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Celebrities Join Prince William for Earthshot Prize Award

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attend the first ever Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, pool)
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attend the first ever Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, pool)
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Celebrities Join Prince William for Earthshot Prize Award

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attend the first ever Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, pool)
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attend the first ever Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, pool)

Celebrities joined Prince William in London on Sunday for the inaugural awards ceremony of his Earthshot Prize, an ambitious environmental program that aims to find new ideas and technologies around the world to tackle climate change and Earth’s most pressing challenges.

The winners announced Sunday included the government of Costa Rica, which was honored for a project that pays local citizens to restore natural ecosystems, and the city of Milan, which was handed a prize for its Food Waste Hubs program, which recovers food from supermarkets and restaurants and distributes it to those in need.

Actors Emma Thompson, Emma Watson and David Oyelowo joined William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, in handing out the awards at Alexandra Palace in north London.

Guests were asked to “consider the environment when choosing their outfit,” and Watson arrived wearing a gown made from 10 wedding dresses from the charity Oxfam. Kate wore an Alexander McQueen dress made for her in 2011, while her husband wore a dark green velvet blazer and a polo neck.
William and his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched the Earthshot Prize last year, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that challenged and inspired Americans to go to the moon.

The prize, to be awarded to five winners every year until 2030, is billed as the most prestigious of its kind. Each winner will receive a grant worth 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) to develop and scale up their ideas.

"There’s been lots of amazing ideas over the past decades but it’s the implementation that really counts, so that’s what this is all about. So it’s really a reason to be cheerful,” Thompson said.

The other winners were a land-based coral farm in the Bahamas to restore dying coral reefs; a green hydrogen technology developed to transform how homes and buildings are powered; and an India-based technology that creates fuel from agricultural waste in a bid to stop crop burning.

William has said he wanted the initiative to inject some optimism into the climate debate, and on Sunday he urged young people not to give up hope for the future.

“For too long, we haven’t done enough to protect the planet for your future. The Earthshot is for you,” he said. “In the next 10 years, we are going to act. We are going to find the solutions to repair our planet.”

The United States will host next year’s award ceremony, he added.

The ceremony came days ahead of the COP26 UN climate change summit in Glasgow, which begins Oct. 31. William, his father Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II are all expected to attend.

Earlier this week William criticized the space race and space tourism, saying in an interview that the world’s greatest minds should be focused on repairing Earth instead of “trying to find the next place to go and live.”

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Caffeinated Beverages May Help Protect the Brain, Study Says

A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
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Caffeinated Beverages May Help Protect the Brain, Study Says

A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)
A cup of coffee and a cappuccino are seen at a Juan Valdez store in Bogota, Colombia June 5, 2019. (Reuters)

Drinking a few cups of caffeinated coffee or tea every day may help in a small way to preserve brain power and prevent dementia, researchers reported on Monday.

People with the highest daily intake of caffeinated coffee had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those with the lowest such intake, according to a study based on responses to questionnaires by 132,000 U.S. adults spanning four decades.

The study, published in JAMA, also found that the people with the highest intake had a lower rate - by nearly 2 percentage points - of ‌self-perceived memory ‌or thinking problems compared to those with ‌the ⁠lowest intake.

Results were ‌similar with caffeinated tea, but not with decaffeinated beverages, the researchers said.

While the findings are encouraging, the study does not prove caffeine helps protect the brain, they said.

The magnitude of caffeine's effect, if any, was small, and there are other better-documented ways to protect cognitive function as people age, study leader Dr. Daniel Wang ⁠of Harvard Medical School said in a statement.

Lifestyle factors linked with lower risks of ‌dementia include physical exercise, a healthy diet ‍and adequate sleep, according to previous ‍research.

"Our study suggests that caffeinated coffee or tea consumption can ‍be one piece of that puzzle," Wang said.

The findings were most pronounced in participants who consumed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of caffeinated tea daily, the researchers reported.

Those who drank caffeinated coffee also showed better performance on some objective tests of cognitive function, according to the ⁠study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Further research is needed to validate the factors and mechanisms responsible for the findings, the researchers said.

They noted that bioactive ingredients in coffee and tea such as caffeine and polyphenols have emerged as possible factors that reduce nerve cell inflammation and damage while protecting against cognitive decline.

