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'Solution from the heavens': Indonesians pray for rain as fires burn

Indonesian schoolchildren prayed for rain on Thursday as another firefighter lost his life battling drought-fuelled blazes consuming forests and peatlands and blanketing parts of Southeast Asia in a sickening haze.

Champagne puts cork in project to expand production area

Champagne winegrowers said Thursday they were dropping a 23-year-old study into expanding the area that can produce France's most famous fizz due to climate change, declining consumption and economic uncertainty.

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Low Rhine weighed on German growth: central bank

The German economy likely contracted in the third quarter as record low levels on the Rhine river caused by heatwaves and drought hampered goods shipments, the central bank said Wednesday.

'The fishing's terrible': Deforestation devastates C.Africa river

Sitting in his narrow dugout canoe, Jean-Romeo Senguemboli frowned at the meagre catch in his nets on the Central African Republic's Mbali River, where experts say deforestation is devastating the fish population.

UK approves drilling in controversial Jackdaw gas field

Britain's Labour government announced plans Wednesday to start drilling in a controversial gas field in the North Sea, claiming it would boost energy security amid price shocks from the Iran war.

Prized wild pepper at risk in Madagascar's shrinking forests

A rare wild pepper endemic to Madagascar and prized by international chefs is facing an uncertain future, victim of its own success and the destruction of its forest habitat.

World falling 'dangerously short' on climate action: UN chief

Global commitments to cut planet-heating emissions are falling far short of the Paris climate goals and put the world on course for 2.6C warming this century, the UN warned Wednesday.

Tap water no longer drinkable near South Africa capital

Residents of neighbourhoods in South Africa's Tshwane municipality, which includes the capital Pretoria, have been told to stop drinking tap water after waterborne pathogens led hundreds of people to seek medical treatment, the city said Tuesday.

Cali Biodiversity Fund Struggles After Raising Only $7,085

The Cali Fund, created in 2024 to channel business contributions into biodiversity protection, has collected only $7,085 despite expectations of billions of dollars.

Alberta separatists lose vote on leaving Canada

Canada's province of Alberta was projected Tuesday to comfortably reject a plan for a binding independence referendum, according to media forecasts, in an early setback for separatists backed by allies of US President Donald Trump.

Vote count begins in Alberta secession referedum, testing Canada unity

Vote counting was underway in Canada's province of Alberta Monday, as the oil-rich province decides if it wants a binding independence referendum, testing national unity during a crisis in US relations.

US to auction deep sea mining leases off American Samoa

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday announced it had finalized a deep-sea mining auction off the coast of American Samoa, the first in the United States' history, despite widespread opposition from locals and environmental groups.

Monitor says Indonesia fires have burned nearly two million hectares

Indonesian wildfires that have caused a regional haze crisis burned more than 1.9 million hectares in the first nine months of 2026, a monitor analysing satellite data said on Monday.

Indonesia fires have burned nearly two million hectares: monitor

Fires in Indonesia that have caused a regional haze crisis burned through over 1.9 million hectares between January and the end of September this year, a monitor analysing satellite imagery said on Monday.

UN biodiversity summit opens with nature goals off track

Nearly 200 nations kicked off crucial UN biodiversity talks in Armenia on Monday as governments face pressure to salvage a landmark nature pact whose goals are slipping out of reach.

Record El Nino? Depends who's counting

Britain's Met Office says this year's El Nino is "unprecedented." Japan's weather agency has called it the strongest ever observed. US forecasters say it still trails the biggest events in its record books.

The painstaking task of cataloguing the world's species

A bumblebee-like insect that was last seen in France 150 years ago was spotted again in the Paris region in 2025.

Conservation teams rescue orangutans from Indonesian wildfires

Rescue teams have moved dozens of critically endangered orangutans away from wildfires in Indonesia as smoke and drought conditions affect large parts of the region.

Dozens of orangutans saved from Indonesia blazes as region grapples with haze

Dozens of critically endangered orangutans have been rescued in recent weeks from rampant wildfires burning across Indonesia that have cloaked the region in toxic haze, conservation groups said.

Oxygen tanks, purifier sales spike as haze crisis hits Southeast Asia

Toxic haze from wildfires burning in Indonesia has spiked a demand for oxygen tanks and air purifiers across the region, manufacturers say, as they work the clock on equipment providing life-saving clean air.

Nepal floods 'defining moment' for climate action: UN

Nepal's devastating floods should be a turning point for global climate action, with the international community helping the Himalayan nation recover, a top UN official told AFP on Saturday.

Haze triggers highest-level alert in parts of Southeast Asia

Fires in Indonesia that have sent toxic smoke and disrupted daily life across Southeast Asia have triggered the highest-level alert by the regional bloc's meteorological monitor.

Haze triggers highest-level alert in parts of Southeast Asia: monitor

Fires in Indonesia that have sent toxic smoke disrupting daily life across Southeast Asia has triggered the highest-level alert by the regional bloc's meteorological monitor.

'We've never had this': Bear sightings spook Russia

Seeing what looked like a brown blob in a tree while driving through Siberia's Irkutsk region, 36-year-old Daria Tyurneva pulled over, curious to get a better look.

Deforestation in Brazil Amazon hits nearly four-decade low

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 40 years, according to figures released Friday, in welcome news for leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva days before a presidential runoff.

Singapore puts seven Indonesian firms on notice over toxic haze

Singapore said on Friday it would issue warnings to seven companies in Indonesia it identified as responsible for fires that have sent toxic smoke across Southeast Asia, warning the worst may be yet to come.

Spain sizzles in hottest September on record: weather agency

Mainland Spain sizzled in its warmest September since records began in 1961, with exceptional heat effectively making it another summer month, national weather agency AEMET said on Friday.

Four killed battling Indonesia fires as toxic haze cloaks region

Four people died on Indonesia's Java island fighting the blazes that have sent toxic smoke across southeast Asia, closed schools and fuelled a surge of respiratory complaints, authorities said Friday.

Four killed in Indonesia battling fires causing toxic haze

Four people died on Indonesia's Java island fighting the blazes that have been sending toxic smoke across southeast Asia, closing schools and fuelling a surge of respiratory complaints in the region, authorities said Friday.

Wong weighs haze prosecutions as Singapore air quality worsens

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has vowed to take action against companies found responsible for fires in neighbouring Indonesia that have plunged the region into an air pollution crisis.

Prospect of Bolsonaro win looms large over Brazil's Indigenous

Brazil's Amazonian Indigenous communities are watching with bated breath as presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro inches closer to power, recalling the damage wrought on the rainforest under his father Jair Bolsonaro.

Indonesia rescues starved orangutan from fires: officials

A female orangutan who was likely starving was evacuated Wednesday from an area razed by fire on the Indonesian island of Borneo, officials said, as the country rescues hundreds of animals affected by the blazes.

Brazil probing 'criminal' origin of forest fires: minister to AFP

Brazil is probing possible "deliberate criminal activity" behind surging fires in the Amazon, as well as possible links to a tense election period, Brazil's environment minister told AFP.

Nepal flood triggered by rock and ice avalanche: report

Nepal's disaster authority said Wednesday that an avalanche of rock and ice triggered a recent flash flood, echoing the mountain collapse that unleashed a tsunami-like wall of water in August.

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