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Saudi Space Agency Concludes Participation in World Space Week 2025

Saudi Space Agency Concludes Participation in World Space Week 2025
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Saudi Space Agency Concludes Participation in World Space Week 2025

Saudi Space Agency Concludes Participation in World Space Week 2025

The Saudi Space Agency (SSA) concluded its participation in World Space Week 2025, designated by the United Nations to be held annually from October 4 to 10, through a series of awareness and interactive activities targeting students, researchers, specialists, and the general public.

During the week, the SSA launched a digital awareness campaign and scientific content through its website and official accounts, offering visual and written materials to promote scientific knowledge about space and its sciences, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The initiative aimed to raise awareness of the importance of space exploration for the benefit of humanity, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and with the participation of more than 20 Saudi universities across the Kingdom.

The SSA organized workshops and field visits for university students to its Concurrent Design Facility (CDF), allowing them to learn about the mechanisms of space mission design. It also held awareness lectures delivered by a number of its staff and experts, focusing on concepts and technologies related to space exploration.

At the beginning of the week, the SSA launched the Knowledge Space portal on its website, offering a variety of Arabic content, including videos, booklets, and interactive educational guides, to promote scientific awareness and disseminate knowledge about space sciences across all segments of society.

Moreover, Saudi astronauts presented a series of video messages for school and university students, sharing insights about space, their experiences aboard the International Space Station, and the role of youth in shaping the future of space exploration.

The week’s events saw wide engagement across schools, universities, and digital awareness platforms, featuring activities, competitions, and simple scientific experiments introducing students to space concepts and life in space, and the campaign received broad media coverage across multiple platforms.

The agency’s participation in World Space Week 2025 comes as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the Kingdom’s presence in space science and technology awareness and education, and to reaffirm its leading role in empowering and inspiring the new generation to contribute to the future of space and its technologies. This initiative aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to build a knowledge-based economy and promote sustainable, innovation-driven development.

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WHO Says No Obesity Drugs, Surgery for Under-10s

FILED - 06 June 2025, Saxony, Leipzig: File Photo - The weight (134.7 kilograms) of a morbidly obese woman is measured as part of the Obesity Therapy Program at Leipzig University Hospital. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa
FILED - 06 June 2025, Saxony, Leipzig: File Photo - The weight (134.7 kilograms) of a morbidly obese woman is measured as part of the Obesity Therapy Program at Leipzig University Hospital. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa
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WHO Says No Obesity Drugs, Surgery for Under-10s

FILED - 06 June 2025, Saxony, Leipzig: File Photo - The weight (134.7 kilograms) of a morbidly obese woman is measured as part of the Obesity Therapy Program at Leipzig University Hospital. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa
FILED - 06 June 2025, Saxony, Leipzig: File Photo - The weight (134.7 kilograms) of a morbidly obese woman is measured as part of the Obesity Therapy Program at Leipzig University Hospital. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa

Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Releasing its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, the WHO instead strongly recommended structured diets, physical activity and behavior changes.

"WHO does not recommend pharmacological treatment, bariatric surgery (surgery that changes the stomach or digestive tract) or weight-loss devices for children aged 0-9 years," AFP quoted it as saying.

"For adolescents aged 10-19 years, treatment with approved medicines may be considered only when a supervised multimodal lifestyle program has not achieved the desired results.

"Bariatric surgery may be considered under strict conditions for adolescents with severe obesity."

The recommendations for those aged 19 and under contrast with the UN health agency's guidelines for adult obesity issued in December 2025, following the surge in popularity of a new generation of appetite-suppressing drugs called GLP-1 agonists -- which includes blockbuster brands Ozempic and Mounjaro.

The WHO said the range of weight-loss and diabetes drugs could be used for tackling obesity -- in adults.

In 2024, some 70 million children aged five to nine were obese, as were 100 million adolescents aged 10 to 19 worldwide, according to the WHO.

Among 5- to 19-year-olds, the prevalence of obesity has surged globally, rising from two percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2024.

"The rise of obesity is observed everywhere in all regions," said Luz Maria De Regil, director of the WHO's nutrition and food safety department.

"It's growing in low- and middle-income countries," while some high-income countries are starting to stop the rise of obesity, without yet making reductions.

"The foundation of obesity care for children and adolescents is not medicine or surgery, but access to comprehensive support that enables healthy eating, physical activity and sustainable behavior change," she said.

The recommendations also stressed the importance of addressing mental health alongside obesity.

