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Lebanese Prof. Niveen Khashab Wins Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences

Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanese Prof. Niveen Khashab Wins Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences

Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese Prof. Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanese Professor Niveen Mohammad Ali Khashab won the Great Arab Minds Award-2023 in Natural Sciences, for her contributions in chemistry, bioengineering and biology.

Her research interests focus on applications of programmable, intelligent, engineered nanomaterials and their uses for medical, pharmaceutical, industrial and environmental purposes. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said that scientific and cognitive curiosity has been the base of nations’ cultural development throughout history.

The winning announcement was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Prof. Niveen Khashab is associate dean of Physical Sciences and Engineering Division and Professor of Chemistry at KAUST - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, given her pioneering contributions in the field of natural sciences and her research in Arab universities.

“Today we announce the winner of the Arab Minds Award in natural sciences, Professor Nevin Khashab, a researcher and academic who inspires a new generation of young scientists in the Arab world and transforms research into advanced innovations in medicine, advanced industries, nanotechnology and sustainable agriculture,” said the Ruler of Dubai.

“Scientific achievement is the basis of civilizational development. We want to preserve scientists, empower them, honor them, celebrate their achievements and provide them with the space they need to transform their ideas and research into reality. Resuming the region’s contribution to human civilization is a comprehensive project and a strategic commitment that focuses on the Arab citizen capable of achievement, creativity and excellence in science and knowledge,” he added.

Khashab is exploring the new opportunities that nano capsules and devices can provide in drugs, gene therapies, medical diagnosis and industries, given their sturdiness, durability and superior thermal resistance.

Khashab is currently experimenting with carbon nanotubes characterized with their exceptional rigidity and strength, as well as electronic properties. She is also testing applications of carbon tubes in smart membranes. Khashab also collaborated on designing smart materials used in biomedical systems based on molecule assemblies at the nanoscale using non-covalent interactions.

The applications of the scientific innovations and smart materials developed by Khashab are diverse, including medical in the fields of sensing and drug, therapeutic and surgical delivery; industrial as in nanocomposites and others; and environmental in sustainable agriculture solutions and platforms.

Mohammad Al Gergawi, chairman of the Committee leading Great Arab Minds, congratulated Khashab on the phone, hailing her contributions in natural sciences and its pioneering research that opened new horizons in the uses of ultra-fine nanomaterials for medical and pharmaceutical purposes and advanced technology applications.

The initiative aims to promote the reverse migration of Arab minds and keep them in the Arab world by celebrating, honoring and highlighting their achievements.

The competition received thousands of nominations in its six categories: engineering and technology, medicine, economics, literature and natural sciences, arts, architecture, and design.

The Great Arab Minds Awards’ winners announced so far are: Dr. Hani Negm from Saudi Arabia in Medicine, Professor Fadel Adib from Lebanon in Engineering and Technology, Dr. Muhammad el-Erian in economics, and Professor Niveen Khashab in natural sciences. The winners in the two remaining categories will be announced later.

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Swiss Author Erich von Daeniken Dies at 90

Erich von Daeniken, co-founder and co-owner of Mystery Park, poses in front of the Panorama Tower at Mystery Park in Interlaken, Wednesday, April 23, 2003. (Gaetan Ball)/Keystone via AP, File)
Erich von Daeniken, co-founder and co-owner of Mystery Park, poses in front of the Panorama Tower at Mystery Park in Interlaken, Wednesday, April 23, 2003. (Gaetan Ball)/Keystone via AP, File)
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Swiss Author Erich von Daeniken Dies at 90

Erich von Daeniken, co-founder and co-owner of Mystery Park, poses in front of the Panorama Tower at Mystery Park in Interlaken, Wednesday, April 23, 2003. (Gaetan Ball)/Keystone via AP, File)
Erich von Daeniken, co-founder and co-owner of Mystery Park, poses in front of the Panorama Tower at Mystery Park in Interlaken, Wednesday, April 23, 2003. (Gaetan Ball)/Keystone via AP, File)

Swiss author Erich von Daeniken, who helped popularize the idea that astronauts from outer space visited Earth ​to help lay the foundations for human civilization, has died aged 90.

Swiss media including national broadcaster SRF reported his death, and a note on his website said it occurred on Saturday, The AP news reported.

Von Daeniken rose to ‌prominence with ‌his 1968 book "Chariots of ‌the ⁠Gods?" ​which posited ‌that structures such as the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, Britain's Stonehenge and Peru's Nazca lines were too advanced for their time, and needed outside help.

"In my opinion, ancient structures were made ⁠by humans, not by the extraterrestrials, but it was ‌the extraterrestrials who guided them, ‍who them, ‍who gave them the knowledge how to ‍do it," von Daeniken says in a video on his YouTube channel.

His theories were controversial with historians, scientists and fellow ​writers. But they were popular, and his books, which included "The Gods were ⁠Astronauts", sold nearly 70 million copies worldwide, appearing in more than 30 languages, SRF said.

Von Daeniken argued that ancient religions, myths and art contained evidence that millennia ago, the ancestors of modern humans had made contact with advanced extraterrestrial beings who appeared godlike to them and enabled them to progress.

