Sunday, July 31, 2016

Chance of cyclone over Caribbean in next 48 hours: Hurricane Center

(Reuters) - A strong and fast-moving tropical wave over the eastern Caribbean Sea has a 50-percent chance of becoming a cyclone, the National Hurricane Center said on Sunday.

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One dead, two missing in Maryland flooding

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Flooding from torrential rain killed at least one person in Ellicott City, Maryland, and at least two people are missing after floodwaters swept through the town's historic downtown, officials said on Sunday.

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Chinese police seize nearly 400 baby Siamese crocodiles: Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - Border police seized 399 baby Siamese crocodiles, a protected endangered species, in southern China, state-owned Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

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Heavy rains flood Baltimore suburb, homes damaged

(Reuters) - Heavy rains caused waist-deep flooding on Saturday night in a suburb of Baltimore, damaging homes and businesses and pushing cars through the streets, an official said.

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Saturday, July 30, 2016

China issues warning ahead of Typhoon Nida

BEIJING (Reuters) - China issued a "yellow alert" for Typhoon Nida, predicting it would hit the southern province of Guangdong on Tuesday, state-owned Xinhua news agency reported.

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Quake strikes off Greek island, no damage

ATHENS (Reuters) - A quake measuring 5.1 struck off the coast of the Greek island of Crete on Saturday, Athens Geodynamic Institute reported, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

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Still waters: U.S. to crack down on ocean noise that harms fish

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ocean has gotten noisier for decades, with man-made racket from oil drilling, shipping and construction linked to signs of stress in marine life that include beached whales and baby crabs with scrambled navigational signals.

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At least 31 killed in India's northeast, Bangladesh by heavy rains

GUWAHATI, India/DHAKA, Bangladesh (Reuters) - At least 17 people have been killed by heavy rains and flooding in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, while at least 14 people have died in Bangladesh, with millions of people also displaced, officials said on Saturday.

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Friday, July 29, 2016

Bayer says will halt future U.S. sales of insecticide

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The agricultural unit of German chemicals company Bayer AG will halt future U.S. sales of an insecticide that can be used on more than 200 crops after losing a fight with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company said on Friday.

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Unapproved GMO wheat found growing in Washington state: officials

(Reuters) - Unapproved genetically modified wheat plants have been found growing in a field in Washington State, according to the state's Department of Agriculture and the head of a state industry group.

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Exclusive: California regulator says testing to begin on Volkswagen diesel fix

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG and the California Air Resources Board will begin testing hardware and software that could help the German automaker avoid buying back as many as 475,000 diesel cars sold in the United States with improperly designed pollution controls, the head of the board told Reuters.

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Monsoon deluge in Indian cities causes traffic chaos, sewage swirls

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Persistent heavy rains have caused widespread disruption in India's major cities and severe floods in the rugged northeast have killed at least 12 people, the federal government said on Friday.

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Elephant poaching in Africa down, but still far too high: CITES

OSLO (Reuters) - The illegal killing of African elephants for their ivory seems to have fallen from record peaks but poaching of the animal is still far too high, an international report said on Thursday.

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Weaker La Nina event expected this year, WMO says

GENEVA (Reuters) - A La Nina event, which affects rainfall and temperatures in the tropics, may develop in the third quarter of the year but it is likely to be weak and far less intense that El Nino that ended in May, the United Nations weather agency said on Thursday.

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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Chinese polluters to face more business, financing restrictions

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese firms guilty of exceeding emissions limits or building plants without environmental permits will face tougher punishments including credit bans and land use restrictions, the country's environmental ministry said late on Wednesday.

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France to support grain farmers after crops hit by weather

PARIS (Reuters) - France will help grain farmers cope with an expected plunge in revenue after torrential rain and a lack of sunshine in late spring hit the country's cereal crops.

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Venezuela food shortages leave zoo animals hungry

CARACAS (Reuters) - Some 50 animals have starved to death in the last six months at one of Venezuela's main zoos, according to a union leader, due to chronic food shortages that have plagued the crisis-stricken South American nation.

