The Best of BBC News (World)

Creators are touting passive income schemes that promise big returns for little effort. Can it work?

The ability to jump forward and backwards in time has long fascinated science fiction writers and physicists alike. So is it really possible to travel into the past and the future?

When the copyright for George Orwell's work expired, two writers reimagined his towering masterpieces, 1984 and Animal Farm. Dorian Lynskey finds out why.

During the 19th Century, the activity of "retro-walking" was little more than an eccentric hobby, but today research is revealing it can have real benefits for your health and brain.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, BBC Future investigates a mysterious vanishing – a play that has been missing for centuries.

Aircraft currently leave a major footprint on the world's climate, so can the aviation industry hope to reach net zero by the middle of the century?

Airships could offer a much cleaner and quieter alternative for some aspects of the aviation market. In a former airship factory, a new generation are taking shape.

A man who had not walked for two years was able to move all his limbs thanks to new technology.

Retailers are struggling to make their products accessible, and customers are taking them to court.

The problems caused by plastic waste are rapidly increasing around the globe, but it still serves a useful purpose in food packaging. Can plastic still be a green option?

«brands have transitioned away from refillables to single-use packaging faster in the global North than in the South; it simply made more economic sense,»

Invented by the region's Moorish rulers 1,200 years ago, Valencia's irrigation system is now a model for sustainable farming.

France is facing a widespread dearth of Dijon mustard, which news outlets wasted no time in attributing to the war in Ukraine. But the story is a whole lot spicier than that.

Hunger is a powerful sensation, and it can overwhelm our brain's ability to carry out other tasks.

A growing and influential intellectual movement aims to understand why human progress happens – and how to speed it up. Garrison Lovely investigates.

For millennia, people slept in two shifts – once in the evening, and once in the morning. But why? And how did the habit disappear?

What are the consequences of southern India outperforming the rest of the country?

The homegrown brands that have found their way into the homes and hearts of millions of Indians.

Our sense of smell is one of our richest and wide-ranging windows into the world around us, but a threat in the air we breathe may be eroding our olfactory powers.

Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky discusses his startling and unexpectedly sublime photos – 'an extended lament for the loss of nature' – with Gaia Vince.

Address the real reasons you procrastinate and you’re more likely to start achieving your goals.

«“make your focus as simple as ‘What’s the next action – a simple next step – I would take on this task if I were to get started on it now?’”.»

Procrastination gets the best of all of us, to the detriment of our work, happiness and health. But a new theory could provide us with the easiest way to kick the habit.

In Denmark, the Nordic concept of friluftsliv – or unwinding in the outdoors – includes troll hunts, shoreline biking and stargazing in Scandinavia's first International Dark Sky Park.

«the Nordic concept of friluftsliv – or unwinding in the outdoors»

In the dusty plains of present-day Sindh in southern Pakistan lie the remains of one of the world's most impressive ancient cities that most people have never heard of.

Our world is awash with a rainbow of colours, but certain shades can have a surprising impact on our ability to concentrate, our mood and even our taste.

«And if you want a child to concentrate, you might consider painting a classroom in a vivid palette and so bolster their reading scores.»

Speaking a second or even a third language can bring obvious advantages, but occasionally the words, grammar and even accents can get mixed up.

«our languages aren't just static throughout our lives but shifting, actively competing and interfering with each other.»

When old age starts depend on where you live in the world. But it may also partly depend on how you view ageing. Can you delay it with a positive attitude?

Spread over a vast, remote landscape in north-western Saudi Arabia are millennia-old archaeological remains that could change our understanding of prehistory.

Through apparently spontaneous change or through mishap or illness, our eyes can change colour in surprising ways.