Dogs can understand that certain words refer to specific objects, according to a recent study, suggesting that they may understand words in a similar way to humans. It offers the first evidence of brain activity for this comprehension in a non-human animal, researchers said, though the study’s conclusion has faced scrutiny from other experts in the field. It has long ...

Crowds gathered in Germany overnight to celebrate the legalization of cannabis starting from Monday. There was music and dancing at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, where attendees waved placards and blew clouds of smoke into the air. One person could be seen cycling through the crowd dragging an artwork of a giant cannabis leaf on a trailer behind their ...

At a school in Japan’s snowy northern mountains, reminders of distinguished alumni are everywhere. Banners herald Los Angeles Dodgers megastar Shohei Ohtani and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, their faces greeting every visitor. But now, Hanamaki Higashi High School celebrates a new prodigy in its midst – one whose high-school records beat even those of Ohtani and Kikuchi. Raised ...

Israeli military forces have withdrawn from Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, after a 14-day siege that witnesses and Gazan authorities say left the medical facility largely destroyed. “The situation is very bad,” said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, on Monday. Al-Shifa is “completely destroyed and burned down. Many of its buildings are totally destroyed or charred,” he said. ...

King Charles III has made his most significant outing since his cancer diagnosis last month, attending the traditional Easter Mattins church service in Windsor on Sunday. Charles, 75, appeared to be in good spirits as he arrived by car to St. George’s Chapel, a 14th-century building on the grounds of Windsor Castle, around an hour’s drive from London. He was ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in “excellent” health following surgery to treat a hernia, according to a statement released Sunday by Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. The procedure “ended successfully” and Netanyahu is “awake, he is talking to his family, and his situation is perfect,” Alon Pikarsky, the hospital’s director of general surgery, said in an early morning video statement. Netanyahu, ...

In another world, Ukraine would be voting today. In a year where billions get the chance to cast a ballot, people here would be giving their verdict on the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky. Five years ago, the man whose talents as an actor, comedian and producer had made him a household name in Ukraine was propelled into office. But with ...

The threat of ISIS, also known as Islamic State, might have seemed to be waning as headlines turned to Ukraine, Gaza and the next US election. But last week’s attack on a Moscow concert hall reminded the world of the enduring danger of Islamist terrorism and the ambitions of what is known as IS Khorasan (ISIS-K) far beyond its camps ...

The four men accused of a deadly terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall last week were quickly identified by Russian authorities as being from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. In the hours after the attack, videos began surfacing on Russian social media channels of the police detaining and brutally abusing the alleged attackers, with one appearing to show a suspect ...

Earth’s oceans are teeming with a multitude of life — and mysteries. To better understand the ocean floor, enterprising marine scientists decided to affix tags equipped with cameras to tiger sharks that patrol the shallow tropical seas of the Bahamas. Thanks to data collected by these apex predators, researchers revealed the world’s largest known seagrass ecosystem, which covers an area of ...