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From herdsmen to central bankers, southern Africa counts drought cost

SEKOMA, Botswana (Reuters) - Molefi Ramantele, a small-scale livestock farmer who ekes out a living in Botswana's arid scrubland, lost a third of his cattle in the drought that has scorched southern Africa.

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Floods ravage northeast Indian state, kill 58 in Nepal

GUWAHATI, India/KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Severe floods in India have affected more than 1.6 million people, buried hundreds of villages and almost submerged a national park, forcing wildlife to seek refuge on roads, authorities said on Wednesday.

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EU clears French state-aid for tidal energy plant

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has cleared French state support for an experimental tidal power plant off the northwestern coast of the country, saying the aid given was in line with European rules.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Climate change risk threatens 18 U.S. military sites: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report released on Wednesday.

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California wildfire displaces exotic animals, horses, cats and dogs, too

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A virtual Noah's Ark of wild beasts and livestock has been relocated to save them from a massive wildfire burning north of Los Angeles in a region that is home to exotic animal sanctuaries and horse ranches.

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Canadian oil spill started day before crews arrived: Husky Energy

(Reuters) - An oil spill into a major Canadian river from a Husky Energy Inc pipeline started last Wednesday evening and crews did not arrive on site until the following morning, the company said on Tuesday.

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Brazil agency to say Rio Olympics will bring no environmental gains: sources

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's top government finance and spending regulator is expected to report in the coming months that Rio de Janeiro will receive almost none of the environmental benefits promised by organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games, officials working on the report told Reuters.

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Natural disasters in China kill more than 800 since June

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than 800 people have died and about 200 are missing in a series of natural disasters that have struck China since June, the worst casualty figures since a similar period in 2011, state media said on Tuesday.

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Solar plane circles globe in first for clean energy

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - A solar-powered aircraft successfully completed the first fuel-free flight around the world on Tuesday, returning to Abu Dhabi after an epic 16-month voyage that demonstrated the potential of renewable energy.

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Monday, July 25, 2016

China sets up South China Sea environment protection fund

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has set up a 15 million yuan ($2.25 million) environmental protection fund for the South China Sea having already spent double that in the past four years, the Xinhua state news agency said on Monday.

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EPA clears path to regulate carbon emissions from U.S. aircraft

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized its determination that greenhouse gases from airplanes endangers public health, a decision that requires the agency to regulate emissions from U.S. aircraft.

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Greece's Chios island in state of emergency as wildfire rages

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has declared a state of emergency on the Aegean island of Chios, engulfed by a wildfire raging out of control, authorities said on Monday.

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Britain to have cooler than usual Aug-Oct : The Weather Company

LONDON (Reuters) - Below-normal temperatures are expected in Britain and parts of Norway, France and Germany from August to October, with higher than average temperatures across the rest of Europe, The Weather Company said on Monday.

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China sends environmental teams to inspect steel mill pollution

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has ordered special teams to begin inspecting steel mills across the country to see how well they are complying with tough new pollution rules, its environment ministry said on Monday.

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Sunday, July 24, 2016

Japan to see warmer weather during August-October

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will see mostly warmer weather from August to October, the official forecaster said on Monday.

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Deal on cutting greenhouse gases in sight for this year: Vienna delegates

VIENNA (Reuters) - A global agreement on cutting the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - potent greenhouse gases used in aerosols, refrigerants and air conditioning - seems within grasp, delegates said on Sunday after ten days of talks on climate change in Vienna.

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At least 40 percent of Canada oil spill recovered: officials

(Reuters) - Authorities have recovered at least 40 percent of the 1,572 barrels of oil that leaked into a major western Canadian river, but the spill is still moving downstream and threatening the drinking water of riverside communities, officials said on Sunday.

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Los Angeles-area wildfire spreads, motorist found dead

(Reuters) - A huge wildfire in the Los Angeles area spread another 2,000 acres overnight and appeared to have killed a motorist whose remains were found in a charred vehicle in the fire's path, officials said on Sunday.

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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Canadian authorities seek to contain oil spill moving down river

(Reuters) - Authorities are building a new containment boom to fight an oil spill in a major western Canadian river, officials said on Saturday, after the spill breached a previous barrier and threatened the drinking water of several communities along the coast.

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California sea lion crisis lingers; falling births reported

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A warming ocean is taking its toll on California's popular and playful sea lions for a fourth straight year, with scientists now reporting lower birth rates depleting the population, and masses of young animals still washing up starving and stranded on beaches.

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Wildfire forces 300 homes to evacuate north of Los Angeles

(Reuters) - Some 300 firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire outside Los Angeles early on Saturday that forced the evacuation of about 300 homes, fire officials said.

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Hawaii issues emergency proclamation ahead of Tropical Storm Darby

(Reuters) - Hawaii Governor David Ige on Friday issued an emergency proclamation ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Darby, a storm that could reach land over the next day bringing with it heavy rains and strong wind.

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Friday, July 22, 2016

Heavy rain in China kills at least 24, millions evacuated

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Heavy rain in China has killed at least 24 people and forced 16 million from their homes, state media reported on Saturday.

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Mexico to have tougher truck emissions rule from 2020

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A significantly tougher rule governing heavy-duty truck emissions in Mexico will take effect in 2020, earlier than the truck industry had wanted, a top government official said on Friday,

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U.S. to complete key step for regulating aircraft emissions: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency will as soon as Monday finalize a scientific finding that greenhouse gases from aviation endanger human health, obligating the United States to regulate emissions from commercial aircraft, sources told Reuters.

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Weather dents French wine forecast, Champagne among worst hit

PARIS (Reuters) - Damage from spring hail and frost in key French winemaking regions will lead to an 8 percent decline in national output this year and a 32 percent drop in Champagne, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.

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U.S. calls for rapid progress on greenhouse-gas pact

VIENNA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged U.N. nations on Friday to reach a deal to cut the use of a family of powerful greenhouse gases and take a big step toward keeping global warming in check.

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New gas pipelines would make U.S. miss climate target: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will miss its emission-reduction targets under the Paris climate agreement if 19 pending natural gas pipelines are built across eastern states, a report published on Friday by environmental groups said.

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Volkswagen to halt sales of most vehicles in South Korea amid emissions probe

SEOUL (Reuters) - Volkswagen will suspend sales of most of its vehicle models in South Korea from July 25, as pressure builds on the German automaker over its falsified emissions tests.

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

After warming fast, part of Antarctica gets a chill: study

OSLO (Reuters) - The Antarctic Peninsula, among the fastest warming places on Earth last century, has since cooled due to natural swings in the local climate, scientists said on Wednesday, adding that the respite from the thaw is likely to be brief.

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Lithium rivals SQM and Albemarle sign environment deal

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - SQM and Albemarle's Rockwood, two of the world's biggest lithium producers, have agreed to work together on "environmental administration" of the giant Chilean salt flats where they operate, SQM said on Thursday.

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Obama administration offers EV charging loan guarantees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said it was expanding a federal loan guarantee program to include companies building electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, part of a broader effort to boost EV sales.

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Pilgrimage to tiny Irish island keeps local fishermen safe

ST MACDARA'S ISLAND, Ireland (Reuters) - It is said that people don't come home for Christmas to the small western Irish village of Carna, they come back for St. MacDara's Day.

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2016 set to be hottest year yet, CO2 on rise: WMO

GENEVA (Reuters) - The world is on track for its hottest year on record and levels of carbon dioxide have reached new highs, further fuelling global warming, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

South Africa's great white sharks could die out: study

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s great white sharks could die out due to human interference, ocean pollution and a limited gene pool, a new study released on Wednesday showed.

