The Chinese are increasingly facing diseases of affluence such as cancer, according to a study to be published Saturday in a leading medical journal, with threats to health including diet, pollution and city living.
Japan, China and South Korea agreed Monday to continue cooperating in the fight against cross-border air pollution, despite strained relations between the neighbours because of territorial disputes.
Controversial plans to revive the EU's faltering carbon cap-and-trade system so as to cut greenhouse gas emissions face a tough test in the European Parliament.
Shanghai said the end of an embarrassing pollution case which saw dead pigs floating down the city's main river was in sight, with the total number recovered now standing at more than 16,000.
The number of dead pigs found in Shanghai's main river doubled in two days to nearly 6,000, the government said, as officials from a nearby area blamed for the porcine deluge sought to deny it was the source.
Exposure to higher levels of fine particulates -- the airborne pollution that is an emerging problem in many Asian cities -- causes a sharp rise in deaths from heart attacks.
Shanghai was forced to deny that China's future tallest building, now under construction, was on fire Thursday after what looked like smog surrounded the towering structure.
Pollution levels in Beijing rose above index limits on Tuesday, the US embassy said, as a dense cloud of haze shrouded large swathes of northern China.
Anger mounted in China Monday over pollution which reached hazardous levels in recent days, with state media questioning the nation's breakneck development and government transparency over air quality.
Hong Kong's name may mean "fragrant harbour", but cargo ships burning dirty fuel in what is one of the world's busiest ports add to a foul layer of pollution that kills more than 3,000 people a year.
China's economic boom has seen its coral reefs shrink by at least 80 percent over the past 30 years, a joint Australian study found Thursday, with researchers describing "grim" levels of damage and loss.
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.
The world's first flight powered entirely by bio jet fuel has raised hopes for cleaner air travel and upped the prospects of a boon for farmers whose oilseed crops could supplant kerosene.
