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UAE-Produced “Mansour: Age Of AI” Premieres On Shahid & MBC3
The freshly reimagined version of the beloved children’s series explores themes including technology, friendship, and Emirati culture.
Bidaya Media and MBC Group have announced the release of the hotly anticipated “Mansour: Age of AI” an exciting new animated series produced in the United Arab Emirates.
The cartoon premiered on Sunday, September 15, and is now streaming on the Shahid platform, reaching audiences throughout the Middle East and North Africa, primarily in Arabic. Additionally, “Mansour: Age of AI” will air on MBC3 TV starting in October.
“We are excited to bring Mansour: Age of AI to leading streaming platforms and kids TV channels, such as Shahid and MBC3 respectively, across the MENA region in both Arabic and English,” announced Noura Al Hammadi, General Manager of Bidaya Media, adding: “This series not only entertains but also educates young people on crucial issues today that will increasingly be part of their lives in the coming years, which is central to Bidaya’s commitment to supporting young people across the region”.
“Mansour: Age of AI” is a fresh reimagining of the well-loved children’s cartoon “Mansour,” which has captured the hearts of millions across the Middle East and beyond. Celebrated for promoting Arabic culture, the original series not only received numerous awards but also amassed a staggering 3.3 billion online views.
Also Read: Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East
The reboot centers around Mansour, a 12-year-old tech-savvy boy, and Blink, a cheeky AI companion, as they explore the rapidly evolving world of futuristic technology.
Produced with support from Mubadala Investment Company and the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, “Mansour: Age of AI” masterfully weaves humor and adventure into its storylines while highlighting the vital themes of friendship and human connections in an increasingly tech-driven society. The series is not only entertaining for young audiences but also imparts valuable lessons on life and relationships while preparing future generations for a dynamic and diverse world centered around sustainability, AI, and even space travel.
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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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