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Heavy rain disrupts trains, flights in Chinese capital

BEIJING (Reuters) - Persistent heavy rain on Wednesday caused widespread disruption in the Chinese capital, Beijing, forcing the delay and cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of some subway stations.

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Enbridge to pay $62 million fine, $120 million costs for Michigan spill: report

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency will fine Enbridge Inc $62 million for a 2010 oil spill that released crude oil into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, a Michigan TV station reported Wednesday, citing a source.

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EU national climate goals test bloc's resolve amid Brexit

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators doled out bitterly disputed national emissions-reduction targets on Wednesday for spreading the burden of the bloc's climate goals by 2030, despite risks Britain's exit could unravel the effort to fight global warming.

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Rotterdam offers burial at sea for greenhouse gases

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands/GHENT, Belgium (Reuters) - A scheme to collect millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and bury them under the North Sea off the coast of Rotterdam is Europe's best hope of showing it can make carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology work.

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China pipeline fire kills two, cuts gas supplies

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Sinopec has shut down a section of the Sichuan-East China gas pipeline in the country's central region after it was hit by a landslide and fire, killing two people.

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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Vienna climate meeting aims for progress on deal to cut HFC use

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Diplomats meeting in Vienna this week hope to take a major step toward a deal under the Montreal Protocol to decrease the use of a potent greenhouse gas, in what could be the most significant measure to combat global warming since last year's Paris climate agreement.

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New York alleges in lawsuit Volkswagen executives covered up diesel cheating

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior executives at Volkswagen AG including its former chief executive covered up evidence that the German automaker had cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests for years, New York state charged on Tuesday in a civil lawsuit against the company.

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Monsanto rejects Bayer's sweetened offer, open to talks

(Reuters) - U.S. seed company Monsanto Co rejected a sweetened $125-per-share offer from Bayer AG , but said it was open to continue talks with the German chemicals group as well as other parties.

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Dodging costs and power cuts, Tanzanian firms profit from solar drive

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mkarima Tarimo, managing director of Tarimo Industries, a Tanzanian company producing ice cream, yogurt and fruit juice for export to Europe, is a happy man.

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Iraq's marshes, once drained by Saddam, named world heritage site

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A wetland in southeast Iraq, thought to be the biblical Garden of Eden and almost completely drained during Saddam Hussein's rule, has become a UNESCO world heritage site, Iraqi authorities said on Sunday.

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Monday, July 18, 2016

Australian farmers left high dry after report rejects drought insurance

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian government commissioned report on Tuesday rejected drought insurance for farmers as uneconomical, dashing landowner hopes of a change in government policy which could help boost output to meet Asia's fast-growing food market.

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Eastern Japan shaken by 5.2 quake, no tsunami warning

TOKYO, (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2 shook eastern Japan on Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.

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Tesoro, Par Hawaii settle with U.S. over air quality violations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiners Tesoro Corp and Par Hawaii Refining reached a $425 million settlement with the United States on Monday to resolve air quality violations at six refineries in Western states, the government announced on Monday.

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Peru says World Bank panel rejects lawsuit over smelter

LIMA (Reuters) - A World Bank panel has rejected an $800 million lawsuit filed against Peru for allegedly failing to clean up and take legal responsibility for pollution tied to a smelter in the South American nation, the Peruvian government said on Monday.

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U.S. regulators say automakers can meet 2025 fuel efficiency standards

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators say in a draft technical assessment report to be released on Monday that automakers can meet aggressive mandates to dramatically hike fuel efficiency standards by 2025, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

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Can we feed the world without cutting forests? It can be done, says U.N.

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation globally fueled by a growing demand for food, yet it is possible to feed the world without cutting forests, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday.

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Sunday, July 17, 2016

China's urban air quality improves in first half: ministry

BEIJING (Reuters) - Air quality in China's largest cities continued to improve during the first six months of 2016, the country's environment ministry said on Sunday.

