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European Falcons Featured at Saudi Int’l Falcon Breeders Auction

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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European Falcons Featured at Saudi Int’l Falcon Breeders Auction

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh has kickstarted its first-ever edition of the International Falcon Breeders Auction (IFBA) with an exciting display of the French gyrfalcon. Bidders, breeders, and those with a genuine passion for falconry showed tremendous competition at the event.

Many had crossed thousands of miles to attend the IFBA affair featuring the finest breeds of European falcons and which took place in Malham, north of Riyadh.

The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC) is hosting the IFBA with over 14 worldwide countries participating from August 5th to September 5th, 2021.

Bidding on the gyrfalcon from the French SB Falcons farm opened at SAR15,000 and closed at a whopping SAR 24,000. Meanwhile, bidding on a German falcon from another competing farm opened at SAR 10,000 and closed at SAR14,000.

The IFBA featured seven of the finest European falcons presented from farms in Germany, France, Britain, and Spain on its fourth day.

The IFBA aims to provide the rarest falcon breeds in the Kingdom and the region, as well as to attract the most authentic international experiences in the field of falconry to the Kingdom, maintaining the Kingdom as an international destination for these farms, thereby expanding investment opportunities and creating direct and indirect business opportunities.

It is noteworthy to mention that the IFBA has been developed to become a full-service event at the SFC in Malham, where an area is designated for companies providing veterinary products, tools, and supplies for the breeding and training of falcons.

Last October, the Saudi Falcons Club had organized an auction for locally captured falcons, which was a resounding success, with sales of 102 falcons caught in different regions within Saudi Arabia exceeding SAR 10 million.

The auction’s fierce competition between buyers and presence of quality falcons deemed the first-ever locally captured falcon auction a success.

A global milestone was set by selling the world’s most valuable “Shaheen” falcon at the auction, which was entrusted to its owner for SAR 650,000.

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US Astronaut to Take her 3-year-old's Cuddly Rabbit Into Space

FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
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US Astronaut to Take her 3-year-old's Cuddly Rabbit Into Space

FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

When the next mission to the International Space Station blasts off from Florida next week, a special keepsake will be hitching a ride: a small stuffed rabbit.

American astronaut and mother, Jessica Meir, one of the four-member crew, revealed Sunday that she'll take with her the cuddly toy that belongs to her three-year-old daughter.

It's customary for astronauts to go to the ISS, which orbits 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, to take small personal items to keep close during their months-long stint in space.

"I do have a small stuffed rabbit that belongs to my three-year-old daughter, and she actually has two of these because one was given as a gift," Meir, 48, told an online news conference.

"So one will stay down here with her, and one will be there with us, having adventures all the time, so that we'll keep sending those photos back and forth to my family," AFP quoted her as saying.

US space agency NASA says SpaceX Crew-12 will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the orbiting scientific laboratory early Wednesday.

The mission will be replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January, a month earlier than planned, during the first medical evacuation in the space station's history.

Meir, a marine biologist and physiologist, served as flight engineer on a 2019-2020 expedition to the space station and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.

Since then, she's given birth to her daughter. She reflected Sunday on the challenges of being a parent and what is due to be an eight-month separation from her child.

"It does make it a lot difficult in preparing to leave and thinking about being away from her for that long, especially when she's so young, it's really a large chunk of her life," Meir said.

"But I hope that one day, she will really realize that this absence was a meaningful one, because it was an adventure that she got to share into and that she'll have memories about, and hopefully it will inspire her and other people around the world," Meir added.

When the astronauts finally get on board the ISS, they will be one of the last crews to live on board the football field-sized space station.

Continuously inhabited for the last quarter century, the aging ISS is scheduled to be pushed into Earth's orbit before crashing into an isolated spot in the Pacific Ocean in 2030.

The other Crew-12 astronauts are Jack Hathaway of NASA, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

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iRead Marathon Records over 6.5 Million Pages Read

Participants agreed that the number of pages read was not merely a numerical milestone - SPA
Participants agreed that the number of pages read was not merely a numerical milestone - SPA
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iRead Marathon Records over 6.5 Million Pages Read

Participants agreed that the number of pages read was not merely a numerical milestone - SPA
Participants agreed that the number of pages read was not merely a numerical milestone - SPA

The fifth edition of the iRead Marathon achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing 6.5 million pages read over three consecutive days, in a cultural setting that reaffirmed reading as a collective practice with impact beyond the moment.

Hosted at the Library of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and held in parallel with 52 libraries across 13 Arab countries, including digital libraries participating for the first time, the marathon reflected the transformation of libraries into open, inclusive spaces that transcend physical boundaries and accommodate diverse readers and formats.

Participants agreed that the number of pages read was not merely a numerical milestone, but a reflection of growing engagement and a deepening belief in reading as a daily, shared activity accessible to all, free from elitism or narrow specialization.

Pages were read in multiple languages and formats, united by a common conviction that reading remains a powerful way to build genuine connections and foster knowledge-based bonds across geographically distant yet intellectually aligned communities, SPA reported.

The marathon also underscored its humanitarian and environmental dimension, as every 100 pages read is linked to the planting of one tree, translating this edition’s outcome into a pledge of more than 65,000 trees. This simple equation connects knowledge with sustainability, turning reading into a tangible, real-world contribution.

The involvement of digital libraries marked a notable development, expanding access, strengthening engagement, and reinforcing the library’s ability to adapt to technological change without compromising its cultural role. Integrating print and digital reading added a contemporary dimension to the marathon while preserving its core spirit of gathering around the book.

With the conclusion of the iRead Marathon, the experience proved to be more than a temporary event, becoming a cultural moment that raised fundamental questions about reading’s role in shaping awareness and the capacity of cultural initiatives to create lasting impact. Three days confirmed that reading, when practiced collectively, can serve as a meeting point and the start of a longer cultural journey.

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Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve Launches Fifth Beekeeping Season

Jazan’s Annual Honey Festival - File Photo/SPA
Jazan’s Annual Honey Festival - File Photo/SPA
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Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve Launches Fifth Beekeeping Season

Jazan’s Annual Honey Festival - File Photo/SPA
Jazan’s Annual Honey Festival - File Photo/SPA

The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority launched the fifth annual beekeeping season for 2026 as part of its programs to empower the local community and regulate beekeeping activities within the reserve.

The launch aligns with the authority's objectives of biodiversity conservation, the promotion of sustainable environmental practices, and the generation of economic returns for beekeepers, SPA reported.

The authority explained that this year’s beekeeping season comprises three main periods associated with spring flowers, acacia, and Sidr, with the start date of each period serving as the official deadline for submitting participation applications.

The authority encouraged all interested beekeepers to review the season details and attend the scheduled virtual meetings to ensure organized participation in accordance with the approved regulations and the specified dates for each season.