The negative effects of global tourism STORY HIGHLIGHTS Documentary explores fallout from mismanaged tourism in developing world Filmmaker uses dramatic examples from around world Films looks at “dark tourism,” travel to sites associated with suffering and danger A new documentary suggests tourism is out of control in parts of the world, irreversibly damaging the environment and indigenous cultures. “Gringo Trails,” a film more than a decade in the making by […]

  Residents of the north-eastern US have been warned to stay indoors, as the region braces for a storm expected to dump up to 14in (35cm) of snow. Nearly 2,000 flights have been grounded nationwide as heavy snow fell from Illinois to Michigan in the US Midwest. New York and New England are expected to see blizzard conditions, with wind gusts of up to 45mph (72 km/h). In Canada, temperatures […]

Holly Wright and her boyfriend found a couch outside a house with a ‘Free’ sign on it near their home in Grand Rapids, Michigan She used it for two months to read books, check emails, and her dog regularly sat on it This week she was shocked when a boa constrictor came slithering out The animal was not aggressive and died, likely from starvation, shortly after getting out of the […]

Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi chief minister wins confidence vote   Arvind Kejriwal, new chief minister of India’s capital Delhi, has won a vote of confidence in the state assembly. Support from the Congress party which had been in power helped him secure 37 votes, one more than he needed. Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi (Common Man’s) Party (AAP) won 28 of the 70 seats in last month’s elections on a pledge to […]

Special forces in Iraq are fighting jihadist militants who have reportedly taken over swathes of two cities. The clashes with fighters from the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) are taking place in Fallujah and Ramadi. Both cities are in the province of Anbar where Sunni militant activity has been on the rise. On Monday the security forces broke up a long-running Sunni anti-government protest camp […]

A bus has plunged down a deep gorge in the western Indian state of Maharashtra killing at least 27 people, police say. Reports said the driver lost control of the bus after it collided with a truck near Malshej Ghat, a tourist area about 160km (99 miles) from Mumbai. A senior police officer said the bus was carrying 40 people and rescue work had begun, Associated Press reported. Road accidents […]

Sea ice conditions in the Antarctic are likely to delay plans to take passengers off an ice-bound ship, officials say. Rescue co-ordinators based in Australia said it is now likely the airlift will not go ahead on Thursday as hoped. They had earlier been optimistic that helicopter operations would begin soon as weather conditions had improved. The ship, the Akademik Shokalskiy, with 74 passengers and and crew aboard, has been […]

Steep inclines, towering mountains and deep valleys trick your eyes into thinking you are peering into Middle Earth But the landscape captured by photographer Matthew Growcoot is in fact a redundant slate mine in North Wales Dinorwic Quarry lies in the heart of Snowdonia and was once the second largest mine of its kind in the world A first glance and your eyes might be tricked into thinking you are […]

Man, 26, went missing at Porthleven beach in Cornwall as he was paddling in the ocean with friends Lifeboats and helicopter were deployed in the early hours of the morning Tragedy comes a day after a woman was swept out to sea in north Devon Man in Wales arrested for trying to swim in 15ft waves this morning 17-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a car on the […]

Revellers in New Zealand have already hailed the start of 2014, dancing in Auckland’s streets Dubai is planning the world’s biggest ever fireworks show with Guinness World Record judges on hand Sydney’s Opera House and iconic bridge illuminated as hundreds of boats pack the harbour ahead of midnight The biggest party in the world is underway with bright fireworks bursting into skies across the globe as midnight strikes and nations […]