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Saturday, July 16, 2016

Quake of magnitude 5.0 hits Tokyo and eastern Japan, no major damage

TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 struck eastern Japan on Sunday and shook buildings in Tokyo, officials and witnesses said, but there was no danger of a tsunami and no immediate report of injuries or major damage.

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Wildfires rage across Southwest, forcing home evacuations

(Reuters) - Several destructive wildfires were raging across the Southwestern United States on Saturday, after consuming dozens of homes and forcing evacuations.

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Friday, July 15, 2016

Bank of England's Carney says climate to be big part of G20 summit

TORONTO (Reuters) - Climate issues will form a major part of this year's G20 summit to be held in China, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday, emphasizing China's commitment to climate change issues.

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Focus on 'glamorous' farming to combat migrant flight from Africa: former Nigerian president

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The image of African farming as a route only to dead-end poverty must be challenged to stem the exodus of migrants to Europe, a former Nigerian president said.

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Vietnam says investigating dry waste by Formosa steel unit

HANOI/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Vietnamese environmental authorities said they were working with local officials in the Ha Tinh province to investigate dry waste, belonging to a unit of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group, that was found dumped on a residential farm.

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Former Japan nuclear regulator lashes out over earthquake standards

TOKYO (Reuters) - A former senior official of Japan's atomic watchdog has lashed out publicly at the agency's response to his concerns over the assessment of earthquake risks to nuclear plants, adding to a controversy over safety five years after the Fukushima disaster.

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Energy companies spend big to fight Colorado ballot initiatives

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy companies in Colorado are spending millions of dollars to derail a push by environmentalists to put measures on November's ballot that would stifle oil and gas drilling in the state, according to a Reuters review of campaign finance records.

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Thursday, July 14, 2016

California rejects VW's recall plan for larger diesel cars

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's chief air regulator has rejected a proposed recall plan from Volkswagen AG to fix 16,000 3.0-liter diesel Volkswagens, Audis and Porsches in the state equipped with devices designed to cheat emissions tests.

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EU to introduce limits on truck CO2 emissions

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose limits on CO2 emissions from trucks, following in the footsteps of the United States and Japan, and new fuel efficiency standards for cars and vans after 2020, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

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Environmental protests spur Morocco to halt waste imports for energy

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco has suspended imports of European waste to be incinerated for energy after a spate of protests by environmental activists and outrage on social media, officials said on Thursday.

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U.S. weather forecaster sees likelihood of La Nina August-October

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Following a damaging El Nino weather period, a U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said the La Nina weather phenomenon is favored to develop during August through October 2016.

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Insurance could protect India's solar panels from 'monkey menace'

JAIPUR, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When businessman Narendra Sethi first installed solar panels on the flat roof of his Jaipur home last October, they drew the attention of more than admiring neighbors.

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Wednesday, July 13, 2016

China sets aside $30 million for weather modification program

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has allocated 199 million yuan ($29.76 million) to spend on its weather modification program as part of efforts to combat drought and reduce the impact of natural disasters, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

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Peru's Kuczynski wants to relax air standards to spur refining

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski called Peru's air quality standards "unrealistic" on Wednesday and proposed lowering them to spur investments in smelters that would boost the country's key mineral exports.

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South China Sea ruling won't stop plundering of ecosystem, experts say

HONG KONG (Reuters) - An international tribunal's ruling that China has caused severe harm to coral reefs and endangered species in the South China Sea will not stop further damage to an already plundered ecoystem, scientists and academics said.

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Three held over murder of another environmental activist in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran police have arrested three men for the murder of Lesbia Urquia, an environmental activist who fought against hydroelectric and mining projects on indigenous lands in the Central American country, authorities said on Wednesday.

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Heatwave hits large parts of eastern Canada

TORONTO (Reuters) - A heatwave covered large parts of Canada on Wednesday, bringing unusually high temperatures and humidity to the country's biggest cities and sparking a health alert.

