60 h. ago Maduro says the real reason for Trump’s Venezuela fixation is oil – is he right?

The South American country facing a huge US military buildup has almost a fifth of known global reservesVisual guide to US military presence in the CaribbeanVenezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, says the real motive behind the massive US military buildup in the Caribbean is oil: his country has the largest proven reserves in the world.The US state department denies this, insisting that the airstrikes on boats that have killed more than 80 people and the vast military deployment off South America are part of a campaign against drug trafficking. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Three of the huge new mega airports set to become some of the world’s biggest

WITH countries around the world reporting record tourist levels, its no wonder so many are announcing huge expansion plans. And when it comes to airports, there are a number of multi-billion plans to build some of the world's biggest. Currently, the world's largest airport is King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia, when it comes...

Politics

3 d. ago World Cup draw simulator: Predict the 2026 World Cup draw for free

The draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place this afternoon, with England and Scotland among the 48 teams competing in the largest World Cup ever

Politics

4 d. ago ‘One bite and he was hooked’: from Kenya to Nepal, how parents are battling ultra

Five families around the world share their struggles to keep their children away from UPFsParents and young people: share your concerns about ultra-processed foods (UPFs)The scourge of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is global. While their consumption is particularly high in the west, forming more than half the average diet in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are replacing fresh food in diets on every continent.This month, the world’s largest review on the health threats of UPFs was published in the Lancet. It warned that such foods are exposing millions of people to long-term harm, and called for urgent action. Earlier this year Unicef revealed that more children around the world were obese than underweight for the first time, as junk food overwhelms diets, with the steepest rises in low- and middle-income countries. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Mystery as nearly 500 endangered Caspian seals wash up dead on Russian beach

WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Russian officials are currently investigating the mysterious death of 500 seals after they washed up on the coastline in Dagestan in December

Events

5 d. ago How the world’s largest humanitarian organisation is changing in the era of Trump’s aid cuts

The UN’s World Food Programme has a reputation for handing out large quantities of food in disaster zones and then moving on. But in Ethiopia, Nick Ferris finds an aid agency increasingly prioritising ‘resilience’ and aiming to make the country self-sustaining. However, escalating aid cuts and the climate crisis are making things harder

Politics

5 d. ago Airbus cuts plane delivery target amid A320 fuselage problem

Output reduction to ‘around 790’ planes comes after French firm issued recall over software glitch affecting 6,000 jetsBusiness live – latest updatesAirbus has cut its plane delivery target for this year after it identified a problem with the fuselage panels on its bestselling A320 family of aircraft that has forced it to inspect hundreds of jets.The world’s largest plane manufacturer said it would now deliver “around 790” commercial aircraft this year, a drop of 30 from its previous target of 820 planes. Continue reading...

Society

5 d. ago Rugby World Cup 2027 draw live: England, Springboks, All Blacks and more find out opponents

The Springboks eye a third successive triumph, with 24 teams finding out their fate for the largest World Cup ever in Australia in 2027

Sport

5 d. ago Rugby World Cup 2027 draw live: England, Springboks, All Blacks and more to find out opponents

The Springboks eye a third successive triumph, with 24 teams set to find out their fate for the largest World Cup ever in Australia in 2027

Sport

6 d. ago ‘Those who eat Chilean salmon cannot imagine how much human blood it carries with it’

The country is the world’s second-largest producer of the popular fish, and the biggest supplier to the US, but its farms are beset by accusations of dangerous labour conditions, antibiotic overuse and ecological harmJulia Cárcamo López’s house faces the sea, near enough to hear the gulls calling through the salt-encrusted windows. She lives in the small town of Maullín, on the edge of Chile’s Patagonia, an area where almost everyone works in the fishing industry.Outside, it is drizzling and the sky is darkening as she recalls 1 May 2019, one of the worst days of her life. “Two men knocked on my door and told me they had bad news: my husband had had an accident while working at sea,” she says. Since then, she has discovered that the accident seems to have been caused by negligence. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago ‘We’re not going anywhere’: how unionization ‘whirlwind’ set stage for historic Starbucks strike

