurity Innovation Hubs to drive applied research, commercialisation, and real-world impact in cybersecurity. Such platforms serve multiple purposes such as: Nurturing cybersecurity-focused start-ups and spin-offs, led by students, researchers, and faculty entrepreneurs; Funding applied cybersecurity research projects addressing industry pain points like ransomware defense, cloud security hardening, and AI-based threat detection; Creating a bridge between academia and industry, piloting cybersecurity innovations in operational environments; and Hosting hackathons, innovation challenges, and incubation programs to accelerate student-led cybersecurity solutions from idea to impact. Through these accelerators, universities move beyond teaching cybersecurity—they become ecosystem builders for cybersecurity innovation. The role of certifications, internships, and mentorship programmes In today's cybersecurity job market, academic qualifications must be ideally complemented by industry-recognised certifications such as CISSP, CEH, CompTIA Security+, and cloud-specific credentials. Forward-thinking universities integrate certification preparation into their curricula, allowing students to graduate not only with a degree but also with certifications that signal immediate employability. In addition, structured internship programmes place students within cybersecurity roles across industries—from banking to healthcare to critical infrastructure. While mentorship initiatives pair students with cybersecurity experts, CISOs, and security entrepreneurs, providing career guidance, professional insights, and leadership development. By offering certifications, internships, and mentorship opportunities, universities provide students with a full-stack cybersecurity education experience — blending knowledge, experience, and professional networks. In conclusion, higher education institutions have a unique and critical role in shaping the future of cybersecurity. By designing interdisciplinary, industry-aligned curricula; investing in experiential learning environments and innovation accelerators; and forging strong government and industry partnerships, universities can develop cyber-resilient leaders and innovators who will safeguard our digital future. In cybersecurity education, the stakes are high—and the time to act is now. ‒ July 11, 2025 Ts Mohd Roydean Osman is the Vice President of Innovation & Commercialisation at Taylor's University's Centre for Research & Enterprise: Knowledge Transfer & Commercialisation. The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia. Main image: Tech Wire Asia
