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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 Extras stand by as a television crew films an episode of the TV series “Al-Souriyoun al-Aada” (“The Syrian Enemies”), based on a novel of the same name that was banned under Bashar Assad, along a transformed street in central Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Photos Show Filming of Ramadan TV Drama Series on the War-scarred Streets of Syria's Aleppo

Ramadan in the Arab world is a month of fasting and prayer by day — and television by night. For decades, families have gathered after the iftar, the evening…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A man works in a snowstorm, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in New York. (AP)

How Bomb Cyclones Form and Create Dangerous Conditions 

When turbulent weather with whipping winds and heavy snow is in the forecast, meteorologists sometimes warn that a storm could “bomb out” or become a bomb…

Varieties People walk along Manhattan's Times Square during a snowfall in New York City, on February 22, 2026. (AFP)

New York Orders Citywide Travel Ban as Major Storm Hits US 

New York ordered drivers off the road and shut down schools on Monday, while residents braced for a massive snowstorm hitting the United States northeast. …

Varieties A photomontage shows the project by French artist JR called Pont Neuf Cavern in his studio, in Paris, France, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

French Artist's Installation Will Transform Paris' Oldest Bridge Into Giant Cave

He is known as the French Banksy — or simply JR. Now the artist popular across France for large-scale projects, from photographs to graffiti and street art,…

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Varieties Deep breathing exercises, remembrance, and brief meditation before sleep may reduce stress markers (Pexels).

Does Fasting Stress You? Here’s the Role of Cortisol and How to Manage It

Fasting during Ramadan is both a spiritual and a health practice that benefits the body and mind. Medical studies, however, show that fasting can sometimes…

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Varieties The region is set to host a diverse lineup of events, including national performances - SPA

Jazan Marks Founding Day with 1,500 Banners and Regional Festivities

The Jazan Municipality has finalized its preparations for Founding Day, decorating the region with over 1,500 banners and a comprehensive visual identity, SPA…

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Varieties “I think it’s important not to upset and offend, but shock people into learning the whole truth,” the auctioneer, Marcus Salter, said. (Cheeky Auctions Tain)

Scottish Antiques Auction Selling Neck Shackles Accused of ‘Profiting from Slavery’

An antiques auction selling chains linked to the enslavement of African people in Zanzibar has been accused of “profiting from slavery,” according to The…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Varieties A California Highway Patrol helicopter lifts off from Truckee Tahoe Airport while taking part in recovery efforts for the skiers that died in an avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in Truckee, California, US February 21, 2026.  REUTERS/Fred Greaves

Crews Recover Bodies of 9 Backcountry Skiers Days after California Avalanche

Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed by an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada, authorities said Saturday, concluding a…

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Varieties The capital's streets have transformed into vibrant displays of national pride, embodying 299 years of continuous development and progress - SPA

Riyadh Municipality Decorates Capital with Over 5,000 Lights for Founding Day

The Riyadh Municipality has illuminated the capital's main streets, vital thoroughfares, and public squares with over 5,000 decorative lights in celebration of…

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Varieties This undated handout image received on December 26, 2024 from the State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services shows officials on a road near a bushfire in the Grampians National Park in Australia's Victoria state. (Handout / State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services / AFP)

Residents in Australia’s Victoria State Urged to Evacuate as Bushfire Rages

An ‌out-of-control bushfire in Australia's Victoria state prompted an evacuation alert for residents near a remote mining settlement, authorities said on…

Varieties  Juvenile giant tortoises are loaded onto a boat on Santa Cruz Island for transport to Floreana Island for release as part of a project to reintroduce the Floreana giant tortoise to its native island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Galapagos Park Releases 158 Juvenile Hybrid Tortoises on Floreana to Restore the Ecosystem

Nearly 150 years after the last giant tortoises were removed from Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago, the species made a comeback Friday, when…

