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World still split over money as clock ticks on COP29

A fresh draft deal published Thursday at the deadlocked COP29 climate talks shows rich and poor countries still divided as time runs out to strike a finance agreement for developing nations.

Brazil will not 'shy away' from fossil fuels as COP30 host: envoy

Brazil will not "shy away" from championing a phaseout of fossil fuels as host of COP30 next year, even if it is a major oil producer, the country's climate envoy said Wednesday.

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Barcelona recruits sheep, goats to fight wildfires

It's a rustic scene -- sheep and goats graze placidly while a shepherd keeps watch. But this is Barcelona's biggest public park, not the countryside.

Hundreds of endangered baby giant turtles released into Cambodian river

Hundreds of critically endangered baby giant turtles were released into Cambodia's Mekong River to mark World Turtle Day on Monday.

Sandstorm forces closure of Iraqi airports, public buildings

Iraq closed public buildings and temporarily shut airports Monday as another sandstorm -- the ninth since mid-April -- hit the country, authorities said.

Ex-minister projected to win first Bangkok governor election in decade

A former minister ousted in Thailand's 2014 military coup was projected to win by a landslide in Bangkok's first election for governor in almost a decade on Sunday.

Bangladesh floods recede but millions still marooned

North-east Bangladesh's worst floods in nearly 20 years began receding on Sunday, but rescue workers were struggling to help millions marooned by extreme weather across the region that has killed around 60 people.

PM-elect vows to repair Australia's image overseas

Incoming prime minister Anthony Albanese vowed to reset Australia's relations with the world and sweep aside the country's reputation as a climate laggard Sunday, as he raced to form a government in time for a key Tokyo summit.

US high schoolers design low-cost filter to remove lead from water

When the pandemic forced schools into remote learning, Washington-area science teacher Rebecca Bushway set her students an ambitious task: design and build a low-cost lead filter that fixes to faucets and removes the toxic metal.

Bear cubs rescued from wildlife trade in Vietnam

Two bear cubs are starting a new life in a sanctuary in Vietnam after being rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, an animal welfare group said Friday.

Sandstorms pose serious risk to human health

Sandstorms have engulfed the Middle East in recent days, in a phenomenon experts warn could proliferate because of climate change, putting human health at grave risk.

1.5 tonnes of elephant ivory seized in southeast DR Congo

Authorities in southeastern DR Congo have seized one and a half tonnes of elephant ivory, legal and environmental officials said, in one of the largest hauls in Africa in years.

French towns sweat in record May heat

Several southern French towns sizzled in record high temperatures for May on Wednesday, while the month as whole is on track to be the hottest since records began, the national weather service said.

Second endangered cheetah cub dies in Iran: state media

The second of three Asiatic cheetah cubs born in captivity in Iran has died in a blow to conservation efforts for the critically endangered subspecies, state media reported Wednesday.

Robot hives in Israel kibbutz hope to keep bees buzzing

They function as normal hives, but apiaries built at a kibbutz in Israel's Galilee are decked out with high-tech artificial intelligence systems set to ensure longevity for these vital pollinators.

Saudi expects 13 million bpd oil capacity by 2027: minister

Saudi Arabia expects to ramp up its daily oil production capacity by more than one million barrels to exceed 13 million barrels by early 2027, the kingdom's energy minister announced Monday.

Dirty liberal pipe-dream: 3 myths about electric cars

Sceptics say that far from helping save the planet, electric cars are a liberal pipe-dream whose environmental benefits are exaggerated.

Iraq's prized rice crop threatened by drought

Drought is threatening the Iraqi tradition of growing amber rice, the aromatic basis of rich lamb and other dishes, and a key element in a struggling economy.

Peru sues Spain's Repsol for $4.5 bn over oil spill

Peru has filed suit against Spanish energy company Repsol over the massive January oil spill that ravaged its coast, seeking $4.5 billion in damages.

Climate change made deadly S. Africa rains twice as likely

Rainfall that caused catastrophic floods and landslides last month in and around Durban, South Africa, was made twice as likely by global warming, scientists said Friday.

Low French rainfall adds new cloud to global food market

French farmer Robin Lachaux is worried about his wheat. In normal years, it flowers and bulks up in May thanks to regular spring rainfall, but this year hot and dry conditions risk stunting its progress.

