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Pain is one of the few experiences that can change the way people see themselves and the world around them. For Lebanese-American poet and writer Khalil Gibran, suffering was not simply something to endure or escape. He saw it as a difficult force that could open the mind to deeper understanding. In his celebrated 1923…

Representative Image of ancient Lake Mega-Chad contrasting with the dry deserts that now occupy the region (AI-generated image) Roughly 6,000 years ago, the middle of what is now the southern Sahara held a lake larger than all five North American Great Lakes combined, spread across about 361,000 square kilometres of open water. Today, only Lake…

Brunei’s Sultan revokes daughter-in-law’s royal title over ‘unbecoming’ conduct. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei has stripped his daughter-in-law, Pengiran Raabi’atul Adawiyyah, of her royal title, with the country’s Office of the Grand Chamberlain saying her conduct was deemed “unbecoming” of a spouse of a member of the royal family. The decree, issued on Saturday, August…

Wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged from the Danube river. Image Credit: Darko Vojinovic/AP The Danube River has fallen to exceptionally low levels this summer, exposing the remains of Nazi-era warships that have spent more than eight decades beneath its waters near Prahovo, Serbia. The wrecks are part of a much larger graveyard of…

Quote of the day by Rabindranath Tagore (Image: Wikipedia) Rabindranath Tagore‘s words speak directly to preparation, personal growth and the ability to genuinely recognise an opportunity the moment it actually arrives. “Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it,” he wrote. The line appears in Sadhana: The…

Rangitoto framed – Tiritiri Matangi Island Off the coast of Auckland, in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf, lies an island that looks like a slice of untouched wilderness. Dense native forest blankets its hills, rare birds call from the canopy and visitors walk along quiet tracks surrounded by ferns and flowering shrubs. Yet just a few…

​Pete Hoekstra, US Ambassador to Canada More than 60,000 Canadians have signed a petition demanding for US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to be expelled, accusing him of interfering in Canadian politics and hurting relations between the two countries, BBC reportedThe petition asks the Canadian government to remove Hoekstra from his post in Ottawa and calls for…

In 1942, British light cruiser HMS Edinburgh sank in the Barents Sea after being badly damaged by German torpedoes, taking 58 crew members and 465 Soviet gold bars with it. The bullion, weighing about 4.6 tonnes, was being carried as part of wartime payment for supplies and equipment. The wreck settled about 800 feet below…

In the dry farming country beside Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park, the boundary between crops and wildlife can become difficult to hold. Elephants move through the landscape in search of food and water, and cultivated fields can become particularly attractive when crops are growing. In 2024, a nine-year study offered unusually long-term evidence that something…

At 77, writer Catherine Hiller decided to step outside her comfort zone by paying $69 to attend a cuddle party in New York City. She expected an evening of affectionate physical contact with strangers, imagining people embracing, stroking one another and forming cosy groups. Instead, the experience was far more subdued. The event was strictly…