National-World

By Julen Chavin (CNN) — A violent hailstorm wreaked havoc on vineyards in Chablis in the famous French wine region of Burgundy Wednesday evening, delivering another weather blow to already hard-hit local Chardonnay winemakers. Huge hailstones, ranging from the size of a ping pong ball to the size of a lime, rained down on north Burgundy,

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Many species of animals form social groups and behave collectively: An elephant herd follows its matriarch, flocking birds fly in unison, humans gather at concert events. Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found. Within those social networks, certain individuals will often stand out

By Radina Gigova and Hande Atay Alam, CNN (CNN) — Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed. Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented. Rakus, a male Sumatran orangutan, treated a wound on his face by chewing leaves from a climbing plant named Akar Kuning and

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Japan’s “Moon Sniper” lander has defied the odds for a third time, surviving yet another long, frigid lunar night despite not being designed to endure such harsh conditions, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Temperatures during the lunar night can plunge to minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 133

By Amarachi Orie, CNN (CNN) — A mass fish die-off in a reservoir in southern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province has shone a new light on soaring temperatures in Southeast Asia. Fishermen have been working to wade through and collect the hundreds of thousands of dead fish that have blanketed the 300-hectare Song May reservoir amid

By Mostafa Salem, Abbas Al Lawati and Angela Dewan, CNN Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Emirates was forced to cancel and delay several flights in and out of Dubai, the second-busiest international airport in the world, while people and students were instructed to work and study from home, as heavy rains returned to

CNN By Larry Madowo and Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — Staff and visitors have been left stranded and buildings submerged at Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara nature reserve, as the death toll in catastrophic flooding in the country’s southwest rose to at least 188 people. Local authorities ordered some tourist facilities in the National Reserve to

By Larry Madowo and Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — Staff and visitors have been left stranded and buildings submerged at Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara nature reserve, as the death toll in catastrophic flooding in the country’s southwest rose to at least 188 people. Local authorities ordered some tourist facilities in the National Reserve to close

By Hilary Whiteman and Angus Watson, CNN Brisbane/Sydney, Australia (CNN) — The grassy expanse of the University of Queensland’s Great Court has long been the center of student life at the Australian state’s biggest university. Now it’s a gathering point for rival camps pitched around 100 meters (328 feet) from each other – one populated

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN London (CNN) — A photograph of a beaming Princess Charlotte has been released by the Prince and Princess of Wales to mark her ninth birthday. The celebratory snap was posted to the couple’s official social media accounts on Thursday with a note of thanks “for all the kind messages today.” The