"We also compared people with different genetic predispositions to developing dementia and saw the same results - meaning coffee or caffeine is likely equally beneficial for people with high and low genetic risk of developing ‌dementia," study coauthor Dr. Yu Zhang of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said in a statement.

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AlUla Announces Exceptional Ramadan Experiences

These programs come as part of efforts to enhance AlUla’s tourism experience - SPA
These programs come as part of efforts to enhance AlUla’s tourism experience - SPA
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AlUla Announces Exceptional Ramadan Experiences

These programs come as part of efforts to enhance AlUla’s tourism experience - SPA
These programs come as part of efforts to enhance AlUla’s tourism experience - SPA

AlUla Governorate is welcoming the holy month of Ramadan this year with a wide range of diverse tourism experiences that reflect the area’s distinctive character and rich cultural heritage, reinforcing its position as one of the Kingdom’s most prominent destinations to visit during the holy month.

During Ramadan, AlUla offers an integrated experience catering to different visitor preferences, including guided stargazing experiences, cultural events, and night markets, in addition to traditional dining experiences for Iftar and Suhoor, embodying the depth of AlUla’s cultural heritage and local identity.

The Ramadan programs in AlUla include a variety of standout events, such as Ramadan experiences at Maraya Hall, a cultural market, and live performances in the atmosphere of Ashar Valley, alongside heritage tours in AlUla Old Town that narrate stories of AlUla and its Ramadan customs, including the award-winning Incense Road Experience, SPA reported.

The programs also feature seasonal art exhibitions hosted across multiple cultural venues, including Design Space AlUla, the fourth edition of Desert X AlUla, and the Arduna exhibition at AlUla Oasis, in addition to experiences combining art, nature, and stargazing at Daimumah Oasis in collaboration with AlUla Manara.

Visitors are also offered tours to prominent archaeological sites, including Hegra, Dadan, and Jabal Ikmah, to explore ancient sites dating back centuries BCE and view unique rock inscriptions, as well as adventure experiences ranging from dinner and stargazing in Sharaan, hot-air balloon rides, mountain hiking trails, and safari tours.

These programs come as part of efforts to enhance AlUla’s tourism experience during the holy month of Ramadan and provide diverse options that meet visitor expectations, contributing to the growth of tourism activity and showcasing the governorate’s natural and cultural assets.

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NCW Releases over 10,000 Animals under Reintroduction Programs

The releases carried out by the center over the past years included more than 80 priority wildlife species - SPA
The releases carried out by the center over the past years included more than 80 priority wildlife species - SPA
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NCW Releases over 10,000 Animals under Reintroduction Programs

The releases carried out by the center over the past years included more than 80 priority wildlife species - SPA
The releases carried out by the center over the past years included more than 80 priority wildlife species - SPA

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW) announced that the total number of wildlife animals released under its breeding and reintroduction programs for locally threatened species has exceeded 10,000 animals, an achievement reflecting the scale of the center’s sustained efforts to develop wildlife, restore ecosystems, and enhance biodiversity across various regions of the Kingdom.

The releases carried out by the center over the past years included more than 80 priority wildlife species, including reem gazelles (sand gazelles), Arabian oryx, Idmi gazelles, mountain ibex, houbara bustards, ostriches, and sandgrouse, as part of efforts aimed at supporting the recovery of natural populations of these species and enhancing their sustainability within their environmental and historical ranges, SPA reported.

CEO of NCW Dr. Mohammad Qurban noted that release operations are among the key tools for restoring ecosystems and reducing ecological imbalance, as the return of wildlife to their natural habitats contributes to protecting biodiversity and improving environmental quality, which in turn supports habitat integrity, the continuity of plant and animal components, and the enhancement of ecosystem functions over the long term.

NCW continues to implement its strategic plans to develop wildlife, protect endangered species, and enhance the efficiency of natural habitat management through expanding breeding programs, enhancing applied scientific research, building national capacities, and applying the best international practices in biodiversity management, in addition to raising environmental awareness, engaging local communities, and supporting eco-tourism, thereby contributing to achieving the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030, and the National Environment Strategy, toward thriving and sustainable wildlife, biodiversity, and ecosystems.