Paris plans green makeover of Champs-Elysees for Olympics

Paris will give the famed Champs-Elysees a makeover ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games by planting trees and increasing pedestrian areas, the French capital's officials said on Wednesday.

India relaxes environment rules for coal mines, citing heatwave

India has relaxed environmental compliance rules for coal mines seeking to ramp up production as power outages exacerbate a sweltering heatwave, a government notice showed.

UN says 'imminent' Yemen oil spill would cost $20 bn to clean up

The United Nations warned Monday that it would cost $20 billion to clean up an oil spill in the event of the "imminent" break-up of an oil tanker abandoned off Yemen.

Standoff at strategic Ukraine river eyed by Russian troops

On the municipal beach at Nikopol in southern Ukraine, barbed wire, sand bags and other defences have replaced children playing on the sand.

Brazil deforestation shatters April record

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon last month shattered the record for April, destroying more than 1,000 square kilometers of the world's biggest rainforest, nearly double the previous high, according to official figures published Friday.

Inbreeding won't doom the last of the vaquitas, but fishing might: study

Vaquita porpoises are on the edge of extinction, with just 10 left in their sole habibat within Mexico's Gulf of California.

World needs food system 'transformation' to tackle climate: expert

Food is fundamental to the efforts to tackle climate change, according to a scientist who has spent decades tracing the interactions between global warming and what we eat.

Thousands sick as latest severe sandstorm sweeps across Iraq

One person died in Iraq and more than 5,000 were treated in hospitals Thursday for respiratory ailments due to a sandstorm, the seventh in a month, the health ministry said.

Please don't croak: Setting the mood to save Venezuelan frog

Enormous expectations rest on the tiny endangered amphibian perched on a rock in a plastic box: the Mucuchies' Frog needs to produce offspring if its species is to survive.

Fossils dating back 66 million years found outside Bangkok mall

More than 70 shells embedded in a footpath outside a Bangkok shopping mall have been found to be the fossils of marine creatures that lived more than 66 million years ago, Thai experts have confirmed.

Floods, fires drive Australian home insurance 'crisis'

Fiercer floods, winds and bushfires whipped up by warmer temperatures mean more than half a million homes in Australia will cost too much to insure by 2030, according to an analysis by a climate advocacy group published Tuesday.

US megadrought reveals 1980s body in lake, with more to come: police

A worsening drought has revealed a four-decade-old body dumped in a US lake, police said Monday, warning that falling water levels would lead to the uncovering of more corpses.

Iraq yet again hit by dust storm

Iraq on Sunday was yet again covered in a thick sheet of orange as it suffered the latest in a series of dust storms that have become increasingly common.

Look! A polar bear meanders way down south in Canada

A polar bear was spotted Saturday in the Quebec region of Canada, prompting wildlife officials to warn residents of a small town stunned by this very rare appearance.

Boosted by oil prices, ExxonMobil, Chevron throw cash at investors

ExxonMobil and Chevron reported soaring profits Friday despite lower oil and natural gas volumes as the petroleum giants return billions of dollars to shareholders in the wake of lofty crude prices and refining margins.

California probes 'Big Oil' over plastic pollution

California launched a sweeping investigation Thursday into plastic pollution by major oil companies, in a probe it says will look at whether fossil fuel giants have been lying about the problem for decades.

Judge sides with Elon Musk in lawsuit over SolarCity

A judge in the state of Delaware on Wednesday handed Tesla chief Elon Musk a victory in a shareholder lawsuit filed over the controversial buy of solar panel maker SolarCity.

Over 21% of reptile species at risk of extinction

At least one in five reptile species are threatened with extinction, including more than half of turtles and crocodiles, according to the first major global assessment of the world's so-called cold-blooded creatures.

Restoring damaged land key to climate, biodiversity goals

Unsustainable farming is on track to increase the amount of severely degraded land by an area the size of South America by mid-century, a UN report warned Wednesday, as experts said restoration was a matter of "survival".

Solar energy projects lower bills in Rio de Janeiro favelas

In a hillside slum with breathtaking views of Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach, a rooftop covered in photovoltaic panels glitters in the tropical sun -- one of many in Brazil's first favela solar energy project.

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