Varieties: Discover Latest News Today

Food Industry Pushes Back on WHO Guidance for Products with Added Color, Sweeteners

Varieties Around 11 million deaths a year are linked to unhealthy diets, according to the agency, based on data from a global study. (Getty Images)

Food Industry Pushes Back on WHO Guidance for Products with Added Color, Sweeteners

Governments should consider regulating foods that include added colors, flavors or sweeteners designed to make the product more appealing to consumers,…

Varieties Dozens of Pakistani farmers are suing German firms RWE and Heidelberg Materials in a rare bid to make big polluters pay damages for climate impacts. Aamir QURESHI / AFP

Pakistan Farmers in Long Fight to Make German Firms Pay for Flood Damage

In a Pakistani village nestled in rice fields, Abdul Hafeez Khoso remembers the vast industrial zones he saw in Germany when he visited to file a pioneering…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A tourist holds an umbrella to shelter from the sun while walking on a hot day in Tokyo on July 15, 2026. (AFP)

This Year Set to Be One of Four Hottest on Record, UN Report Says

This year is ‌on track to be one of the four hottest on record, driven by a powerful El Niño and perpetuating a warming streak of more than a decade, a UN…

Varieties A white-tailed eagle over the Isle of Mull in Scotland. (Natural Resources Wales)

Reintroduction of White-Tailed Eagles Puts Seabird Colonies at Risk of Wipeout

White-tailed eagles reintroduced into England and Wales imperil endangered seabird populations and risk wiping out some colonies, The Guardian reported quoting…

Varieties Residents extend a supply hose to fill a barrel with clean water from a tanker truck in Kavling Bakau Serip, amid local water shortages linked to data center developments in Batam. ANDARU / AFP

Can't Cook or Shower: Indonesians Take Aim at Data Centers

Cooking and bathing became difficult when taps ran dry in Batam, an Indonesian island where residents are protesting as data centers spring up to power the…

Asharq Al Awsat

Varieties A Komodo Dragon is seen in Komodo National Park, Indonesia April 6, 2018. REUTERS/Henning Gloystein/File Photo

Indonesia to Loan Endangered Komodo Dragons to Japan for Breeding Program

Indonesia will loan two Komodo dragons to Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, where it is hoped the endangered reptiles will be able to breed, and will receive some…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties This photo provided by Cara Johnson shows her husband and drone operator, Colton Johnson, left, sitting next to Stacy Brereton as she holds a kangaroo named Chesney at Sunshine Farm, in Necedah, Wis., Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Cara Johnson via AP)

Chesney the Kangaroo Scales Tall Fence and Flees Petting Zoo for 3 Days on the Lam

How does a kangaroo escape a petting zoo? It's not the opening line to a dad joke. If you're Chesney the kangaroo, you scale an eight-foot (2 1/2 meter)…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a field at a key stopover site for migratory birds near the West Bank city of Jenin, 26 March 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

UN Body: Forty New Migratory Species Win International Protection

The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) on Sunday approved the listing of 40 new species for international protection,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties General view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Companies Showcase ‘Saudi Made’ Products at IFE 2026 in London

The Saudi Exports Development Authority (Saudi Exports) is participating under the “Saudi Made” identity in the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) 2026,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A humpback whale lies on a sandbank in the shallow waters at Wismar Bay in the Baltic Sea, after having moved overnight, near Wismar, Germany, March 29, 2026. (Reuters)

Humpback Whale ‘Timmy’ Struggles to Escape Shallow Waters off Germany

A young humpback ‌whale named Timmy by rescuers was struggling to find its way out of shallow bays off the Baltic coast of Germany on Sunday morning,…

Varieties Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Reddit applications are displayed on a mobile phone ahead of new law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)

Swiss Back Tougher Social Media Rules for Minors, Survey Finds

The ‌vast majority of Swiss want stronger protection for children and teenagers on social media, according to a survey published on Sunday, as governments…

Varieties Ruari Buijs, a marine biology and oceanography student, right, and Caroline Chen, a scientific diver and research assistant, prepare to dive during a Polar Scientific Diving class in Kilpisjärvi, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

The Sea Beneath Arctic and Antarctic Ice Holds Many Secrets. These Scientists Dive Deep to Find Out

As bubbles rippled across the frigid Finnish lake, diver Daan Jacobs emerged from a hole carved out of the thick, crackling ice. The journey had taken him 8…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties This handout photo taken on March 16, 2026 and released by the Kiel-based GEOMAR oceanographic research center on March 23, 2026 shows a scientist looking at digital scans highlighting munitions and various spots of interest on the seabed aboard the scientific research vessel Alkor in the Eastern Baltic Sea. (Lauren Peck / GEOMAR / AFP)

Germany’s WWII Munitions a 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…

Varieties FILE - A KitKat chocolate bar in Rugby, England, on July 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)

413,793 KitKat Candy Bars Stolen en Route from Italy to Poland

Swiss food giant Nestlé says about 12 tons, or 413,793 candy bars, of its KitKat chocolate brand were stolen after leaving its production site in Italy earlier…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Jelita, a Bengal tiger, is seen in its enclosure at Bandung Zoo in Bandung, West Java, on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Timur Matahari / AFP)

