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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 © FETHI BELAID / AFP

Tunisia's Famed Blue-and-white Village Threatened after Record Rains

Perched on a hill overlooking Carthage, Tunisia's famed blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said now faces the threat of landslides, after record rainfall tore…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies. SPA

Saudi Arabia: AlUla Hot Air Balloons, Safari Span 200,000 Years of History

AlUla’s season has launched a new slate of aerial experiences, offering visitors a rare opportunity to explore nearly 200,000 years of human history from the…

Asharq Al Awsat (AlUla)
Varieties Prof Uri Alon said he hoped the study would inspire further investigation into the genes that affect lifespan (Shutterstock)

Scientists May Have Unlocked Key Secret to Long Life

Scientists think they may have unlocked a key secret to long life – quite simply, genetics, according to The Guardian. Writing in the journal Science, the…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Varieties Sack of fresh raw potatoes (Shutterstock)

Berlin Drowning in Potatoes… for Free

A vast stockpile of potatoes is being given away for free by a farm in the German state of Saxony, after a bumper national harvest. Thousands of tasty tubers…

Asharq Al Awsat (Berlin)
Varieties Jeff Bezos arrives to attend Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2026 show in Paris, France, January 26, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

Bezos's Blue Origin to 'Pause' Space Tourism to Focus on Moon Efforts

Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin said Friday it would temporarily pause flights of its space tourism rocket to focus more resources on its lunar…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties The ermine and stoat mascots of the 2026 Olympic Games are everywhere, but their real-life counterparts risk dwindling in the wild. Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

Cuddly Olympics Mascot Facing Life or Death Struggle in the Wild

Tina and Milo, the ermine and stoat mascots of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Games in Italy, are already everywhere -– smiling on stuffed animals, posters, mugs…

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Varieties The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs - SPA

Turaif Hosts Falcon Festival with Over 700 Participants

The tenth edition of Northern Borders Falcon Festival commenced today in Turaif Governorate, in collaboration with the Saudi Falcons Club. The event…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties As the price of gold soars, Accra plans to revise its mining code to increase state revenue from the sector. Chris Stein / AFP/File

Ghana Moves to Rewrite Mining Laws for Bigger Share of Gold Revenues

Ghana is preparing to overhaul its mining laws to increase its share of the revenues generated by the surge in the precious metal's price, sparking concern…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties People replastered the Great Mosque of Djenne, one of Mali's major tourist draws, in June 2025. OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP/File

Mali's Troubled Tourism Sector Crosses Fingers for Comeback

Oumar Cisse used to lead tours of Djenne, an ancient, fabled city in central Mali known for its towering mud-brick mosque, but he now ekes out a living driving…

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Varieties Chief Executive Officer of VAST Space Max Haot speaks at the Space Debris Conference 2026 in Riyadh. (SPA)

VAST CEO Announces Plan to Launch First Commercial Space Station in 2027

Chief Executive Officer of VAST Space Max Haot announced on Tuesday the company’s plan to launch the first commercial space station for astronauts, Haven-1, in…

Varieties A person looks out of a window in an apartment building in Kansas City, Mo., May 3, 2020. (AP)

Being a Night Owl May Not Be Great for Your Heart, but You Can Do Something About It

Being a night owl can be bad for your heart. That may sound surprising but a large study found people who are more active late at night — when most of the…

Varieties A bird eats an acai berry from a basket on the boat of merchant Evandro Santos, 38, resident of the riverside community of Sao Jose, in Melgaco, southwest of Marajo Island, state of Para, Brazil, on June 11, 2020. (AFP)

Brazil Declares Acai a National Fruit to Ward off 'Biopiracy'

Brazil has declared the acai berry a national fruit, a move to stamp its ownership on the popular "superfood" as concerns grow about foreign companies staking…

Varieties Residents dig out their cars in the South Boston neighborhood following a winter storm that dump more than a foot of snow across the region, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Boston. (AP)

What to Know About America’s Colossal Winter Storm

A life-threatening freeze is gripping large swaths of the United States after a monster storm caused at least 38 deaths from the Deep South to the Northeast,…

Varieties A view of a burnt forest outside Gellibrand, Australia, 28 January 2026. (EPA)

Record-Breaking Australia Heatwave Fuels Bushfires, Cuts Power to Thousands

A record-breaking heatwave baked Australia's southeast for a fifth straight day on Wednesday, fanning bushfires and straining ​the power grid, leaving…

Varieties A handout photo released by Suvarnabhumi Airport shows Thai health officials wearing protective masks monitoring passengers from international flights arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakan province, Thailand, 25 January 2026. (EPA/The Suvarnabhumi Airport Office Handout)

India Says It Has Contained Nipah Virus Outbreak as Some Asian Countries Ramp up Health Screenings

Indian authorities said they had contained a Nipah virus outbreak after confirming two cases in the eastern state of West Bengal, as several Asian countries…

Varieties With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs - SPA

75 Wildlife Species Released into King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority, today released 75 wildlife species into the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Artist's rendering of James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth, in this image released on September 19, 2023. NASA/dima_zel/Handout via REUTERS

Astronomers Unveil Map of Dark Matter's Distribution in Universe

Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope in a patch of the sky covering almost three times the area of the full moon, scientists have created the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, 25 January 2026. (EPA)

Japan’s Beloved Last Pandas Leave for China as Ties Fray

Hundreds gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China on Tuesday, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time…

Varieties Lou Zhenxian, owner of Vision Plush Toys, works at her desk near crying horse plush toys, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which will welcome the Year of the Horse, at Yiwu International Trade City in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Nicoco Chan

Accidental 'Crying Horse' Toy Wins Hearts in China

At Yiwu International Trade City, China’s largest wholesale market, customers crowd into a small shop searching for an unlikely bestseller ahead of the Lunar…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A man shades himself from the heat with a fan in Melbourne, Australia, 27 January 2026. (EPA)

Firefighters Order Evacuation as Heatwave Bakes Australia

Firefighters told people to flee an out-of-control bushfire in southeast Australia on Tuesday as a heatwave baked much of the country. Temperatures hit a…

Varieties The world's addiction to plastic is a 'global public health crisis', a researcher warned. Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP/File

Health Threat of Global Plastics Projected to Soar

The threat posed by plastic production, usage and disposal to human health will skyrocket in the coming years unless the world does something to address this…

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Varieties A Swedish flag hangs outside a store on a busy street as visitors walk past in the background in the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, July 14, 2023 REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

Sweden Plans to Jail 13-year-olds for Serious Offences

Sweden's government said Monday it was moving forward with a hotly contested bill to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 for serious…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties The conference program includes specialized panel discussions addressing space sustainability and governance, in addition to the technical and regulatory challenges associated with space debris - SPA

Second Edition of Space Debris 2026 Conference Kicks Off with Participation from 75 Countries

The second edition of the Space Debris 2026 Conference officially commenced today. Organized by the Saudi Space Agency (SSA), the conference is witnessing…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties A security officer looks on as the roof of Rod Laver Arena is closed due to extreme heat during the men's singles match between Italy's Jannik Sinner and USA's Eliot Spizzirri on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2026. (AFP)

World Not Ready for Rise in Extreme Heat, Scientists Say

Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050 and while tropical countries will bear the brunt cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists…