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Tunisian startup turns olive waste into clean energy

In a northern Tunisian olive grove, Yassine Khelifi's small workshop hums as a large machine turns olive waste into a valuable energy source in a country heavily reliant on imported fuel.

Clouds changing as world warms, adding to climate uncertainty

People have always studied the skies to predict the weather, but recently scientists have noticed that clouds are changing on a global scale -- posing one of the greatest challenges to understanding our warming world.

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Eight dead in India avalanche as rescue operation ends

Rescuers recovered the eighth and final body from the site of an avalanche in a remote area of northern India, the army said Sunday, marking the end of a marathon operation in sub-zero temperatures.

Rescue efforts enter third day at India avalanche site

Indian rescuers hurried in sub-zero temperatures Sunday to dig out four missing workers presumed buried by an avalanche in a remote border area, with snowfall increasing the risk of more sliding snow.

Four dead from India avalanche, five still missing: army

At least four people died from their injuries in India after an avalanche hit a remote border area, officials said Saturday, as rescuers deployed helicopters to search for the remaining five missing.

Vietnam drags feet over 'urgent' pollution problem

Toxic smoke billows from a burning mound of plastic bags and leaves on Le Thi Huyen's farm in Hanoi, a city battling an alarming air pollution surge that the communist government appears in no hurry to fix.

A public bust-up, a royal invite, and wild AI - a week in Trumpworld

Even by his standards, President Donald Trump generated a pile of eye-popping news items this week. Here are some of the highlights:

World agrees hard-fought nature funding plan at UN talks

Nations cheered a last-gasp deal to map out nature funding to 2030 Thursday, breaking a deadlock at UN talks seen as a test for international cooperation in the face of geopolitical tensions.

Climate crisis revives Soviet hydro plan in Central Asia

Central Asian countries are setting rivalries aside to build a giant hydroelectric plant originally planned in Soviet times, a bid to strengthen energy and food security and mitigate the effects of climate change.

UN nature talks in last sprint to break fund deadlock

Nations prepared for a showdown on funding on the last day of UN nature talks in Rome Thursday, amid alarm over slow progress in the face of accelerating species loss.

Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation

Pacific microstate Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas, President David Adeang told AFP, opening a contentious "golden passport" scheme as other climate financing runs dry.

In Brazil's Amazon, dolphin therapy aids people with disabilities

Floating in the Rio Negro river in the Brazilian Amazon, Luiz Felipe, who has Down Syndrome, beams as he hugs a pink dolphin during a special therapy session.

UN warns nations at climate science meeting 'time is not on our side'

Tense negotiations on the timing and content of the UN's next blockbuster assessment of global warming science opened in China on Monday, with US scientists reportedly absent.

Nations at odds over major UN climate science report

Representatives of nearly 200 countries gather Monday to continue fraught negotiations on the timing and content of the UN's next blockbuster assessment of global warming science.

US pipeline case heads to court in high-stakes free speech fight

Nearly a decade after activists led one of the largest anti-pipeline protests in US history, the fight shifts to court as Energy Transfer sues Greenpeace for $300 million in a case with far-reaching free speech implications.

Japan cabinet approves 'emergency' urban bear shootings

Japan's cabinet approved a bill Friday allowing hunters to shoot bears in populated areas at their own discretion after human encounters with the wild animals hit record levels.

Trump aid cut imperils water scheme in Pakistan's hottest city

In Pakistan's hottest city, fresh and filtered water can quench the searing onslaught of climate change -- but US President Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze threatens its vital supply, an NGO says.

Fishermen, sailing champions clean up trash-covered Rio island

Fisherman Jose Antonio Crispin recalls the days when he would throw out a net and get a decent haul of fish around Pombeba Island, a small oasis in Rio de Janeiro's iconic Guanabara Bay that is being suffocated by trash.

Two of a kind: Najin and Fatu, the last northern white rhinos

Najin spends a lot of time by herself these days because her rebellious daughter prefers to hang out with her best friend.

Groups launch first green lawsuits against new Trump administration

Green groups on Wednesday launched the first environmental challenges against the new Trump administration, targeting the president's plans to expand offshore drilling.

Global glacier melt is accelerating, scientists say

Ice loss from the world's glaciers has accelerated over the past decade, scientists said on Wednesday, warning that melting may be faster than previously expected in the coming years and drive sea levels higher.

Rangers to euthanise 90 dolphins stranded on remote Australian beach

Wildlife rangers will Wednesday begin shooting 90 dolphins stranded on a remote Australian beach, saying the stressed creatures would be euthanised after attempts to refloat them failed.

India's infrastructure push engulfs Kashmir farmers' land

Farmers in Indian-administered Kashmir say a major government infrastructure drive is taking their deeply cherished land, fearing it spearheads a push to "Hinduise" the disputed Muslim-majority territory.

Fruit feast as Sri Lanka's first jumbo orphanage marks golden jubilee

Sri Lanka's main elephant orphanage marked its 50th anniversary Sunday with a fruit feast for the 68 jumbos at the showpiece centre, reputedly the world's first care home for destitute pachyderms.

Argentina's giant rodents dyed Hulk green by algae

First a river ran blood red. Now Argentina's beloved giant rodent, the capybara, has been coated in Hulk-green slime as pollution turns the country's waterways traffic light colours.

Indonesia hands lengthy sentences to Javan rhino poachers

An Indonesian court has handed lengthy prison terms to poachers who killed dozens of rare Javan rhinos, court rulings seen by AFP Friday showed, drawing praise from conservationists who said it would help deter lucrative wildlife crime.

Conservation efforts can shift nature loss to more vulnerable regions: study

Could restoring the environment in one place -- say by turning farmland in Europe into a nature reserve -- harm plants and animals on the other side of the planet?

US State Dept walks back purported $400 mn Tesla contract

The US State Department backtracked Thursday on a document saying it would award $400 million for electric armored cars by Tesla, whose chief Elon Musk has been aggressively slashing government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump.

The squad saving deer from tourist trash in Japan's Nara

As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.

Did cuts to shipping emissions spur more global warming?

Could a sudden drop in pollution from cargo vessels criss-crossing global shipping lanes be inadvertently making the world hotter?

Marriages in China down by a fifth in 2024: government

China last year saw a one-fifth decline in marriages, the latest sign of persistent demographic challenges as Beijing works to encourage births despite an uncertain economic outlook for young families.

Airbus acknowledges slow progress on hydrogen plane

Airbus acknowledged on Friday that progress on developing an aeroplane operating on hydrogen was slower than expected, but said it was not reviewing its approach to decarbonising aviation.

Trump slams paper straws, vows 'back to plastic'

President Donald Trump on Friday raged against eco-friendly paper straws promoted by his predecessor Joe Biden, and pledged that the United States would return to using plastic ones.

UK MPs warn billions spent on carbon capture may hit bills

British MPs on Friday called on the government to assess the impact on energy bills of its multibillion-pound investment into "risky" technology to capture and store carbon.

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