Four years after workers at a Starbucks store in upstate New York became the first to unionize, hundreds of outlets followed – defying intense resistance from the coffee chain. What happened next?2000Thousands of Starbucks baristas are on strike across the US, warning the world’s largest coffee chain to brace for the “longest and biggest” bout of industrial action in its history.Barely a year after Brian Niccol, the Starbucks CEO, tried to draw a line under bitter divisions between its management and unionized workers, pledging to “engage constructively” with them, the American coffee giant is now grappling with an escalating strike during its lucrative holiday trading season. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago China poses 'a national security threat to the UK', Sir Keir Starmer warns

In his annual Guildhall speech on foreign policy, the Prime Minister argued that failing to engage with the world's second largest economy was 'a dereliction of duty'.

Events

7 d. ago What you need to know about the abandoned asbestos factory where only the foolhardy tread

The old factory was once the world's largest producer of asbestos

Culture

7 d. ago No soap, no tents, no food: Rohingya families fight for survival as aid plummets

In Bangladesh, over a million people in the world’s largest refugee camp depend on aid – and cuts mean new arrivals are not even given shelterThe light of a single lightbulb powered by a backup generator lasts just long enough for Noor and Sowkat to see the faces of their newborn babies for the first time. The two children were born on the same night on a crumbling foam mattress, its corners ripped to shreds by the thousands of women who have gone into labour here in Camp 22’s makeshift delivery room.The newborns have just become the youngest residents of the world’s largest refugee camp, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which is struggling to operate in the face of a 63% deficit in humanitarian aid funding. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Rising Tide protest: climate activists stop three ships from entering world’s largest coal port in Newcastle

Australian campaigners demand Albanese government cancel planned fossil fuel projects and tax existing operations at 78%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastActivists have blocked two more coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle on the fourth day of the Rising Tide protests, bringing the total number of ships turned around by campaigners this weekend to three.Thousands of people have gathered at Rising Tide’s annual climate protest at the world’s largest coal port. The blockade began on Thursday and will continue until Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago UK unveils bid for 2035 women’s football World Cup with 15 cities and 22 stadiums in mix

FA says 63 million people within two hours of a venueFinal stadium list will come down to between 14 and 16England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have submitted their bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup as the largest single-sport event staged in the UK.The Lionesses’ leading goalscorer, Ellen White, described the bid as “really special” and compared it to her experience of the 2012 Olympics as a part of Team GB. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Inside the ghost airport once set to become the world's largest

Mirabel International Airport, in Montreal, Canada, was set to be the largest travel hub in the world before it was left to rot.

Politics

1 week ago Ghost airport built to be world's largest terminal left to rot with chilling explanation

Mirabel International Airport in Canada was meant to be the world's biggest but was ultimately abandoned after a string of setbacks left it isolated and empty

Politics

1 week ago Cuddling capybaras and ogling otters: the problem with animal cafes in Asia

A boom in places offering petting sessions is linked to a rise in the illegal movement of exotic and endangered species, say expertsThe second floor of an unassuming office building in central Bangkok is a strange place to encounter the world’s largest rodent. Yet here, inside a small enclosure with a shallow pool, three capybaras are at the disposal of dozens of paying customers – all clamouring for a selfie. As people eagerly thrust leafy snacks toward the nonchalant-looking animals, few seem to consider the underlying peculiarity: how, exactly, did this South American rodent end up more than 10,000 miles from home, in a bustling Asian metropolis?Capybara cafes have been cropping up across the continent in recent years, driven by the animal’s growing internet fame. The semi-aquatic animals feature in more than 600,000 TikTok posts. In Bangkok, cafe customers pay 400 baht (£9.40) for a 30-minute petting session with them, along with a few meerkats and Chinese bamboo rats. Doors are...

Politics

1 week ago Life in the world's largest city: How Jakarta eclipsed Tokyo's population with 42 MILLION now packed into 'sinking' Indonesian metropolis ravaged by flooding and pollution

The Indonesian capital Jakarta has become the world's largest city with 42 million crowded into a metropolis blighted by floods, horrific pollution and some of the worst traffic jams on the planet.

Events