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KAUST Develops Robotic System to Improve Date Palm Harvesting

The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
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KAUST Develops Robotic System to Improve Date Palm Harvesting

The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has been developing a new robotic system designed to automate date palm harvesting, SPA reported.
According to a KAUST press release, the system aims to revolutionize the agriculture industry and establish Saudi Arabia as a leader in agriculture innovation. The research, led by KAUST Assistant Professor Shinkyu Park, focuses on automating key processes in date farming, such as harvesting, pollination, and tree maintenance through AI-powered robotics, and promises to yield larger quantities of more nutritious dates.
Park's "robotic farmers" solution combines robotics for reliable farming and AI for greater efficiency. The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit. Equipped with high-precision visual sensors, the robotic farmers can identify individual dates, flowers, and tree structures to perform tasks such as harvesting, spraying, and pruning, ensuring tree health, productivity, and longevity while reducing the risk of pest infestations and diseases.
Field trials are scheduled to begin during the 2025 harvest season, with full operational capability expected within three years. Park suggested that a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model could allow smaller farmers to access the technology without the burden of purchasing the robots outright.
The project is one of many at KAUST that will benefit date farming and food security. Such projects provide Saudi Arabia an advantage not only in agricultural technology but also in agricultural expertise, as leaders in farming and robotics are drawn to the region, while laborers will be the first to engage with the new technologies developed by Park and his team, according to the release.
"I am excited that this initiative extends beyond engineering solutions and cultivates research and development opportunities for local talent, contributing to the long-term sustainable educational and economic growth of the Kingdom," he said.

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Heatwave Linked to More Than 5,000 Deaths in Germany, Institute Says

Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
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Heatwave Linked to More Than 5,000 Deaths in Germany, Institute Says

Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)

Germany has recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths so far this year, most of them in late June when weekly average temperatures far exceeded 20 degrees Celsius, the Robert ‌Koch Institute (RKI) ‌for public health ‌said on ⁠Thursday.

Around 4,270 of ⁠the deaths were among people aged 75 and older, the RKI said in a weekly report. More women ⁠than men died, mainly ‌because ‌they make up a higher ‌share of the very old.

The ‌German data add to a grim picture across Europe. The EU's Copernicus Climate ‌Change Service said in a bulletin on Thursday ⁠that ⁠Western Europe had its hottest June on record with an average of 20.74 degrees.

National authorities have reported more than 4,700 excess deaths during the June 20-28 heatwave in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

Varieties

Alpacas, Mini Pigs on the Loose after Floods Hit China Zoo

A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
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Alpacas, Mini Pigs on the Loose after Floods Hit China Zoo

A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS

At least 100 animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras, escaped a zoo in southern China's Guangxi region after floods damaged their enclosures.

Typhoon Maysak has ravaged southern and central China this week, killing 39 people in Guangxi and forcing the evacuation of 130,000.

The province's Guigang Zoo asked the public Wednesday for help in finding its escaped animals, saying some enclosures had been damaged by "continuous heavy rainfall".

It provided a list of missing creatures, including "two North American raccoons, four porcupines and thirty peacocks", according to a statement posted by a local district's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The zoo said some of the escapees "may be frightened and potentially aggressive".

"If you spot any of the animals, please keep a safe distance," AFP quoted the statement as saying.

"Do not attempt to catch, approach or tease them, as this could be dangerous," the zoo warned.

Meanwhile, videos of villagers knee-deep in floodwater and frantically trying to catch snakes swimming in a flooded Guangxi town with their bare hands and nets went viral on social media this week.

Wu Zhi, the head of a local village committee, told state-owned media Red Star News that around 800 to 900 snakes escaped on Monday after a breeding farm was washed away in Hengzhou city.

The city "immediately bolstered its reserves of medical resources and urgently expanded the stock of antivenom" at the local hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Varieties

EU Moves Closer to Kicking Kids off Social Media

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
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EU Moves Closer to Kicking Kids off Social Media

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)

Restrictions on children's use of social media in the European Union could come as early as this summer, as a long-awaited expert report next week is expected to recommend limiting minors' access to online platforms.

After Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from social media, several EU nations including Denmark and Greece demanded a similar move.

The EU says all options are on the table, from a blanket ban on children from social media platforms to restrictions on certain services and features.

It appears there is little appetite for a broadbrush approach and EU officials insist no decisions have been taken before the panel tasked by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers its recommendations on July 13.

Von der Leyen has indicated in the past she supports restrictions, with a formal announcement expected in September -- although that could change.

"It is not the question when children or teenagers would have access to social media, I would say it's more the question when social media has access to our children and teenagers," she said last week.

She is under pressure as some European capitals including Paris have already drawn up their own legislation, although Brussels on Monday told France to amend its draft law since it encroached on the European Commission's powers.

The EU says it will do more to protect children online -- not just on social media.

"Whatever decisions are made on age limits, we must also tackle the business models and design choices shaping children's online experiences every day," EU consumer protection commissioner Michael McGrath told AFP.

Risk-based limits?

The panel is not expected to recommend a blanket social media ban either.

For an idea on what to expect, observers point to a German panel that put forward two options last month: a statutory minimum age of 13 -- which many platforms have -- or restrictions on individual services and features.

The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, has been closely watching how the ban unfolded in Australia -- where there have been challenges -- and could opt for a different approach.

Brussels could take a risk-based approach, prohibiting features it views as harmful rather than banning platforms like Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.

Bans have been growing in popularity worldwide, with Britain and Indonesia taking similar steps. Many EU states like Greece and Spain have also prepared their own bans, though Estonia fiercely opposes such a move.

A majority of Europeans surveyed in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain, for a YouGov poll published on Thursday want platforms to remove "harmful" design features like endless scroll and personalized content feeds.

Digital rights experts say bans are not the right way to go, arguing the EU should instead make platforms safer for children with the legal armory it has.

"We don't think that exclusion is the answer. We need to enforce our existing laws," Simeon de Brouwer of digital rights group EDRi told AFP, adding he hoped new strengthened consumer protection rules would be "ambitious".

McGrath said the new law expected later this year would "recognize children as vulnerable consumers" and that minors "must be protected by design".

'Responsibility lies with platforms'

Such steps are backed by Europeans.

The YouGov poll found 75 percent of the over 5,100 adults surveyed said platforms should be inaccessible to minors until they can prove they are safe.

"We must focus on measures that ensure the responsibility lies with the platforms to prove their products are safe before they can be used by children, or anyone," Michiel van Hulten, EU director at Reset Tech, said.

The EU has a significant legal weapon in the form of an online content law that forces the world's biggest platforms to ensure harmful and dangerous content is swiftly removed and bans targeted advertisements to children.

But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law. While the EU told Chinese-owned TikTok to change its "addictive design", it has only told US-based Meta to enforce age verification, he said.

An EU official told AFP, however, the commission is set to issue findings against Meta's Facebook and Instagram in a probe looking at how their services may cause addictive behavior in children before the summer ends.