CNN – World

By Tara Subramaniam, CNN For the first time, New Zealanders are enjoying an official public holiday this June 24 to celebrate Matariki — also known as Māori New Year. Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars, also known as the Pleiades, the rising of which is recognized by many of the country’s

By Megan Marples and Ashley Strickland, CNN A rare, five-planet alignment will peak on June 24, allowing a spectacular viewing of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn as they line up in planetary order. The event began at the beginning of June and has continued to get brighter and easier to see as the month

By Amarachi Orie, CNN These are bacteria like you’ve never seen before — likely because, until now, all known bacteria could only be seen using a powerful compound microscope. A newly discovered bacterium that is large enough to be visible to the naked eye, and resembles the shape and size of an eyelash, has been

By Megan Marples, CNN A sprawling 3,400-year-old city emerged in Iraq after a reservoir’s water level swiftly dropped due to extreme drought. Kurdish and German archaeologists excavated the settlement in the Mosul reservoir, along the Tigris River in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, in January and February. The project was in partnership with the

By Ashley Strickland, CNN The Artemis I mega moon rocket has been fully fueled for the first time. The fourth attempt of a final prelaunch test started on Saturday and the rocket tanks were filled on Monday. The crucial test, known as the wet dress rehearsal, simulates every stage of launch without the rocket leaving

Kathleen Magramo, CNN Almost half a million people have been affected by floods and landslides in the Chinese province of Guangdong, according to authorities, after parts of southern China were hit by the heaviest downpours in 60 years over the weekend. Flooding caused by the torrential rain has forced 177,600 people to relocate, destroyed 1,729

By Jonny Hallam and Helen Regan, CNN Two American volunteers fighting for Ukraine were taken into detention by Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk after being captured last week, according to Russian state media. US citizens Alexander John-Robert Drueke, 39, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, from Hartselle, Alabama, were interviewed by Russia’s RT

By Kristen Rogers, CNN If you’re a father, you probably have experienced endless anxieties about whether you’re doing enough for your kids while they’re growing up. What if your children inherit your negative habits? What if you let your kids watch too much television or feed them the wrong foods? Worrying you’re going to mess

By Ashley Strickland, CNN A genetically distinct and isolated population of polar bears have been documented living in southeast Greenland. Scientists who studied and tracked the bears determined that they survive despite having limited access to sea ice — something that is critical for polar bears — and instead use the freshwater ice supplied by

By Gabriel Kinder, CNN When CNN Hero Aaron Jackson welcomed the first group of dogs from Ukraine to the abandoned animal shelter he’s reopened in Poland, he also took in two refugees who shared an amazing story of survival. Jackson, the founder of the non-profit Planting Peace, traveled from his Florida home to Poland shortly

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN War, violence, persecution and human rights abuses have pushed the world past a “dramatic milestone,” according to a new report from the UN’s refugee agency. More than 100 million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the UNHCR’s Global Trends Report, which describes that figure as a

By Kathleen Magramo and Charlie Fong, CNN The bodies of hundreds of little blue penguins have washed up on the beaches of New Zealand’s northern coast in recent weeks, according to conservationists, who fear climate change is starving the birds to death. The kororā, also known as little blue penguins, are native to New Zealand

By Mick Krever, CNN Two Americans fighting alongside Ukrainian forces north of Kharkiv have been missing for nearly a week and there are fears that they may have been captured by Russian forces, according to their families and a fellow fighter. The men are Alexander John-Robert Drueke, 39, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Andy Tai Ngoc