News Lens

Folk artists perform live during the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Red Fort

Argentine dance to Yemeni poetry among UNESCO bids

From Argentine cuarteto dancing to Yemeni musical poetry, Italian cooking and India's Hindu festival of lights Diwali, UNESCO is weighing 68 nominations to add to its intangible cultural heritage list.

News Lens • 15 hrs

Mario de Andrade Library in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Suspect arrested over theft of Matisse artworks in Brazil

A man has been arrested over the theft of eight Henri Matisse artworks from a library in the Brazilian city of São Paulo.

News Lens • 08 Dec

Picture of a skeleton of a Tarbosaurus Baatar mounted for an exhibition at a museum in Santiago, Chile

France to return smuggled dinosaur skeleton to Mongolia

France was to hand over a 70 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton to Mongolia, which was looted from the Gobi desert and seized by French customs.

News Lens • 08 Dec

View of the Louvre Museum facade in Paris, France

Louvre says hundreds of works damaged by water leak

A water leak in late November damaged several hundred works in the Louvre's Egyptian department, the Paris museum said, weeks after a brazen jewel theft raised concerns over its infrastructure.

News Lens • 07 Dec

Spectators gather on Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Christmas lights return to Bethlehem after three years

A giant Christmas tree adorned with red and gold baubles stands in the West Bank city of Bethlehem for the first time since 2022.

News Lens • 06 Dec

David A Lindon, who has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the world's smallest handmade sculpture of a smiley face

Micro-artist creates sculpture size of human blood cell

An artist has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the world's smallest handmade sculpture of a smiley face which is so small that it is invisible to the human eye.

News Lens • 05 Dec

A photograph taken at the archaeological site of Karahantepe

Carved faces shed new light on Neolithic in Turkey

On the windswept hills overlooking Turkey's vast southeastern plains, new archaeological discoveries are revealing how life might have looked 11,000 years ago when the world's earliest communities began to emerge.

News Lens • 04 Dec

In this photo illustration, an ATAC metro and bus ticket was photographed in front of a bus in RomE

Rome bus, metro company to offer refunds for poor service

Rome's public transport company Atac has committed to offering refunds for poor service, Italy's competition authority said on, ending an investigation of the publicly controlled body.

News Lens • 03 Dec

A Christie's staff member with the Winter Egg by Faberge

Faberge's rare Winter Egg fetches record €26m at auction

Faberge's The Winter Egg, considered one of the most beautiful creations by the legendary jeweller of Imperial Russia, was sold for nearly £23m (€26.1m) at an auction in London today, smashing the sales record for Carl Faberge.

News Lens • 02 Dec

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - NOVEMBER 28: The controversial nativity scene is seen in Brussels Grand-Place on November 28, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. In 2025 Brussels installed a "faceless,inclusive" nativity scene made from recycled textiles at the GrandPlace, pr

Away from the manger: Jesus stolen from Brussels nativity

A baby Jesus has been stolen from a Christmas nativity scene in Brussels which sparked an online furore over its faceless depictions of Christianity's holy family.

News Lens • 02 Dec

Christmas trees in the Cross Hall of the White House

White House gets scaled-down Christmas display

US First Lady Melania Trump unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations - in a reduced space after President Donald Trump demolished part of the historic building for a new ballroom.

News Lens • 02 Dec

Exterior view of The French Cinematheque in Paris

Bedbugs force closure of prestigious Paris cinema

The prestigious Cinematheque Francaise has closed for a month over a bedbug infestation after sightings of the blood-sucking pests, including during a masterclass with actress Sigourney Weaver.

News Lens • 30 Nov

The Goldenstein castle, in the municipality of Elsbethen, Austria

Rebel octogenarian Austrian nuns win reprieve

Three rebel nuns in their 80s who made headlines after fleeing their care home to take back their Austrian convent are being allowed to stay in the nunnery "until further notice", church officials have said.

News Lens • 28 Nov

Photo shows Lido Paradiso and Scilla with castello Ruffo, Strait of Messina, Calabria, Italy

Italian court rules against Sicily bridge

An Italian court has ruled that plans for the world's largest suspension bridge between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily would break EU environmental and tender rules, but the government said it would not give up on the flagship project.