Anxiety, depression and low self-esteem can contribute to unhealthy eating, physical inactivity and social withdrawal, the WHO said.

Children and adolescents living with obesity may experience stigma and bullying, the UN health agency added.

Maria Nieves Garcia Casal, a scientist in the WHO's nutrition and food safety department, told reporters that bariatric surgery may be considered during adolescence for cases of severe obesity accompanied by complications such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension -- if diet and lifestyle changes have failed.

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Orphaned Kittens Meet Sharks and Stingrays on an Aquarium Field Trip at Mall of America

This image taken from a Sea Life at Mall of America video shows a rescue kitten from the Bitty Kitty Brigade visiting Sea Life at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Sea Life at Mall of America via AP)
This image taken from a Sea Life at Mall of America video shows a rescue kitten from the Bitty Kitty Brigade visiting Sea Life at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Sea Life at Mall of America via AP)
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Orphaned Kittens Meet Sharks and Stingrays on an Aquarium Field Trip at Mall of America

This image taken from a Sea Life at Mall of America video shows a rescue kitten from the Bitty Kitty Brigade visiting Sea Life at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Sea Life at Mall of America via AP)
This image taken from a Sea Life at Mall of America video shows a rescue kitten from the Bitty Kitty Brigade visiting Sea Life at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Sea Life at Mall of America via AP)

A pair of kittens gazed up through the aquarium's shimmering blue waters as a (relatively) enormous fish passed overhead. One kitten stared transfixed through the glass while the other, unfazed, was more interested in darting around playfully.

Inside a clear dome, a kitten named Turkey Leg stood up on its back legs as brightly colored clownfish — think “Finding Nemo” — darted just inches from its whiskers. Raising a paw, it batted at the glass, mewing.

For nearly two hours, about two dozen rescue kittens with names like Lottie Dottie, Bendy Wendy and Mouth Trap romped through the Sea Life aquarium at the Mall of America, the largest shopping complex on the continent, located in a suburb of Minneapolis.

Some charged down a 300-foot (90-meter) underwater tunnel, stopping to stare at a sand tiger shark or sea turtles. Other cats found the aquarium's dim blue environment calming and closed their eyes for a little nap.

This was the sixth year the Bitty Kitty Brigade, a rescue organization in the Twin Cities that finds foster homes for orphaned neonatal kittens, held its “field trip” to the aquarium. Some of this year's kittens had Minnesota State Fair -themed names like Funnel Cake or Apple Fries.

“We just thought it’d be a really fun, engaging thing for kittens to see,” aquarium spokesperson John Sullwold said. The kittens came early Monday morning before the aquarium opened to the public.

In addition to raising awareness for the Bitty Kitty Brigade, these field trips are a great way for the young cats to socialize, said Kya Anderson, an event director with the group.

That can make it easier for them to adjust to new homes if they get adopted, she said.

The group is overseeing some 1,000 kittens this year.

“The kittens just get so excited to see, like, the fish swimming around,” Anderson said.

Sea Life has also invited puppies from Safe Hands Rescue, another foster-based animal rescue, but obviously not on the same day as the kittens.

“Much more running involved with the puppies,” Sullwold said.

Varieties

Belgium’s Francis Halzen Wins Nobel Prize in Physics

Eva Olsson, Ellen Moons, and Mark Pearce sit in front of a screen displaying Francis Halzen as the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 6, 2026. (Photo by Christine OLSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)
Eva Olsson, Ellen Moons, and Mark Pearce sit in front of a screen displaying Francis Halzen as the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 6, 2026. (Photo by Christine OLSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)
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Belgium’s Francis Halzen Wins Nobel Prize in Physics

Eva Olsson, Ellen Moons, and Mark Pearce sit in front of a screen displaying Francis Halzen as the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 6, 2026. (Photo by Christine OLSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)
Eva Olsson, Ellen Moons, and Mark Pearce sit in front of a screen displaying Francis Halzen as the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 6, 2026. (Photo by Christine OLSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)

Belgian Francis Halzen won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for his contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and his discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award in Stockholm.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organization.

Last year, three scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics for research on the strange behavior of subatomic particles called quantum tunneling that enabled the ultra-sensitive

measurements achieved by MRI machines and laid the groundwork for better cellphones and faster computers.

The announcements of this year's prizes began Monday with the Nobel Prize in medicine being awarded to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works.

This week's awards continue Wednesday with the chemistry prize and literature on Thursday. After Friday’s peace prize is awarded, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Monday.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organization.