World

Wait, is “simplicated” even a word? I don’t think so, but it should be. Twenty-eight years ago, my friend Cory told me I was falling behind in work, because my life had become so “simplicated.”

When I left Gaza in 2024, after six months of living through genocide, I wanted one thing above all else: to spare my only child a life spent permanently at war. I did not want him to grow up believing that the whole world looked like Gaza. But I left more than fifteen nieces and nephews behind. Many were still too young to understand the world they had been born into. They were learning what a home was, what a school was, what it meant to be alive, at the very moment those things were being destroyed around them.

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Seeing any animal in the wild is a privilege — but seeing huge numbers is something else. For a start, it’s both humbling and heartening to encounter any species in abundance. It’s also genuinely exciting. When big groups of creatures seasonally cluster in one place, there’s always something to watch — from courting and mating to fighting or family-raising. It may be a sensory assault, too: noise, tumult, pungent smells, crashing waters, mad flurries of dust. And where masses gather to move together, hungry predators may lurk, adding a macabre but fascinating dimension. Here, we’ve picked the most dramatic migrations through the year and around the globe. Monarch Butterflies, MexicoWhen to go: December to MarchHow does an insect the weight of a paperclip make a journey of 3,000 miles? That’s the feat of the extraordinary monarch butterfly, which somehow flutters from its summer breeding grounds — spread across Canada and the American northeast — to a patch of oyamel fir forest in the highlands west of Mexico City.

For scientists searching for life beyond Earth, rocky planets with atmospheres are among the most promising places to investigate. An atmosphere is essential for maintaining liquid water on a planet's surface. Yet among the more than 6,300 exoplanets cataloged thus far, most are not rocky, and only a small number of known rocky planets appear to possess atmospheres. Now, researchers have added another world to that short list. In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team led by University of Chicago scientist Brandon Park Coy reports evidence of an atmosphere surrounding HD 3167 b, a rocky super-Earth located 154 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. The intensely hot planet, classified as a "lava world," completes an orbit around its star in only one Earth day.

NewsLocals in these cities really know how to make visitors feel at homeSharePhotograph: anaganeva / Shutterstock | People at a restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia with Porto Old Town over the riverIf you’ve ever been rescued by a stranger while staring blankly at a metro map, you’ll know how much a friendly local can make a trip. Condé Nast Traveller has just revealed the friendliest cities in the world for 2026 as part of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards, and this year the top spot has gone to Melbourne. The rankings are voted for by readers, who are asked where in the world they’ve had the warmest welcome, whether that’s a local helping them decode a restaurant menu or pointing them in the right direction on the underground. Each city is then given a score out of 100.

Geneva/Washington D. C. - The latest study from the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI) reveals the stark reality of where global food systems transformation stands: For most indicators on health, environment, livelihoods, governance and resilience, a vast majority of countries will not meet the internationally agreed 2030 goals. And for some indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions from food systems, no country in the world is projected to meet the target. The study, published in Nature Food, represents the most comprehensive performance assessment of food systems to date, covering 197 countries and 44 indicators across five themes: diets, nutrition and health; environment, natural resources and production; livelihoods, poverty and equity; governance; and resilience. For the first time, the study goes beyond tracking trends to assess progress and measure how food systems are actually performing, and how much more needs to improve to meet globally set targets.

The Women’s Super League will face major disruption next season due to the Club World Cup, with Arsenal and Chelsea likely to be absent from domestic competition for up to a month. The Guardian revealed last week that the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup is set to be awarded to the US, with transatlantic travel to cause additional problems for European sides, while the proposed dates of 5-30 January will clash directly with the WSL. Fifa has yet to confirm the qualification criteria for the Club World Cup but the Guardian has learned Arsenal are guaranteed to be involved as 2025 Champions League winners and Chelsea are likely to join them, although they would lose their place if Manchester City win this season’s Champions League. Based on this season’s schedule, an extended run in the Club World Cup would mean the two English clubs missing up to four WSL match weeks plus the fourth round of the FA Cup, playing havoc with the fixture list and causing major congestion at the end of the season.

Czechia is set to host the U-18 World Championships this January, looking to build on their bronze medal from last year while showcasing the next wave of global talent. The U-18 World Championships are heading back to the location of the 2025 World Championship tournament dropping the puck in Czechia this January. The eight-nation event will take place from January 8-16, 2027 at RT Torax Arena in Ostrava-Poruba, Czechia. "We would like to build on the successful women's championship in České Budějovice last year," says Lucie Valentová, general secretary of the IIHF Women's U-18 World Championship in a translated statement. "One of the main goals is to promote women's hockey in general and attract new young players to hockey. It will also be a huge motivation for the girls themselves to fight for a medal in front of their home audience. At the same time, Ostrava is known for having great fans, and we would like to confirm and show that at the IIHF Women's Under-18 Ice Hockey World Championship," Czechia enters as the reigning U-18 World Championship bronze medalists.

An El Niño-intensified drought in early 2026, in Central America's Dry Corridor, will have knock-on effects for agriculture and food security in the region. Photo: WFP/Darlan Bautista WFP has been warning for months about this 2026-27 El Niño. Now that it’s arrived, what are we seeing?

A capacity building workshop on Sustainable Tourism for Pacific SIDS was held in Busan on 17–18 July 2026, in cooperation with the Korea National University of Heritage, within the framework of "SIDS Capacity Building Project: Safeguarding Heritage in the Pacific" under the Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust. A total of 32 participants attended the workshop in person, including 16 representatives from 12 Pacific SIDS States Parties. The workshop brought together government ...

Morrisville, NC, 2026 – Lenovo, the global technology powerhouse, today announced that its annual global innovation event will return to  CES® 2027 in Las Vegas. Hosted at Sphere and part of the CES Keynote lineup, Tech World will bring together a visionary lineup of speakers and breakthrough innovations with a first-of-its-kind immersive technology and music experience. As well as unveiling the latest in Lenovo’s innovations, Tech World will unite global technology leaders and leading voices on stage to discuss the future of AI. Together, they will explore how hybrid AI can empower people and unlock new possibilities for business and society. As demand grows for responsible AI leadership, the event will provide a defining moment at the start of 2027 to consider AI’s role in unlocking human potential, sustaining the planet, and driving global progress.

Canada is knocking on the door of its highest-ever spot in the FIFA men’s world rankings. The Canadian men’s national team climbed three places to No. 27 in the latest rankings released Wednesday, putting them just one spot behind the program’s all-time high of No. 26.