Nepal campaigners plead for killer elephant's life
Nepalese animal rights groups pleaded Monday for the life of a lovelorn elephant which has trampled several people to death and is being hunted down by an army execution squad.
25 December 2012
Chile volcano alert raised
Chile issued a top-level red alert Sunday for its Copahue volcano, in the south on the Andean border with Argentina, as it rumbled to register a greater potential threat.
24 December 2012
Judge clears BP's $7.8 bn settlement in US oil spill
British oil giant BP won US court approval Friday of a $7.8 billion settlement with people and businesses who lost money and property due to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
23 December 2012
Group defiant over US ban on tackling Japan whalers
US conservation group Sea Shepherd vowed Tuesday to fight a US court order to stay at least 500 yards away from Japanese whaling ships, and to keep protecting whales "with our ships and our lives."
19 December 2012
New species, old threats to Mekong wildlife: WWF
From a devilish-looking bat to a frog that sings like a bird, scientists have identified 126 new species in the Greater Mekong area, the WWF said Tuesday in a new report detailing discoveries in 2011.
18 December 2012
Environmental hangover from Indonesia's palm oil thirst
The roar of chainsaws has replaced birdsong, the once-lush, green jungle scorched to a barren grey. The equivalent of six football pitches of forest is lost every minute in Indonesia.
16 December 2012
Australia plans drill of ancient Antarctic ice core
Australia Saturday announced plans to drill a 2,000 year-old ice core in the heart of Antarctica in a bid to retrieve a frozen record of how the planet has evolved and what might be in store.
World's second most polluted city turns to buses
On the streets of Ulan Bator a people renowned for their horse riding skills have to contend every day with ever more Hummers, Land Cruisers and Range Rovers.
11 December 2012
Winter weather claims second victim in the Balkans
Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall in the Balkans, that seriously affected traffic throughout the region, claimed a second victim on Sunday as a man died from cold in northern Serbia.
11 December 2012
Troubled UN climate talks spill over
UN talks seeking to slow the march of destructive global warming ran far into extra time Saturday as host Qatar sought to broker an end to the standoff between rich and poor nations on funding.
09 December 2012
World's biggest, oldest trees are dying: research
Scientists Friday warned of an alarming increase in the death rates of the largest living organisms on the planet, the giant, old trees that harbour and sustain countless birds and wildlife.
07 December 2012
Arab world to bear brunt of climate change: World Bank
Global warming will have dire consequences for the Middle East and North Africa, with even hotter and drier conditions devastating everything from agriculture to tourism.
06 December 2012
Japan eyes reduced emission cut target: official
Japan may backpedal on its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter, an official said Wednesday, dealing a further blow to already deadlocked global warming talks in Doha.
05 December 2012
Climate talks enter second week with 'hot air' dispute
Countries entered a second week of UN climate talks in Doha on Monday deeply divided on key issues even as fresh warnings were issued that rising greenhouse gas levels are putting our planet in peril.
03 December 2012
Kyoto under the microscope in quest for new climate deal
As the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol draws to a close, the world will dissect its record for successes to emulate in the fight against global warming -- and pitfalls to avoid.
30 November 2012
Life where you'd least expect it: bacteria survive ice, dark
Researchers have found bacteria thriving beneath ice, in the dark and without oxygen in a lake in Antarctica, pushing the boundaries of what was thought necessary to sustain life on Earth.
28 November 2012
Bitsy beetle warms Canada: study
An army of rice-grain-sized beetles, attracted by warming weather, has moved into Canada's western forests, where its tree massacre is causing the mercury to rise yet further.