One ‌day, von Daeniken said, those beings would return.

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Massive Iconic Iceberg 'on Verge of Complete Disintegration'

Iceberg A23a has turned blue and is “on the verge of complete disintegration,” NASA said. This photo was taken on December 26, 2025 (NASA)
Iceberg A23a has turned blue and is “on the verge of complete disintegration,” NASA said. This photo was taken on December 26, 2025 (NASA)
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Massive Iconic Iceberg 'on Verge of Complete Disintegration'

Iceberg A23a has turned blue and is “on the verge of complete disintegration,” NASA said. This photo was taken on December 26, 2025 (NASA)
Iceberg A23a has turned blue and is “on the verge of complete disintegration,” NASA said. This photo was taken on December 26, 2025 (NASA)

One of the largest and oldest icebergs ever tracked by scientists has turned blue and is “on the verge of complete disintegration,” NASA said on Thursday.

A23a, a massive wall of ice that was once twice the size of Rhode Island, is drenched in blue meltwater as it drifts in the South Atlantic off the eastern tip of South America, NASA said in a new release, according to CBS News.

A NASA satellite captured an image of the fading berg the day after Christmas, showing pools of blue meltwater on its surface. A day later, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured a photograph showing a closer view of the iceberg, with an even larger melt pool.

The satellite image suggests that the A23a has also “sprung a leak,” NASA said, as the weight of the water pooling at the top of the berg punched through the ice.

Scientists say all signs indicate the so-called “megaberg” could be just days or weeks from totally disintegrating as it rides currents that are pushing it toward even warmer waters.

Warmer air temperatures during this season could also speed up A23a's demise in an area that ice experts have dubbed a “graveyard” for icebergs.

“I certainly don't expect A-23A to last through the austral summer,” retired University of Maryland, Baltimore County scientist Chris Shuman said in a statement.

Blue and white linear patterns visible on A23a are likely related to striations, which are ridges that were scoured hundreds of years ago when the iceberg was part of the Antarctic bedrock, NASA said.

“The striations formed parallel to the direction of flow, which ultimately created subtle ridges and valleys on the top of the iceberg that now direct the flow of meltwater,” said Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow & Ice Data Center.

The berg detached from Antarctica in 1986. It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020.

According to current estimates from the US National Ice Center, in early January 2026, the berg's area is 1,182 square kilometers -- still larger than New York City but a fraction of its initial size.

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Scores of Homes Razed, One Dead in Australian Bushfires

Smoke rises from a burning forest on a hillside behind a home near Longwood as bushfires continue to burn under severe fire weather conditions in Longwood, Victoria, Australia, January 9, 2026. AAP/Michael Currie via REUTERS
Smoke rises from a burning forest on a hillside behind a home near Longwood as bushfires continue to burn under severe fire weather conditions in Longwood, Victoria, Australia, January 9, 2026. AAP/Michael Currie via REUTERS
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Scores of Homes Razed, One Dead in Australian Bushfires

Smoke rises from a burning forest on a hillside behind a home near Longwood as bushfires continue to burn under severe fire weather conditions in Longwood, Victoria, Australia, January 9, 2026. AAP/Michael Currie via REUTERS
Smoke rises from a burning forest on a hillside behind a home near Longwood as bushfires continue to burn under severe fire weather conditions in Longwood, Victoria, Australia, January 9, 2026. AAP/Michael Currie via REUTERS

Bushfires have razed hundreds of buildings across southeast Australia, authorities said Sunday, as they confirmed the first death from the disaster.

Temperatures soared past 40C as a heatwave blanketed the state of Victoria, sparking dozens of blazes that ripped through more than 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) combined.

Fire crews tallied the damage as conditions eased on Sunday. A day earlier, authorities had declared a state of disaster.

Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said over 300 buildings had burned to the ground, a figure that includes sheds and other structures on rural properties, AFP reported.

More than 70 houses had been destroyed, he said, alongside huge swathes of farming land and native forest.

"We're starting to see some of our conditions ease," he told reporters.

"And that means firefighters are able to start getting on top of some of the fires that we still have in our landscape."

Police said one person had died in a bushfire near the town of Longwood, about two hours' drive north of state capital Melbourne.

"This really takes all the wind out of our sails," said Chris Hardman from Forest Fire Management Victoria.

"We really feel for the local community there and the family, friends and loved ones of the person that is deceased," he told national broadcaster ABC.

Photos taken this week showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire near Longwood tore through bushland.

"There were embers falling everywhere. It was terrifying," cattle farmer Scott Purcell told ABC.

Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localized thunderstorm.

Hundreds of firefighters from across Australia have been called in to help.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was talking with Canada and the United States for possible extra assistance.

Millions have this week sweltered through a heatwave blanketing much of Australia.

High temperatures and dry winds combined to form some of the most dangerous bushfire conditions since the "Black Summer" blazes.

The Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.

Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51C since 1910, researchers have found, fueling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea.

Australia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, two key fossil fuels blamed for global heating.