Science pictures

Greek authorities have appealed to swimmers to stay away from the beaches in the southern suburbs of Athens after thick black oil began washing up.

David Sim Sep 14, 2017

Winners and shortlisted images include a mosquito's foot and a skull-shaped tapeworm that latches onto the intestine of its host.

David Sim Sep 14, 2017

The 45-year-old Agia Zoni II sank while anchored off the coast of the island of Salamina (also known as Salamis), close to Greece's main port of Piraeus.

David Sim Sep 13, 2017

At least 91 people were killed by the massive earthquake that struck off the coast of southern Mexico on Thursday (7 September).

David Sim Sep 11, 2017

Irma's winds of around 175mph (290kph) tore down trees, and flattened homes, schools and hotels, destroying some of the world's most exclusive tourist resorts.

David Sim Sep 08, 2017

Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, is heading directly towards Florida after it lashed the Caribbean.

David Sim Sep 08, 2017

Smashed hotels, boats tossed into piles, and flooded streets and homes on Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

David Sim Sep 07, 2017

Harvey has dumped 15 trillion gallons (56 trillion litres) of rain on the Houston area, with another five trillion gallons to come.

David Sim Aug 29, 2017

The popular Italian tourist island of Ischia off the coast of Naples was hit by an earthquake, killing at least two people and injuring dozens.

David Sim Aug 22, 2017

Millions of Americans armed with protective glasses have staked out their positions for what should be the most observed and photographed eclipse in history.

David Sim Aug 21, 2017

Ten photos that brought about real change by influencing the way people think and swaying public and political opinion.

Hugh Pinney Aug 18, 2017

Around 400 bodies have been recovered so far, but the death toll is expected to rise as an estimated 500 are still missing.

David Sim Aug 17, 2017

In the middle of the Utah desert lies a US Army facility that tests chemical and biological weapons such as sarin and anthrax.

David Sim Aug 16, 2017

When the quake hit, the performers ran off the stage in terror and the audience thought the tremor was part of the show.

David Sim Aug 09, 2017

Fires in Indonesia, lit to clear forest and peatlands for plantations, cause an annual crisis that blankets large parts of southeast Asia in smog.

David Sim Aug 07, 2017

At least 53 people have lost their lives after parts of southeast Asia were inundated by flooding.

David Sim Aug 07, 2017

A heatwave is currently extending across the continent, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees in some areas.

David Sim Aug 03, 2017

Mount Sinabung erupts again, spewing out a towering column of volcanic ash more than four kilometres (2.6 miles) high.

David Sim Aug 03, 2017

Yemen is suffering the worst cholera outbreak ever recorded in any country in the space of a single a year, but it has put off a vaccination campaign until 2018.

David Sim Jul 27, 2017

Fires have ravaged tinder-dry vegetation in France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Montenegro and across southern Europe.

David Sim Jul 26, 2017

More than ten villages in central Portugal have been evacuated as forest fires rage in the provinces of Castelo Branco and Santarem.

David Sim Jul 26, 2017

Four firefighters have been injured as wildfires rage along the French Riviera and on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.

David Sim Jul 25, 2017

Rescue authorities said a Swedish man and a Turkish man died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the quake struck.

David Sim Jul 21, 2017

More than 2,200 firefighters on the ground and in the air have contained just seven percent of the Detwiler Fire.

David Sim Jul 20, 2017

The 2,000 residents of the town of Mariposa, in the Sierra Nevada mountains southwest of Yosemite, were ordered to flee as the Detwiler Fire approached.

David Sim Jul 19, 2017

The brains were preserved by heavy rains seeping into bullet holes in their skulls, turning them into a soap-like substance.

David Sim Jul 12, 2017

Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui follows the increasingly filthy river from its mountain source to the megacity of Kolkata.

David Sim Jul 11, 2017

Border collies Summer, Olivia and Das spend their days bounding through charred forests, unaware they're leaving a trail of seeds that could transform the landscape.

David Sim Jul 03, 2017

More than 1,000 firefighters and nine water-dropping aircraft are battling the blaze in Pedrogao Grande, which is raging for a third consecutive day.

David Sim Jun 20, 2017

Portugal's worst forest fires in living memory have so far claimed the lives of 62 people, most of whom died in their cars as they tried to flee the inferno.

David Sim Jun 19, 2017