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Latest Ecology News
France taken to EU court over water pollution from fertilizers
Brussels - The European Union's executive on Monday took France to court over its failure to curb water pollution caused by nitrate-based fertilizers.
Chinese angry about leaders' air filters in polluted Beijing
Beijing - The Chinese have wondered for years why their leaders do so little to reduce the smog in Beijing, when they breathe the same air as everyone else.
Moscow to build sea communication system on Arctic coast
Arkhangelsk, Russia - Russia plans to build a modern communications system and a chain of emergency maritime assistance centres along its Arctic coast, a minister said Thursday.
US officials hold BP primarily responsible in Gulf oil spill
Washington - British oil firm BP is primarily responsible for last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, US officials said Wednesday in an investigative report on the disaster.
Climate change threatens Uganda's vital tea production
Kampala - With climate change threatening to cause a drop in tea production in Uganda, local traders warned on Wednesday that the government was unprepared for the likely economic impact on over half a million people.
Spanish politicians row over wearing ties in parliament
Madrid - A debate has erupted in Spain on whether men should stop wearing ties to reduce the need for air conditioning in hot weather.
Taiwan to bar fishermen from killing sharks for fins
Taipei - Taiwan will introduce strict measures next year to bar fishermen from killing sharks for their fins, an official said Sunday.
Survey: Most Taiwanese hotels still serve shark's fin soup
Taipei - Two conservation groups on Thursday charged that the majority of Taiwanese hotels still serve shark's fin soup, thus contributing to declines in shark populations.
Hindu leader dies during fast against Ganges pollution
New Delhi - A Hindu leader who went on a hunger strike against the pollution of India's revered Ganges river has died, news reports said Wednesday.
Environmental group calls for better protection of Baltic Sea
Warsaw - The future of Baltic Sea fisheries is at risk unless steps are taken to expand protected areas and end fishing subsidies, the environmental group Oceana said Friday in Gdansk, on Poland's Baltic coast.
Indian court rejects Bhopal case retrial
New Delhi - India's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea to re-open the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster case to try company executives on more serious charges, a news report said.
Filipinos embrace ban on plastics despite inconvenience
Manila - The woman gave a puzzled look as the cashier handed her a brown paper bag containing hamburgers she bought to take home from a top fast-food chain in the Philippines.
Taiwan drops shark's fin soup from Beijing banquet
Taipei - Taiwan said Friday it has dropped shark's fin soup from the menu of a banquet planned in Beijing to promote tourism with mainland China, after protests by animal protection groups.
Royal wedding creates huge carbon footprint, researchers say
Wellington - William and Kate's wedding in London will create a huge carbon footprint equal to a jumbo jet flying to New Zealand and back 723 times, according to environmental researchers quoted in a newspaper Friday.
'Dangerous' chemical spill in South Africa's Orange River
Johannesburg - A 'dangerous chemical' has spilled into South Africa's Orange River, a spokesman for the regional disaster management agency said on Thursday.
Superstar Robert Redford denounces Alaska mine plans
US backs 2.1-billion-dollar solar loan
Los Angeles - The US Department of Energy has awarded a 2.1- billion-dollar loan guarantee for a massive solar power project in California that will produce enough energy to power some 300,000 homes.
British eco-activist Tristram Stuart wins Norwegian prize
Oslo - British activist Tristram Stuart was Tuesday named winner of the Norwegian Sophie Prize for campaigning against 'food waste' and highlighting its social and environmental implications.
German aid agency donates 4 million euros for Lao reforestation
Vientiane - The German International Cooperation Agency donated 4 million euros (5.7 million dollars) to a reforestation project in Laos, which has vowed to restore 70 per cent forest coverage by 2020, state media reports said Monday.
Activists join forces against Laos' Xayaburi Dam plan
Bangkok - A group of 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries has called on Laos to cancel its proposed hydropower dam project on the Mekong River in Xayaburi province, representatives of the group said Tuesday.
Australia gives green light to controversial Tasmanian pulp mill
Sydney - The Australian government Thursday removed the last regulatory hurdle stopping forestry company Gunns Ltd from building a controversial and long-delayed pulp mill in Tasmania.
Hong Kong air pollution claims 1,860 lives a year, experts say
Hong Kong - Worsening air pollution in Hong Kong is causing 1,860 extra deaths a year and costing the city 2.5 billion US dollars in health costs and lost earnings, experts said Monday.
President orders halt on logging in Philippine forests
Manila - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III ordered Thursday a moratorium on the cutting down of trees in the country's fast dwindling forests.
