Australia insisted Friday that protecting the Great Barrier Reef was a top priority, but conservationists WWF said not enough had been done to prevent UNESCO deeming it a world heritage site "in danger".
The Solomon Islands on Friday urged villagers to stop the mass slaughter of dolphins, saying the traditional practice was damaging the Pacific nation's tourism industry.
French and Malian forces were patrolling Mali's fabled desert city of Timbuktu on Tuesday, after a hero's welcome following their lightning advance north.
A far-right political party is distributing thousands of knives to women in a western Indian state to help them protect themselves after a fatal gang-rape last month alarmed the country.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged calm and vowed to protect women as police on Monday struggled to quell increasing outrage over sex crimes following the gang-rape of a student.
Australia Friday created the world's largest network of marine reserves, protecting a huge swathe of ocean environment despite claims it will devastate the fishing industry.
Key greenhouse gas emitter Australia on Friday said it will sign up for a second round of the Kyoto Protocol environmental protection treaty, but New Zealand opted out.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied that Washington was warned of an imminent attack in Libya, stressing the United States would not rest until those behind the killings of four Americans are brought to justice.
