Varieties: Discover Latest News Today

Portugal Closes All Schools and Non-Essential Services Ahead of a Major Atlantic Storm

Varieties Heavy machinery clears the debris from a landslide along the Marocos road in Machico municipality, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, due to severe weather caused by the passage of Storm Charles, 11 November 2026. (EPA)

Portugal Closes All Schools and Non-Essential Services Ahead of a Major Atlantic Storm

Portugal closed all schools and shuttered non-essential public services on Wednesday as a major Atlantic storm headed for the country's mainland. Streets…

Varieties The S.S. United States crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times. (Getty Images)

Once the World's Fastest, Ocean Liner Will Become Largest Artificial Reef

An ocean liner that is longer than the Titanic and was once the fastest on the seas is headed to a final home on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico as the world's…

Varieties Celine Dion. (AFP)

Medical Breakthrough for People with Same Disorder as Celine Dion

People suffering from stiff person syndrome (SPS), which affects Celine Dion, the singer, could soon benefit from a new medicine which improves symptoms. …

Varieties View of a flooded area after storm Leo passed by Alcacer do Sal, Portugal, February 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Portugal Storm Alert Closes Schools

Portugal will shut schools and non-essential public services on Wednesday, with the government urging people to shelter from winds potentially reaching 140…

Varieties British author John Harrison poses after winning the 2026 Booker Prize for his novel "The End of Everything" at the awards ceremony in London, Britain, 09 November 2026. (EPA)

British Writer John Harrison Wins 2026 Booker Prize for ‘The End of Everything’

British author ‌John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for his novel, "The End of Everything," a dystopian satire that the prize says probes the…


Varieties Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. (Reuters)

Victory for Prince Harry as Murdoch Papers Admits Wrongdoing by Sun 

Prince Harry settled his privacy claim against Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper group on Wednesday after the publisher admitted unlawful actions at its Sun…

Varieties A mobile home park destroyed in the Palisades Fire is seen on January 21, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images via AFP)

Fire Risk and Strong Winds Continue in Southern California with Potential Rain on the Horizon 

Parched Southern California was forecast to face more dangerous winds on Wednesday but could get some badly needed rain this weekend, dampening the prospects…

Varieties A monitor lizard looks out under a hut at the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve in Singapore on January 15, 2025. (AFP)

Japan Post to Stop Delivery of Live Reptiles 

Japan Post will not deliver live reptiles starting from April on animal welfare grounds, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. Customers had raised concerns…

Varieties A woman stands on a rooftop overlooking the Gwanghwamun Gate (back C) of Gyeongbokgung Palace on a polluted day in Seoul on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

South Korea’s Birthrate Set to Rise for the First Time in Nine Years 

South Korea's birthrate is set to show a rise in 2024 for the first time in nine years, following a rebound in marriages that were delayed due to the COVID-19…

Varieties Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. (Reuters) 

Nepal Sharply Hikes Permit Fee for Everest Climbers 

Nepal will increase the permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by more than 35%, making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first…

Varieties FILE - This undated photo provided by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo shows elephants Kimba, front, and Lucky, back, at the Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo via AP, File)

Court: Elephants Can't Pursue their Release from Colorado Zoo Because they're Not Human

Five elephants at a Colorado zoo may be “majestic” but, since they're not human, they do not have the legal right to pursue their release, Colorado’s highest…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, departs the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

Prince Harry's Lawsuit against The Sun is Part of a Long Saga of Alleged Tabloid Misbehavior

Prince Harry’s trial against the publisher of The Sun, which opens Tuesday, follows two decades of legal drama over the cutthroat practices of the British…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a rally on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second Presidential term, inside Capital One, in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Musk’s Hand Gesture During Trump Inauguration Festivities Draws Scrutiny 

Billionaire Elon Musk's hand gesture while he spoke during a celebration of President Donald Trump's inauguration drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute on…

Varieties British scientists Dr. E.T.S. Walton, left, and Dr. F.D. Cockroft, right, stand with Lord Rutherford outside the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge, UK, May 2, 1932. (AP)

Trump Vexes New Zealanders by Claiming One of Their Proudest Historical Moments for America 

Among other false and misleading claims in US President Donald Trump's inauguration addresses on Tuesday, his declaration that Americans “split the atom”…

Varieties William Amaya sells firewood out of his pickup truck Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP)

Deep South Braces for a Rare Winter Storm Threatening Heavy Snow, Sleet and Ice

Millions of people across the northern Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for a rare winter storm that's expected to scatter heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain around…