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Southern African economic bloc seeks $2.7 billion for drought relief

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The Southern African economic bloc said it would appeal for $2.7 billion from the international community to help more than 23 million people in "urgent need" because of a blistering drought.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

German prosecutors say won't be lenient with VW

HAMBURG (Reuters) - German prosecutors will grant Volkswagen no mitigation for a record vehicle emissions settlement it faces in the United States and want VW to pay them a separate fine, a spokesman said.

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Zoo aims to help chimps hang on to their wild side

ATHERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Scientists and animal keepers at a zoo in England are hoping to encourage chimpanzees in captivity to behave more like they would in the wild thanks to a new computer tool that helps to redesign enclosures and monitor results.

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Monday, July 11, 2016

Ivory Coast cool weather threatens next cocoa main crop

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Persistent cool weather in some of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions could hurt output during the start of the forthcoming main crop, farmers said on Monday.

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Nine dead in China as remnants of super typhoon Nepartak strike

BEIJING (Reuters) - Nine people were killed and 18 are missing after wind and driving rain bought by the remains of super typhoon Nepartak swept into China over the weekend, the government said on Monday.

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Sinopec says more than 500 gas stations damaged by floods

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest oil refiner, said on Monday that more than 500 of its gas stations have been damaged and some refinery equipment temporarily shut due to severe flooding across central and southern China in the past two weeks.

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South Korea to decide soon whether to cancel certification of 32 VW models

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's environment ministry said on Monday it will hold a hearing on July 22 to decide whether to cancel the certification of 32 Volkswagen group models, after the firm admitted to using software to falsify pollution tests on some diesel cars.

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Sunday, July 10, 2016

Poland's disappearing lakes fuel battle over coal mining

WILCZYN, Poland (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In early summer, the Wielkopolska region in western Poland looks like a scene from "The Hobbit" with intense green fields and lakes surrounded by dense forest and pretty cottages.

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Saturday, July 9, 2016

Super typhoon hits Taiwan, cutting power and transport

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Super typhoon Nepartak hit Taiwan on Friday, driving thousands of people from their homes, disrupting power supplies and grounding more than 600 flights, authorities said.

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Friday, July 8, 2016

China to launch environmental probes in eight more provinces

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will send inspection teams to eight more provinces and regions to see how well they are complying with state environment rules and fighting the country's war on pollution, the environment ministry said.

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

U.S. Senate passes GMO labeling bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would for the first time require food to carry labels listing genetically-modified ingredients (GMOs).

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Bantu the gorilla dies from cardiac arrest in Mexico City zoo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Bantu, a 220-kilogram (485-lb) endangered gorilla who lived in the Mexico City zoo, has died after going into cardiac arrest when he was sedated in order to be moved to another zoo to try to mate, city authorities said on Thursday.

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Exclusive: Philippines suspends 2 nickel mines, halts permits in environmental crackdown

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has ordered the suspension of operations at two nickel ore mines for environmental violations and halted the issuance of exploration permits as a nationwide crackdown led by a new mining minister begins.

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U.N. food agency says faces $610 million shortfall for southern Africa drought relief

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The United Nations' food agency said on Thursday it needed $730 million over the next 12 months for relief in seven southern African countries hit hard by a blistering drought and faced a $610 million shortfall.

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China top polluter Hebei province promises to clean up act

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Northern China's Hebei, home to seven of the country's 10 smoggiest cities, has pledged to double up its efforts to tackle hazardous pollution following an environment ministry report accusing the province of failing to rein in law-breaking industries.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Mississippi River closed near St. Louis after fuel spill-Army Corps

(Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has closed the Mississippi River to shipping traffic on Wednesday at lock and dam 25 near St. Louis after a towboat spilled 2,074 gallons of diesel while passing through the lock.

