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Saudi Arabia Marks World Environment Day, Urges Global Action on Plastic Pollution

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Marks World Environment Day, Urges Global Action on Plastic Pollution

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture reiterated on Thursday the Kingdom's unwavering commitment to environmental protection, the preservation and sustainability of natural resources, and the rehabilitation of ecosystems.

It also stressed the critical need to mobilize national and international efforts to reduce environmental pollution worldwide, aligning with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, annually observed on June 5, the ministry underscored the grave threat posed by plastic pollution, which has escalated into a widespread global crisis.

United Nations statistics reveal that over 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually worldwide, yet the recycling rate for this immense volume does not exceed 10%. This alarming statistic highlights the severe harm inflicted upon marine life and the alarming entry of microplastic particles from plastic waste into the food chain within seas and oceans.

The world celebrates World Environment Day with this year's theme being "Beat Plastic Pollution," which emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about tackling plastic pollution and fostering enhanced cooperation between the government sector and local communities. The goal is to encourage the adoption of sustainable environmental practices that will lead to a healthy, pollution-free future.

The ministry said that the Kingdom has made tangible progress in aligning its national environmental policies and plans with global developments. It has launched several pioneering environmental initiatives, both locally and internationally, including the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative.

Additionally, numerous national programs and initiatives are in place to enhance community awareness of the importance of environmental conservation through the adoption of sound practices.

The Kingdom also annually organizes the "Environment Week" event across all its regions to contribute to raising the level of community participation in environmental programs and practices, reflecting the profound concern for environmental issues within Saudi society.

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Saudi Arabia: NCW Marks World Wildlife Day with Strategic Plan for Biodiversity Protection

The NCW says it is focused on enhancing wildlife management efficiency. SPA
The NCW says it is focused on enhancing wildlife management efficiency. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: NCW Marks World Wildlife Day with Strategic Plan for Biodiversity Protection

The NCW says it is focused on enhancing wildlife management efficiency. SPA
The NCW says it is focused on enhancing wildlife management efficiency. SPA

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW) reaffirmed its commitment to protecting wildlife and preserving natural habitats, recognizing this responsibility as essential to nature conservation and ecosystem sustainability in Saudi Arabia. This observance aligns with World Wildlife Day, marked annually on March 3.

The center emphasized its efforts in wildlife development, which include breeding endangered species and reintroducing them into their natural habitats, developing and managing protected areas, and implementing environmental monitoring programs and scientific research.

This approach builds on a phased institutional effort, expanding breeding and reintroduction programs for wildlife species from seven to 21, with a strategic plan to reach 50 programs by 2030.

The NCW is also focused on enhancing wildlife management efficiency and advancing operational tools, thereby strengthening a national approach grounded in science and long-term planning.

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Student Solves Mystery of Icy ‘Snowmen’ in Solar System’s Outer Reaches

Contact binaries are made up of two connected spheres, reminiscent of a snowman (Shutterstock)
Contact binaries are made up of two connected spheres, reminiscent of a snowman (Shutterstock)
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Student Solves Mystery of Icy ‘Snowmen’ in Solar System’s Outer Reaches

Contact binaries are made up of two connected spheres, reminiscent of a snowman (Shutterstock)
Contact binaries are made up of two connected spheres, reminiscent of a snowman (Shutterstock)

A student has unraveled a long-standing cosmic enigma concerning some of our solar system’s most peculiar objects: icy “snowmen” that populate its outer reaches, according to The Independent.

Astronomers have long debated the origins of these 'contact binaries' – objects comprising two connected spheres, reminiscent of a snowman.

Now, researchers at Michigan State University claim to have evidence.

These peculiar celestial “snowmen” are found in the Kuiper Belt, a vast expanse beyond Neptune, which is filled with icy remnants dating back to the solar system's formation. The region lies beyond the turbulent asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

These ancient building blocks, known as planetesimals, have largely persisted untouched for billions of years. Roughly one in 10 of these objects are classified as ‘contact binaries.’

The enduring mystery has been how such delicate structures could have formed without being violently smashed together.

Jackson Barnes, a graduate student at the university, has developed the first computer simulation to show how such two-lobed shapes can arise naturally through gravitational collapse.

This is the process by which matter contracts under its own gravity, overpowering forces that would otherwise pull it apart.