Varieties Founded by a group of dedicated volunteers and experts, the Association for Pilgrims and Umrah Services focuses on ensuring the safety and comfort of pilgrims at the start of their journey. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Hospitality: From Tradition to Serving Hajj and Umrah Pilgrims

Arabs have a long-standing tradition of hospitality, treating guests with the utmost respect. This value remains strong in Saudi Arabia, where generosity…

Asma al Ghabri (Jeddah)
Varieties People attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial marking MLK Day in Washington, Jan. 16, 2023. (AP)

Trump Says He Will Quickly Release JFK, Robert Kennedy, MLK Assassination Files 

President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday he would release classified documents in the coming days related to the assassinations of US President John F…

Varieties As many as 400 million pilgrims will visit the Kumbh Mela, a millennia-old sacred show of Hindu piety and ritual bathing. Niharika KULKARNI / AFP

India Uses AI to Stop Stampedes at World's Biggest Gathering

Keen to improve India's abysmal crowd management record at large-scale religious events, organizers of the world's largest human gathering are using artificial…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A view of Central Park as snow falls on January 19, 2025 in New York City.  (Getty Images/AFP)

Millions Across the US Brace for Plummeting Temperatures and Winter Storms 

Residents across the country from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine are bracing for dangerously low temperatures as tens of millions of residents along…

Varieties The "City Hub" project spans over 20,000 square meters in each city. Photo: GEA

Saudi General Entertainment Authority Head Launches ‘City Hub' Project in 7 Cities

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Alalshikh, launched on Sunday the "City Hub" project, which will…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Varieties Serena Null is reunited with her cat Domino, who was burned in the Eaton Fire, at Pasadena Humane, an animal shelter in Pasadena, California, on January 17, 2025. (AFP)

Separated by LA Wildfires, a Happy Reunion for Some Pets, Owners

When Serena Null saw the flames roaring toward her family home in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, she ran to find her pet Domino, but the cat eluded her…

Varieties A man wearing a face mask looks over a barricade set up to keep people out of a residential compound in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on April 14, 2020. (AFP)

Wuhan Keen to Shake off Pandemic Label Five Years On

Built in just days as Covid-19 cases spiked in Wuhan in early 2020, the Huoshenshan Hospital was once celebrated as a symbol of the Chinese city's fight…

Varieties Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File

Indonesia's Mount Ibu Erupts More than 1,000 Times this Month

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties  A heron searches for food next to abandoned fishing boats trapped in hyacinth at Central Beach in Lake Naivasha in Nakuru county, Kenya's Rift Valley, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

How the Invasive Water Hyacinth Is Threatening Fishermen’s Livelihoods on a Popular Kenyan Lake

For someone who fishes for a living, nothing says a bad day like spending over 18 hours on a lake and taking home nothing. Recently, a group of fishermen…

Varieties Deolira Gliceria Pedro da Silva, 119, sits in her house in Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

119-year-old Brazilian Woman Stakes Claim as World's Oldest Person

Two months away from what she says is her 120th birthday, Deolira Gliceria Pedro da Silva, a great-grandmother from the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties SpaceX's Starship rocket is pictured after launching as seen from South Padre Island near Brownsville, Texas, US January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Gabriel V. Cardenas

US FAA Probes Reports of SpaceX Rocket Debris Landing in Turks and Caicos

The US Federal Aviation Administration and officials from the Turks and Caicos Islands have launched probes into SpaceX's explosive Starship rocket test…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Belgian research scientist Clement Martin, who works with Belgium's federal police to create a "perfume" that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains, looks at human bones in his laboratory in Gembloux, Belgium January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Scientist Bottles Smell of Bones to Help Solve Cold Cases

A Belgian research scientist is working with the federal police to create a scent that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties 1,277 participants contributed to setting a new Guinness World Record for 2025. SPA

Jeddah Municipality Sets New Guinness World Record with Volunteers Forum

The Jeddah Municipality organized the third edition of the Million Volunteers Forum, where 1,277 participants contributed to setting a new Guinness World…

Asharq Al Awsat (Jeddah)
Varieties San Francisco firefighter Joshua Davis from the National Search and Rescue Response System and his dog Bosco take a break in the search of rubbles of houses destroyed by the Pacific Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

Dogs Prove Invaluable in Search for Los Angeles Fire Victims

In the ashes of what was once a luxury home on Malibu's Pacific coast, an energetic dog runs from spot to spot, searching for victims of one of the huge…

Asharq Al Awsat