Age verification tech grows as governments push for online controls

Rescue workers in Pidie Jaya, Sumatra, have drafted in a team of elephants from a local training center to help clear debris in the wake of severe flooding. More than 950 people have died and nearly 300 are still missing in Sumatra after tropical storms and monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides on the island, as well as neighbouring countries.

From flamenco to opera, Spanish singer Rosalia has long defied musical genres in her work. Her most recent album "Lux", released on 7 November 2025, features lyrics sung in 13 languages and collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic singer Bjork and a youth choir from Catalonia.

Talipot palm trees are blooming for the first, and last, time in their lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The talipot palm, native to southern India and Sri Lanka, is one of the largest palm species on the planet, with some reaching more than 30 metres. The trees, growing in Rio's Aterro do Flamengo park and the Botanical Garden, were planted in the 1960s by the legendary landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Now, some six decades later, these giants have reached the peak of their existence. The entire process, from the opening of the first flowers to the ripening of the fruit, will take about a year. Once the fruit falls, the palm trees will slowly begin to die.