Riyadh Hosts International Chemistry Olympiad 2024

Riyadh hosts the 56th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2024 (IChO 2024) from July 21 to 30. (SPA)
Riyadh hosts the 56th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2024 (IChO 2024) from July 21 to 30. (SPA)
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Riyadh Hosts International Chemistry Olympiad 2024

Riyadh hosts the 56th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2024 (IChO 2024) from July 21 to 30. (SPA)
Riyadh hosts the 56th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2024 (IChO 2024) from July 21 to 30. (SPA)

Riyadh hosts the 56th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2024 (IChO 2024) from July 21 to 30, the Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.
The event is organized by the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity "Mawhiba”, in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education and King Saud University (KSU), which will host the competition.
The IChO 2024, exclusively sponsored by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), will feature 333 students from 90 countries, with oversight, evaluation, and judging by 260 chemistry experts.
Students will compete for 10 honorary certificates, 110 bronze medals, 70 silver medals, and 35 gold medals. The final results will be announced on July 28 at 11 PM.
This annual scientific competition is the largest international chemistry contest for general education students.
Since its establishment in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1968, the competition has been held annually over ten days, with a different host country each year.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated as an observer in 2004 and 2005, then with students in 2006 and 2007. The Kingdom returned to participate as an observer in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and has since participated with students from 2011 up to present.
The Kingdom’s hosting of the IChO 2024 reflects the excellence of Saudi students on the international stage and enhances the Kingdom's status as a leading global destination in various scientific fields.



Stolen Shoe Mystery Solved at Japanese Kindergarten When Security Camera Catches Weasel in the Act

This image made from security camera video released by Kasuya Police shows a weasel with a shoe at a kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024. (Kasuya Police via AP)
This image made from security camera video released by Kasuya Police shows a weasel with a shoe at a kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024. (Kasuya Police via AP)
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Stolen Shoe Mystery Solved at Japanese Kindergarten When Security Camera Catches Weasel in the Act

This image made from security camera video released by Kasuya Police shows a weasel with a shoe at a kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024. (Kasuya Police via AP)
This image made from security camera video released by Kasuya Police shows a weasel with a shoe at a kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024. (Kasuya Police via AP)

Police thought a shoe thief was on the loose at a kindergarten in southwestern Japan, until a security camera caught the furry culprit in action.

A weasel with a tiny shoe in its mouth was spotted on the video footage after police installed three cameras in the school in the prefecture of Fukuoka.

“It’s great it turned out not to be a human being,” Deputy Police Chief Hiroaki Inada told The Associated Press Sunday. Teachers and parents had feared it could be a disturbed person with a shoe fetish.

Japanese customarily take their shoes off before entering homes. The vanished shoes were all slip-ons the children wore indoors, stored in cubbyholes near the door.

Weasels are known to stash items and people who keep weasels as pets give them toys so they can hide them.

The weasel scattered shoes around and took 15 of them before police were called. Six more were taken the following day. The weasel returned Nov. 11 to steal one more shoe. The camera footage of that theft was seen the next day.

The shoe-loving weasel only took the white indoor shoes made of canvas, likely because they’re light to carry.

“We were so relieved,” Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten director Yoshihide Saito told Japanese broadcaster RKB Mainichi Broadcasting.

The children got a good laugh when they saw the weasel in the video.

Although the stolen shoes were never found, the remaining shoes are now safe at the kindergarten with nets installed over the cubbyholes.

The weasel, which is believed to be wild, is still on the loose.