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With trees disappearing, Malawi turns to 'earth bag' houses

MZUZU, Malawi (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At the local brick kiln, a truck laden with logs pulls up and unloads. Soon smoke is billowing, as a new set of bricks bakes inside.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Floods in China kill almost 130, wipe out crops

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Severe flooding across central and southern China over the past week has killed almost 130 people, damaged more than 1.9 million hectares of crops and led to direct economic losses of more than 38 billion yuan ($5.70 billion), state media said on Tuesday.

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Free at Rio Olympics: 9 million forest-friendly condoms

XAPURI, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's government will hand out 9 million condoms for free around Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics in August, a push meant to encourage safe sex and also defend the Amazon rainforest.

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Monday, July 4, 2016

Plastic buckets, broken printers shine light on Hanoi's poor

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese families living in slums along the Red River in Hanoi are using red plastic buckets and old printers to help light homes, cook meals and slash electricity costs by as much as a third.

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California wildfire prompts new round of evacuations

(Reuters) - A new wildfire burning through bone-dry grass, shrub and timber has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a mountain community in central California and more houses could be in the inferno's path, fire officials said on Saturday.

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Eagle that starred in British TV series killed by Mozambique hunters

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A martial eagle from South Africa's Kruger National Park that starred in the British wildlife series "Fierce" has been killed by subsistence hunters in Mozambique, researchers who helped tag the bird said in a statement on Monday.

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Sunday, July 3, 2016

At least 40 feared dead in rains, landslides in northern India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least 40 people were feared dead following a downpour that triggered flash floods and landslides in northern Indian Uttarakhand state over the weekend, a state official said.

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Pakistan floods kill 28, including worshippers at mosque

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Flash floods triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 28 people in northern Pakistan, officials said on Sunday, including some who were swept away while praying at a mosque.

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Saturday, July 2, 2016

Crab traps pose growing threat to whales along U.S. West Coast

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A blue whale found tangled in plastic rope off California has become a symbol for a little-known but growing hazard faced by the ocean's largest creatures along the U.S. Pacific Coast - commercial crab traps dotting the sea floor and drifting astray by the thousands.

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Hundreds evacuated in Detroit suburb after gas explosion

(Reuters) - Hundreds of people were briefly evacuated from their homes in the Michigan town of Melvindale on Saturday morning after a car hit a natural gas main at a DTE Energy facility and caused an explosion and fire, police said.

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China defends use of wild animals in traditional medicine

BEIJING (Reuters) - Traditional Chinese medicine risks extinction if there is a push by the government to completely replace the wild animal parts now used with substitutes, a senior Chinese lawmaker said on Saturday.

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Thousands of structures at risk in northern California wildfire

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thousands of structures were threatened and hundreds of people fled their homes ahead of a wildfire ravaging in a section of the Eldorado National Forest north of Sacramento, federal officials said on Friday.

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Friday, July 1, 2016

U.S. Chesapeake Bay blue crab population rising: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The summer crab season has begun on the mid-Atlantic seaboard and supplies of the crustaceans in the largest U.S. estuary are improving, according to a survey, meaning crab lovers will enjoy bountiful feasts.

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Texas, a center of U.S. shark fin trade, enacts ban on practice

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A ban on the shark fin trade took effect in Texas on Friday, a move environmental groups hope will end the state's status as one of the main U.S. centers for the product prized as a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.

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Paris drives old cars off its streets

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris banned old, exhaust-belching cars from its streets on Friday in a war on air pollution that environmentalists hope will also drive dirty vehicles from the centers of other European cities.

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As Japan re-embraces nuclear power, safety warnings persist

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's re-embrace of nuclear power, on display last week with the recertification of two aging reactors, is prompting some critics to warn that Tokyo is neglecting the lessons of Fukushima.

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Nobel laureates urge Greenpeace to stop opposing GMOs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society.

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Orangutans rescued from Indonesian forest fires released back into wild

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Three orangutans rescued when forest fires destroyed their Indonesian rainforest habitats were returned to the wild on Borneo island last week.

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