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A rat scurries through a Harlem backstreet in new york

New York declares war on prolific rat population

New York is waging a war on multiple fronts to combat the near ubiquitous rats that plague city streets and the subways, leaving some residents afraid to let their children walk on footpaths.

News Lens • 09 Aug

African buffalo are seen on December 26, 2024 in Grater Kruger, South Africa

US trophy hunter killed by buffalo in South Africa

A 59-year-old American has been killed by a buffalo he was tracking during a trophy hunt in South Africa, police said.

News Lens • 09 Aug

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 30: People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, the site of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, on the UCLA campus on July 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The University of California, Los Angeles has reached a $6 million s

Library user in US borrows Chinese artwork, returns fakes

A California library user who allegedly took home rare Chinese manuscripts and returned fake ones in their place has been charged with $216,000 worth of theft, US officials have said.

News Lens • 08 Aug

Several palm trees line the side of a road which runs beside a beach. Blue skies and clouds can be seen in the background.

Pacific microstate sells passports to fund climate action

A remote Pacific nation has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island.

News Lens • 07 Aug

A view of the Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan's 'Gateway to Hell' loses it flames

People who travel to see the "Gateway to Hell" gas crater in the middle of the Turkmenistan desert expecting an angry cauldron, are now coming away unimpressed.

News Lens • 06 Aug

Squeezed by cities, Nigerian fishermen stick to tradition

In the shadow of luxury apartment buildings under construction on the shores of the reservoir, Maniru Umar dips his oar into the water, pushing his shallow, wooden canoe forward through thick reeds.

News Lens • 06 Aug

AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 21: In this screengrab released on November 28, a general view of coral at the Great Barrier Reef on October 21, 2024 in Australia. British Paralympian swimmer Ellie Simmonds is a supporter of the Sheba Hope Grows movement which aims t

Great Barrier Reef suffers record coral decline

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered the largest decline in coral cover in two of its three regions over the last year, newly released research showed, following a mass bleaching of its corals that was among the worst on record.

News Lens • 06 Aug

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Place de l'Etoile, in Paris

Outrage in France after cigarette lit from memorial flame

A French minister has said that she was taking legal action against an unidentified man who was filmed lighting a cigarette from a memorial flame at a major Paris war monument.

News Lens • 05 Aug

People bathing at the Ounaskoski Beach at the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland

Reindeer suffer as Finland swelters in record heatwave

A record-long heatwave in Finland has caused suffering and even deaths of reindeer, prompting alarm among herders as temperatures remained above 25C.

News Lens • 05 Aug

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