News Lens • 28 Nov

A Gendarmerie car drives past the entrance of the jail of Dijon as officers stand by

Two detainees escape from French jail using bed sheets

Two detainees at a French jail sawed through the bars of their cell and escaped using bed sheets overnight, a prosecutor has said, in the second such incident in recent weeks.

News Lens • 27 Nov

NASA rover detects electrical discharges on Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover has obtained evidence that the atmosphere of Mars is electrically active, detecting electrical discharges - what one scientist called "mini-lightning" - often associated with whirlwinds called dust devils that regularly saunter over the planet's surface.

News Lens • 26 Nov

Dead bed bugs pictured inside a container at a laboratory of the Science University of Malaysia (USM) in George Town, on Penang island

Scientists recruit bed bugs as crime scene sleuths

Under glaring laboratory lights, a research assistant extends his forearm and carefully inverts a mesh-topped container onto his skin to allow a wriggling mass of bed bugs to feed on his blood, all in the name of science.

News Lens • 25 Nov

Map of Afar region in Ethiopia - Bing Maps

Ethiopian volcano erupts after 12,000-year dormancy

A volcano in Ethiopia's northeastern region erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending thick plumes of smoke up to 14kms (nine miles) into the sky, the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said.

News Lens • 24 Nov

Researchers stunned by wolf's use of crab traps to feed

When a wild wolf encounters a potential meal, its instinct is usually to pounce - but researchers in western Canada have recorded at least one wolf taking a strikingly different approach.

World • 24 Nov

Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, Mr. Charles M. Hays, Mr. Henry B. Harris, and Mr. J. B. Taylor. Five victims of the S. S. Titanic sinking

Titanic couple's gold watch sells for over €2m at auction

A gold pocket watch recovered from an elderly couple who drowned during the sinking of the Titanic has sold for over €2 million at auction.

News Lens • 24 Nov

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs holding the Warwick Buzzard bass guitar

Wood grain analysis reveals bass guitar's link to Queen

A painstaking exercise in matching the pattern of wood grain on an electric bass guitar to video footage of the band Queen has tripled the instrument's value as it comes up for auction.

Music • 23 Nov

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is pictured in London in September

US legislators accuse Andrew of hiding from Epstein probe

US legislators have criticised Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for what they describe as "silence" amid their probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

UK • 22 Nov

Eurovision unveils major voting rule changes for 2026

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced a series of changes to the Eurovision Song Contest voting rules for 2026 in a move it says is designed to strengthen trust, transparency and audience engagement.

Eurovision • 22 Nov

Miss Mexico wins Miss Universe contest after insult drama

Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand, strutting to victory after staging a walkout when an organiser of the beauty pageant chastised her among several dramatic missteps before the final round.

World • 22 Nov

A plate of spaghetti Carbonara in an Italian restaurant

'Carbonara sauce' at EU parliament causes stir with Italy

A jar of "carbonara sauce" for sale at the European Parliament in Brussels has whipped up Italian emotions after criticism that it does not contain the right ingredients.

News Lens • 21 Nov

newslens

Argentine dance to Yemeni poetry among UNESCO bids

Suspect arrested over theft of Matisse artworks in Brazil

France to return smuggled dinosaur skeleton to Mongolia

Louvre says hundreds of works damaged by water leak

Christmas lights return to Bethlehem after three years

Micro-artist creates sculpture size of human blood cell

Carved faces shed new light on Neolithic in Turkey

Rome bus, metro company to offer refunds for poor service

Faberge's rare Winter Egg fetches record €26m at auction

Away from the manger: Jesus stolen from Brussels nativity

White House gets scaled-down Christmas display

Bedbugs force closure of prestigious Paris cinema

Rebel octogenarian Austrian nuns win reprieve

Italian court rules against Sicily bridge

Two detainees escape from French jail using bed sheets

NASA rover detects electrical discharges on Mars

Scientists recruit bed bugs as crime scene sleuths

Ethiopian volcano erupts after 12,000-year dormancy

Researchers stunned by wolf's use of crab traps to feed

Titanic couple's gold watch sells for over €2m at auction

Wood grain analysis reveals bass guitar's link to Queen

US legislators accuse Andrew of hiding from Epstein probe

Eurovision unveils major voting rule changes for 2026

Miss Mexico wins Miss Universe contest after insult drama

'Carbonara sauce' at EU parliament causes stir with Italy