Virus Kills Tiger Cubs in Indonesian Zoo

Two Bengal tiger cubs born in Indonesia's Bandung Zoo last year have died from a viral infection, a conservation official told AFP on Friday. The cubs, two…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Artemis 2 crew members, from left, Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose for a photo after the crew’s arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Friday, March 27, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Meet the Artemis Crew in NASA's First Astronaut Mission to the Moon in More than a Half-century

The four astronauts making NASA’s next lunar leap bear little resemblance to the Apollo era. The Americans who blazed the trail to the moon more than half a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Campsites have sprung up throughout the region - SPA

Scattered Rain Revitalizes Desert Outings, Camping in Saudi Hail

Recent scattered rainfall across Saudi Arabia's Hail Region has drawn residents and visitors to the plains, mountains, and popular sites such as the Aja and…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A humpback whale swims in the Baltic Sea, accompanied by an inflatable boat, after freeing itself the night before from being stranded off Niendorf in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Friday March 27, 2026. (Marcus Brandt/dpa via AP)

Whale Stranded at Baltic Sea Resort Has Swum Off Sandbank. But it Isn't Safe Yet

A whale that was stranded for days in shallow water at a Baltic Sea resort in Germany has swum free from a sandbank overnight after a last-ditch rescue effort…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties This undated handout received on March 28, 2026 from Singapore's National Parks Board and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority shows pangolin scales being examined following their seizure in Singapore on December 29, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Singapore's National Parks Board and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority / AFP)

Singapore Seizes Record Asian Pangolin Scales Disguised as 'Dried Fish Skin'

Singapore has seized over 830 kilograms of Asian pangolin scales hidden in a shipment bound for Cambodia, authorities said Saturday, calling it the largest…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties One of the mountainous areas located in the south of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia Reaffirms Commitment to Environmental Action on Saudi Green Initiative Day

The Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Day, observed annually on March 27 following a Cabinet decision, reflects the Kingdom's commitment to establishing a culture…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A person shows a cell phone displaying a message to evacuate to a tsunami safety zone during an evacuation of the coast following a tsunami warning issued by local authorities after an earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia, triggering warnings and evacuations across the South Pacific, in Dichato, near Concepcion, Chile, July 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Satellite Observations Offer Insight into a Tsunami’s Early Stages

Observations made by a satellite operated by the US and French space agencies shortly after a strong earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula last…

Varieties  An olive ridley sea turtle hatchling moves on a beach after emerging from its nest near Libreville on February 15, 2026. (AFP)

Gabon Battles for Baby Sea Turtles’ Survival

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, newly hatched sea turtles emerged on a Gabonese beach to embark on the treacherous 10-meter (33-foot) scramble…

Varieties A model of lunar lander "Resilience", operated by ispace, is displayed at a venue where ispace employees monitored the company's attempt to land on the Moon, in Tokyo, Japan, June 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Japan’s ispace Delays Nasa-Sponsored Moon Landing to 2030

Japanese spacecraft startup ispace said ‌on Friday it will further delay a US government-sponsored lunar mission to 2030 and cut its global workforce, in…

Varieties Hmong volunteer firefighter Mongkol Yingyotmongkolsaen using a drone to monitor fires in the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park area of Chiang Mai. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

Tech-equipped Indigenous Firefighters Protect Thai Forests

In the dry-season heat of northern Thailand, Hmong villagers zip through forested slopes, blasting tinder with leaf blowers and cutting through brush with…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties China is challenging the United States' supremacy in spaceflight. Pedro Pardo / AFP/File

Moon Race: How China is Challenging the US

Walking on the Moon by 2030, building a lunar base, and then perhaps on to Mars: after 30 years of honing its expertise, China is challenging the United States…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties An adult female Kemp's ridley sea turtle is seen swimming in a tank at Loggerhead Marinelife Center after a satellite tracking device was attached to its shell in Juno Beach, Fla. on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Cody Jackson)

3-limbed Sea Turtle Being Tracked at Sea by Satellite

The veterinary staff at a Florida sea turtle hospital is getting help from space to monitor the animals they have rehabilitated. They're particularly…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties FILE PHOTO: A woman gives her dog a kiss as they watch the sunset at Anchor Bay outside Mellieha, Malta, January 26, 2018.  REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo

Genetic Study Identifies Earliest-known Dog, Dating to 15,800 Years Ago

Dogs have been loyal companions to people since we made them our first domesticated animals, descending long ago from gray wolves - though precisely when,…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Varieties This handout picture taken on February 8, 2020 and released by the International Fund for Animal Welfare on March 25, 2026 shows Bear, an Australian Koolie, scanning the Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust Sanctuary for koalas in the Numeralla, Peak View and Nerriga areas of New South Wales. (Handout / International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) / AFP)

‘Hero’ Australian Dog Who Saved 100 Koalas Retires

An Australian dog credited with saving over 100 koalas from bushfires is retiring after a decade of service. Bear, an 11-year-old Australian Koolie, was one…

Varieties A visitor holds a sugar glider at a pet fair in Beijing on March 19, 2026. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

Exotic Pet Trade Thrives in China Despite Welfare Concerns

Pet lovers eagerly gathered around a container to snap photos of meerkats at a Beijing animal fair, each selling for $320, while nearby a raccoon nervously…

Asharq Al Awsat