News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

Heat haze is seen in the background while pedestrians with umbrellas cross a railroad on a hot day in Tokyo

'Cruelly hot' - Japan devises new term for heatwave days

Blistering temperatures rising to 40C and above will now be branded "cruelly hot" or "kokusho-bi" in Japan, the weather agency has said, as heatwave days become increasingly frequent in the region.

News Lens • 5 hrs

A brown wolf unconscious lying on a vet's table while being examined

Wolf recaptured nine days after South Korean zoo escape

A wolf that escaped from a zoo in the South Korean city of Daejeon has been recaptured after nine days on the run, bringing to a close a saga that gripped the public as the elusive animal evaded earlier capture attempts.

News Lens • 6 hrs

Image shows the trunk of a car stacked with mulitple packets of toilet paper.

Chinese company patents voice activated in-car toilet

A Chinese automaker has patented a toilet concealed beneath a sliding car seat that can be operated using voice commands, according to a government database.

News Lens • 16 Apr

Close up image of four jars of Nutella chocolate spread on a shelf at a supermarket.

Nutella maker says targeted in EU antitrust probe

Confectionary giant Ferrero, the maker of Nutella spread and Kinder chocolate, has said it is being targeted by investigators probing a possible violation of EU anti-trust rules.

News Lens • 16 Apr

Surya, a female Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), cradles her newborn on April 15, 2026 at the Madrid Zoo Aquarium, in Madrid.

Critically endangered orangutan born at Madrid zoo

A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid's zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally.

News Lens • 15 Apr

this photo shows a picasso painting with two women, one speaking in a phone, to the right

Frenchman scoops up €1m Picasso painting in Paris raffle

A Frenchman has won a Picasso painting worth €1 million in a non-profit raffle.

News Lens • 15 Apr

a sculpture of a lamb crossed with a banana and brightly coloured

Superlambanana split: quirky sculpture stolen from garden

Police in the UK are on the trail of a Superlambanana after it was stolen from a garden.

News Lens • 14 Apr

Dieters spend longer viewing food content online - study

People spend longer looking at fast food content on social media when they are on a diet, a study has suggested.

News Lens • 14 Apr

A photograph of Australian Defence Force Chief of Joint Capabilities Lt. Gen. Susan Coyle

Woman to lead Australian army for first time

A woman will command Australia's army for the first time since its founding 125 years ago, Defence Minister Richard Marles said as he unveiled the "deeply historic" appointment.

News Lens • 13 Apr

UK has 'no choice' but to shelve Chagos Islands deal

The UK has "no choice" but to shelve its deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in the face of US opposition, a former top civil servant said.

UK • 11 Apr

Visitors look at a tiger in the Tripoli zoo after its reopening on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday

Tripoli zoo open again after 17 years

It was supposed to be a temporary closure for renovations, but for 17 long years, Tripoli's zoo - like the city itself - was embroiled in the violence of Libya's brutal conflict.

News Lens • 10 Apr

an emperor penguin stands on a rocky ground with snow in the background

Emperor penguins listed as endangered species: IUCN

The emperor penguin has been declared an endangered species as climate change pushes the icon of Antarctica a step closer to extinction, the global authority on threatened wildlife has announced.

News Lens • 09 Apr

A man squats on the ground beside a large black dog

Balkan sheepdog eyes future beyond the hills

The Karaman sheepdog - a hardy mountain shepherd - won provisional recognition as an indigenous breed from the International Canine Federation in February.

News Lens • 09 Apr

Wolf that bit woman in Germany released back into wild

A wolf that bit a woman in Hamburg last week in the first such attack in Germany for decades has been released back into the wild, the local environment ministry has said.

News Lens • 07 Apr

cyclist Tadej Pogacar seen competing in the tour of flanders

Tour of Flanders cyclists face fine for running red light

Up to 20 cyclists from the Tour of Flanders, including race winner Tadej Pogacar, could face action from Belgian authorities after running a red light at a railway crossing.

News Lens • 06 Apr

Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at The National Lottery

Lottery jackpot worth €12 million goes unclaimed in UK

In the UK, a lottery ticket holder has missed out on a jackpot of more than £10.5 million (€12).

News Lens • 03 Apr

Streaming channel for pets launched in China

Cats and dogs can now fill the hours their owners are at work with a dedicated all-day streaming channel for pets launched by Chinese tech giant Tencent.

News Lens • 03 Apr

a photograph shows an ancient gold helmet and gold bracelets

Dutch authorities unveil recovered gold Romanian helmet

Dutch authorities showed off a recovered priceless gold 2,500-year-old helmet from Romania that was stolen last year during a brazen robbery in the Netherlands.

News Lens • 02 Apr

Volunteers at a Villa Fiorito, Buenos Aires soup kitchen in a house where late soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona spent his early childhood

Maradona's former home transformed into soup kitchen

Every week, hundreds of people line up to fill a plastic container with food in an unlikely place: ⁠the humble home where Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona was born.

News Lens • 01 Apr

Wolf bites woman in Germany in first attack for decades

A woman has been bitten by a wolf in a shopping centre in Germany, the first such attack in modern times.

Europe • 31 Mar

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 29, 2025 - The clouds above the city skyline are purple due to Severe Tropical Storm Co-may in Shanghai, China on July 29, 2025. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

China bans entombing cremated remains in empty flats

Chinese authorities have banned entombing cremated remains in cheap apartments, a practice that had gained popularity as mourners took advantage of the subdued housing market to dodge rising funeral costs.

News Lens • 31 Mar

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau making a speech

Air Canada CEO to retire after English-only message row

Air Canada has said that CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, an announcement following controversy over his failure to issue condolences both in English and French for a fatal airport disaster.

News Lens • 30 Mar

An employee wearing a blue hat and apron works in a feta factory with blocks of feta on a table

Sheep culls put pressure on Greek feta cheese production

Three months after state vets seized and killed hundreds of his sheep to stamp out an ongoing pox pandemic, Kostas Theofilou fights back tears as he gazes at his empty stable.

News Lens • 30 Mar

Majestic Snowy Owl photographed during their annual migration in Ontario, Canada

Forty new migratory species win international protection

The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) approved the listing of 40 new species for international protection, including the snowy owl featured in the Harry Potter saga.

News Lens • 30 Mar

starfish (Asterias rubens) on top of a chunk of TNT, part of an unexploded Nazi-era cruise missile, at the bottom Luebeck Bay, German

Germany's WWII munitions toxic legacy on Baltic Sea floor

Below the waves off Germany's northern tourist beaches, a toxic time bomb lurks on the Baltic Sea floor - enormous quantities of World War II munitions that are slowly rusting away.

News Lens • 29 Mar