Varieties Workers are finishing works at the birth house of former German dictator Adolf Hitler that is turned into a police station, pictured on February 17, 2026 in Braunau am Inn, Austria. (AFP)

Austria Turns Hitler’s Home into a Police Station

Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown. "It's a double-edged sword," said…

Varieties Animal rights group PETA Asia says tigers live in 'misery', urging tourists to stay away from private parks. Mladen ANTONOV / AFP/File

Virus Kills Dozens of Tigers in Thailand Park

A deadly virus and bacterial infection have killed at least 72 tigers at a private animal park in Thailand's north in recent weeks, authorities said. The…

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Varieties US actor Eric Dane speaks about his ALS diagnosis during a news conference to discuss health insurance at the Department of Health and Human Services Headquarters in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2025. (AFP)

What Is ALS, the Disease That Killed Actor Eric Dane?

Eric Dane, known for his roles on "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Euphoria," died this week from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 53. The fatal nervous system…

Varieties People wait at a tram stop after heavy snowfalls in Vienna, Austria, February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl

Snowstorm Paralyzes Vienna Airport

Massive snowstorms caused power outages and transport chaos in Austria on Friday, forcing the Vienna airport to temporarily halt all flights. Flights…

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Varieties NASA duo Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were stuck on the ISS for nine months. Handout / NASA TV/AFP/File

NASA Delivers Harsh Assessment of Botched Boeing Starliner Test Flight

NASA on Thursday blamed what it called engineering vulnerabilities in Boeing's Starliner spacecraft along with internal agency mistakes in a sharply critical…

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Varieties A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Abandoned Baby Monkey Finds Comfort in Stuffed Orangutan

At a zoo outside Tokyo, the monkey enclosure has become a must-see attraction thanks to an inseparable pair: Punch, a baby Japanese macaque, and his stuffed…

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Varieties US President Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One (AP)

Trump Says he’s Ordering Release of Data on UFOs, Aliens

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is ordering federal agencies to begin “identifying and releasing” government files related to UFOs and aliens, a…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Varieties Paleontologist Paul Sereno poses in his Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis. The photograph was released by the University of Chicago on February 19, 2026. Keith Ladzinski/Handout via REUTERS

Fossils of New Species of Huge Dinosaur Unearthed in Niger

At a remote and barren Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating…

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Varieties A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top launches from Space Launch Complex 40 for the Crew-12 mission at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on February 13, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

Rocket Re-entry Pollution Measured in Atmosphere for 1st Time

When part of a SpaceX rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere exactly a year ago, it created a spectacular fireball that streaked across Europe's skies,…

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Varieties A close-up showing the shiny silver-green photophores (light organs) on the lower head of the deep-sea fish Maurolicus muelleri from the Red Sea, seen in this photograph released on February 11, 2026. Dr. Wen-Sung Chung/Handout via REUTERS

Deep-sea Fish Break the Mold with Novel Visual System

For more than a century, biology textbooks have stated that vision among vertebrates - people included - is built from two clearly defined cell types: rods for…

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Varieties FILE PHOTO: Factories line the port of Osaka, western Japan October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo

Japan City Gets $3.6 Mn Donation in Gold to Fix Water System

Osaka has received an unusual donation -- 21 kilograms of gold -- to pay for the maintenance of its ageing water system, the Japanese commercial hub announced…

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Varieties People gather to watch performers outside Emsphere shopping mall on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, in Bangkok on February 17, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Thai Cops Go Undercover as Lion Dancers to Nab Suspected Thief

Thai police donned a lion dance costume during this week's Lunar New Year festivities to arrest a suspect accused of stealing about $64,000 worth of Buddhist…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Little is left of the once sprawling acacia forest south of Sudan's capital. Ebrahim Hamid / AFP

Sudan's Historic Acacia Forest Devastated as War Fuels Logging

Vast stretches of a once-verdant acacia forest south of Sudan's capital Khartoum have been reduced to little more than fields of stumps as nearly three years…

Asharq Al Awsat