News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

An aerial photograph shows the old Izmir-Cesme highway re-emerging at the Alacati Kutlu Aktas Dam as water levels drop in Izmir, Turkey

Water shortages spell trouble on Turkey's tourist coast

Ali Alyanak and his neighbours in Turkey's tourist hub Izmir now have to draw water from a shrinking aquifer 170 metres underground even as hotel pools remain full - a sign for many of the region's dire water crisis amid prolonged drought.

News Lens • 05 Aug

Partners Patrick and Cathy walk in the alps

Swiss 'Mountain Tinder' sparks high-altitude attraction

Cathy and Patrick relish describing how they found each other: through a message left on a Swiss mountaintop.

News Lens • 05 Aug

Thousands of tourists wear hats and carry umbrellas for protection as they visit the Acropolis in Athens

Tourism boom sparks backlash in historic heart of Athens

Surrounded by a hubbub of blaring music, restaurant terraces and rumbling suitcase wheels slaloming between overflowing litter bins, Giorgos Zafeiriou believes surging tourism has made his historic Athens neighbourhood unrecognisable.

News Lens • 04 Aug

A plume of ash spewing from the Krasheninnikov volcano.

Dormant Russia volcano erupts for first time in 450 years

A volcano has erupted for the first time in 450 years in Russia's eastern Kamchatka region, the nation's emergency authority has said, days after one of the strongest earthquakes on record hit the region.

News Lens • 03 Aug

Eight former nuns of the order of the Poor Clares of Belorado, who were excomunicated by the Vatican after separating from the Catholic church, arrive to court for a trial hearing in their eviction lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Burgos in Briviesca

Spanish court orders rebel nuns out of convent

A Spanish court has ordered a group of nuns excommunicated from the Catholic Church to be expelled from their convent, according to a legal ruling viewed by AFP Friday.

News Lens • 01 Aug

Microplastic pieces on spoon under magnifying glass on blue background

What are all these microplastics doing to our brains?

Tiny shards of plastic called microplastics have been detected accumulating in human brains, but there is not yet enough evidence to say whether this is doing us harm, experts have said.

News Lens • 01 Aug

The Rose Garden is seen under construction at the White House in Washington, DC

Trump to build ballroom at White House

US President Donald Trump plans to build a ballroom at the White House as he pushes forward with remodeling the US executive mansion, his spokeswoman said Thursday.

News Lens • 01 Aug

New giant stick insect species is Australia's heaviest

In a remote rainforest in Australia, home to deadly snakes, spiders and creepy-crawlies, scientists have discovered a new species of stick insect they believe is the heaviest ever found in the country.

News Lens • 31 Jul

A baby monkey clings to a large brown monkey as it walks across a tree branch

Endangered drill monkey born at Fota Wildlife Park

An endangered drill monkey has been born at Fota Wildlife Park in Co Cork, the first of its species to be born at the facility as part of a European Endangered Breeding Programme.

News Lens • 31 Jul

A woman takes a photo of a lion club lying on a mat at a cafe in Bangkok, Thailand

'Absolute madness': Thailand's pet lion problem

Thailand's captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes.

News Lens • 30 Jul

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd during a mass for digital missionaries and Catholic influncers

Pope calls for 'dignity' online at first influencer mass

At the Vatican's first mass for Catholic influencers, Pope Leo XVI called on the world to protect human "dignity" online as it faces the "challenge" of artificial intelligence.

News Lens • 29 Jul

A 4,000-year-old ancient Egyptian handprint discovered on a 'soul house'

Egyptian handprint from 4,000 years ago found on clay

A handprint left 4,000 years ago on a clay model crafted to go inside an Egyptian tomb has been discovered during preparation for an exhibition at a museum.

News Lens • 28 Jul

image shows St Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the text ‘why are so many young people heading to Rome?’

Watch: Why are so many young people heading to Rome?

Final preparations are under way in Rome as hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from around the world will attend the Youth Jubilee.

News Lens • 28 Jul

image shows a popcorn bucket in the shape of Marvel character Galactus

Watch: World's largest popcorn bucket unveiled in LA

The word's largest, most expensive popcorn bucket has been unveiled in Los Angeles, setting a Guinness Word Record.

News Lens • 28 Jul

Dutch artist Alfons Kennis holds a model under construction representing a prehistoric human skull

Artists, scientists breathe life into prehistoric woman

With her clear blue eyes and slightly nervous gaze, the reconstructed bust of Mos'anne - a woman who lived around 10,500 years ago - is uncannily lifelike.

News Lens • 28 Jul

People wearing cowboy hats dance to the music at the International Cowboy Day at Ngong race course in Nairobi, Kenya

Honkytonk Kenya: Africa's home of country music

The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: a sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good ol' boys.

News Lens • 28 Jul

According to police, the man claimed to be the ambassador of fictional nations 'like West Arctica, Saborga, Poulvia, Lodonia'

Indian police arrest man running 'fake embassy'

Police in India have arrested a man accused of running a fake embassy from a rented house near New Delhi and duping job seekers out of money with promises of overseas employment.

News Lens • 26 Jul

A farmer holding mealworms, also known as Tenebrio Molitor in France. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg

Neanderthals likely ate fermented meat, side of maggots

Scientists long thought that Neanderthals were avid meat eaters. Based on chemical analysis of Neanderthal remains, it seemed like they had been feasting on as much meat as apex predators such as lions and hyenas.

News Lens • 26 Jul

LIMA, PERU - NOVEMBER 03: View of sea lions and birds at the Asia Island during the extraction of guano to be used as fertilizer on November 03, 2017 in Lima, Peru. The island is located 75km south of Lima and the work is under supervision of the National

Peru's coastal birds face crisis as population drops 75%

Scientists along Peru's central Pacific coast are sounding the alarm that more action is needed to protect seabirds, sea lions, and penguins as climate change, disease, and overfishing threaten their survival.

News Lens • 25 Jul

UCC palaeontologists discover new fossil reptile species

An international team of researchers, including palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC), has discovered a new species of fossil reptile from the Triassic period that had a large crest made of complex plume-like structures - long before modern-type feathers evolved.

Munster • 25 Jul

Macron sues influencer over claim his wife was born male

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have filed a defamation lawsuit in the US against right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, centred on her claim that France's first lady is male.

News Lens • 23 Jul

Mountaineers walk on the Glacier de la Selle in the Ecrins Massif in the French Alps

Heat melts Alps snow and glaciers, leaving water shortage

June's heatwave has caused snow and glaciers in the French Alps to melt faster, causing water shortages at mountain shelters just before the summer tourist hiking season gets into full swing.

News Lens • 23 Jul

A beach in Adelaide in Australia with white foam all over it

Toxic algae lingers off Australia, killing marine life

A vast toxic algae bloom has sparked growing concern in Australia as it lingers off the south coast, killing hundreds of marine species and disrupting fisheries.

World • 22 Jul

Poles to get 'how to' guide for war and natural disasters

Poland is preparing a manual on how to cope in case of war or natural disaster, as part of its efforts to strengthen national resilience amid heightened regional uncertainty.

News Lens • 21 Jul

image shows thousands of people doing pilates on a beach in Chicago

Watch: Thousands pack Chicago beach for free pilates

Thousands of people gather each week to attend a free sunrise pilates class on a beach in Chicago.

News Lens • 21 Jul