The research has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Earlier computer models treated colliding objects as fluid-like blobs that quickly merged into single spheres, making it impossible to recreate contact binaries.

Using high-performance computing facilities, Barnes’ simulations instead allow objects to retain their strength and settle gently against one another.

Other theories have suggested that rare events or exotic conditions might be required to produce these shapes, but researchers say such explanations are unlikely to account for their apparent abundance.

“If we think 10% of planetesimal objects are contact binaries, the process that forms them can’t be rare,” said Earth and Environmental Science assistant professor Seth Jacobson, the study’s senior author.

“Gravitational collapse fits nicely with what we’ve observed.”

Contact binaries were first seen in close detail in January 2019, when Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past a Kuiper Belt object later nicknamed Ultima Thule.

The images prompted scientists to re-examine other distant bodies, revealing that about 10% of planetesimals share the same distinctive shape.

In the sparsely populated Kuiper Belt, these objects drift largely undisturbed and are rarely hit by other debris.

In the early history of the Milky Way, the galaxy consisted of a disc of gas and dust. Remnants of that era persist in the Kuiper Belt today, including dwarf planets such as Pluto, along with comets and planetesimals.

Planetesimals are among the first solid bodies to form as dust and pebble-sized material clumps together under gravity. Much like snowflakes compressed into a snowball, they are loose aggregates pulled from clouds of tiny particles.

Barnes’ simulation shows that as one of these clouds rotates, it can collapse inward and split into two separate bodies that begin orbiting each other.

Such binary planetesimals are commonly observed in the Kuiper Belt. Over time, their orbits spiral closer until the pair gently touch and fuse, preserving their rounded shapes.

The reason these fragile-looking structures survive for billions of years, Barnes explained, is simple chance. In such a remote region, collisions are rare. Without a major impact, there is little to pull the two bodies apart, and many contact binaries show few, if any, impact craters.

Scientists have long suspected gravitational collapse was responsible, but until now they lacked models capable of testing the idea properly.

“We’re able to test this hypothesis for the first time in a legitimate way,” Barnes said. “That’s what’s so exciting about this paper.”

He believes the model could also help researchers understand more complex systems involving three or more bodies. The team is already working on simulations that better capture the details of the collapse process.

As future space missions venture deeper into the outer solar system, the researchers said the familiar snowman shape may turn out to be far more common than once thought.

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80% of China’s Lanterns Are Made in One Little Town

80% of the country's lanterns are still made by hand (Getty images)
80% of the country's lanterns are still made by hand (Getty images)
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80% of China’s Lanterns Are Made in One Little Town

80% of the country's lanterns are still made by hand (Getty images)
80% of the country's lanterns are still made by hand (Getty images)

In China, red lanterns could guide a traveler to safety in cold winter alleyways, be symbols of power outside an imperial hall, or act as a call to religious devotion when hung in a temple.

They are also absolutely synonymous with lunar new year celebrations right across the vast country and link today's Chinese people with the culture of their ancestors, according to BBC.

To imagine how many lanterns would be hung here, at any given time, is like trying to count how many trees would be in the Amazon.

And yet it is claimed that a remarkable 80% of the country's lanterns are still made – by hand – in one small town in Hebei Province.

Walking around the dusty streets of Tuntou you see evidence of lantern making everywhere you go.

A view through an open door into a courtyard might reveal a small group of villagers sitting on stools and making lanterns while they chat, while down the main street, red lanterns are piled up one on top of the other.

Nobody seems to know just how many hundreds of years ago the craft started in this part of northern China but, if you're born in Tunou, you are immersed in lantern making from a very young age.

“When you see others in your family doing it every day, you get the hang of it quickly,” one woman told the BBC, adding that “kids here can pick it up at from around 10-years-old.”

It seems remarkable that, in an era of high-tech production lines, this town has been able to maintain a stranglehold on the lantern market, using production techniques from another era.

When asked about this, one elderly lantern maker said it was because they could easily fill diverse orders, no matter how small in scale, and do it more cheaply than factories could.

In the future, modern production may find a way to match what this village can do by hand, offering the same diversity of options at a competitive price, but it has not happened yet.

But a challenge for Tuntou is that many young people these days are not satisfied with a life of lantern making, instead opting for the lure of the city and the possibilities that urban existence can bring. This could mean a shortage of labor in the years to come.

However, for now, this is China's lantern town, and its residents are proud that it is known this way.