Back in 2017, Saudi Arabia announced something that sounded almost too big to be real, an entire new region along the Red Sea coast, bigger than Belgium, built from scratch around clean energy, zero cars and a completely new way of living. Called NEOM, the project’s most famous piece was The Line, a car free…
Saudi Arabia warns overstaying expats could lead to fines and jail. Saudi Arabia has warned expatriates that remaining in the Kingdom after the expiry of their entry visas could result in fines of up to SR50,000, imprisonment for up to six months and deportation.In a statement, the Interior Ministry urged visa holders to comply with…
Seven British nationals were among the 13 people killed. Seven British nationals were among the 13 people killed in the devastating wildfires that tore through southern Spain’s Almería province, Spanish authorities confirmed on Tuesday after completing post-mortem examinations.According to officials, 12 of the victims were foreign nationals — seven from the UK, three from Belgium,…
There is something slightly unexpected about seeing a pink lake for the first time. In photographs, the colour can seem exaggerated, almost artificial. Standing beside one is different. The shades shift with weather, sunlight and water conditions, sometimes appearing pale rose, sometimes closer to crimson, and occasionally fading towards white. Across Australia, these lakes are…
By the mid-1800s, much of New England had been stripped of the forests that had once blanketed the region. Centuries of logging, expanding farms and growing settlements transformed vast woodlands into open fields and pasture. Yet over the next two centuries, an extraordinary environmental turnaround unfolded. As farms were abandoned, people migrated west and nature…
British politician Andy Burnham, likely to be the next prime minister of the UK, has condemned what police described as an alleged right-wing terror threat targeting an Islamic gathering in Suffolk, saying hatred against Muslims has “no place” in the UK.In a post on X, Burnham wrote: “This is appalling. Hatred against Muslims has no…
China has some of the most polluted cities on the planet, and for years the usual fixes, stricter emission rules, factory shutdowns, better public transport, have only chipped away at the problem. So Italian architect Stefano Boeri decided to try something far more radical, wrapping entire buildings and eventually entire cities in trees. His firm’s…
There is a particular sound that belongs to the Alps in summer. It drifts across mountain meadows, echoes from rocky slopes and sometimes arrives before the animals themselves come into view. The ringing of cowbells has become so closely associated with Switzerland, Austria and parts of southern Germany that many visitors assume the bells exist…
Hidden among the gleaming skyscrapers of Tokyo’s busy Nihonbashi district is a tiny Shinto shrine where prayers have taken on an unusual modern meaning. Instead of asking for good health, academic success or prosperity, thousands of music lovers visit Fukutoku Shrine hoping to secure something that has become incredibly difficult to obtain in Japan: concert…
More than four centuries after the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha disappeared beneath the waters off the Florida Keys, the legendary shipwreck has yielded another remarkable discovery. Divers with Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions recovered a 22.5-pound silver bar from about 50 feet underwater near Key West, marking the first silver bar recovered from…