UN launches International Year of Forests
Rome/New York - The United Nations on Wednesday launched a campaign to raise awareness of the vital role trees and wood products play in sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
Deep sea mining companies face no-limits claims
Hamburg - Deep sea mining companies will bear unlimited liability for any ecological damage they cause in international waters, a panel of 11 UN judges ruled Tuesday in Hamburg.
India clears South Korea's Posco project with conditions
New Delhi - India's Environment Ministry on Monday gave conditional clearance to South Korean steel giant Posco's 12-billion-dollar project opposed by local tribal people and environmental groups.
Italian officials arrested for dumping of waste off Naples coast
Rome - Several senior Italian officials were among 14 people arrested Friday in connection with the dumping of untreated waste in the sea near Naples.
EU sues Greece for pollution of major lake
Brussels - The European Union's executive has decided to take Greece to court and cut off millions of euros in funding for failing to stop the massive pollution of a major lake, officials in Brussels announced Thursday.
Taiwan vows to protect sharks after critical report
Taipei - Taiwan on Thursday vowed to reinforce measures to protect sharks after the country was criticised by an international conservation group for failing to reduce its catch.
Oil spills from offshore field near Mumbai's coast (Roundup)
New Delhi - India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp reported an oil leak Friday from the country's biggest oilfield off Mumbai.
Oil spill from offshore field near Mumbai coast
New Delhi - India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported an oil leak from an offshore field near the coast of Mumbai Friday.
Icelanders call for end to privatisation of energy resources
Reykjavik - A petition protesting plans to sell Icelandic energy resources to foreign interests was presented Monday to Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdadottir, crowning a campaign that included a marathon karaoke session.
5 killed, 7 arrested as South Africa clamps down on rhino poachers
Johannesburg - Five rhino poachers have been shot dead and another seven arrested in two South African game parks since the weekend, officials said on Wednesday.
SIDEBAR: Experts predict full recovery for soiled Barrier Reef
Sydney - Opinion is divided over how the Great Barrier Reef will fare in Queensland's worst floods in 50 years.
Floods jumble Australia's animal kingdom (News Feature)
Sydney - If you are afraid of slithery creatures, don't read on.
59 kilos of ivory found in luggage; Taiwan man arrested
Taipei - A Taiwan man was arrested Wednesday, accused of smuggling 59 kilogrammes of ivory from Malawi.
Racy Pamela Anderson anti-fur advert rejected at Hong Kong airport
Hong Kong - An advertisement featuring a scantily clad Pamela Anderson frisking and stripping travellers has been rejected by Hong Kong airport, animal-protection campaigners said Tuesday.
Beijing caps new cars, issues traffic measures
Beijing - China's capital on Thursday announced an annual cap on licences for new cars and other measures designed to relieve the city's notorious traffic congestion.
1,800 endangered reptiles saved from cooking pot in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian custom officers seized more than 1,800 protected reptiles from a truck bound for Thailand, a news report said Wednesday.
Thousands of tons of smuggled animals transit Vietnam annually
Hanoi - Vietnamese police on Wednesday said they estimated 4,500 tons of wild animals are smuggled through the country every year.
EU agrees to water down new CO2 emission standards for vans
Brussels - Representatives of the European Parliament and European Union governments agreed Wednesday to water down new emission standards for light commercial vehicles, officials said.
Berlusconi renews pledge to clear Naples rubbish
Rome - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday his government would resolve 'in a few days' the rubbish- collection crisis in Naples, repeating a similar, but unkept pledge, he made in November.
Obama restores oil-drilling ban on some marine areas
Washington - The Obama administration has decided against allowing offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, in a reversal of a decision made nine months ago, US officials said Wednesday.
One in four Hong Kong people consider emigrating over air pollution
Hong Kong - One in four Hong Kong people is considering emigrating because of the city's worsening air pollution, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Ash from Indonesian volcano forces local airport to shut
Jakarta - Ash eruptions from Mount Bromo volcano forced the closure of a nearby airport in Indonesia's East Java province, an official said Monday.
Wildlife groups: Myanmar border markets play key role in tiger trade
Bangkok - Black markets on Myanmar's borders with China and Thailand are playing a pivotal role in the illicit trade in tiger parts, two wildlife-protection groups said Friday.
Thai premier skips tiger summit after irking Moscow
Bangkok - Thailand's prime minister on Thursday cancelled plans to attend a summit on protecting tigers next week in St Petersburg amid a diplomatic row over Bangkok's decision to extradite a Russian accused of arms dealing.
Hungary's toxic waste spill victims to protest despite warning
Hungary - Residents of Devecser in western Hungary, one of the towns worst hit by a recent toxic industrial waste spill, on Wednesday said they would go ahead with a planned demonstration despite a police order to call it off.
New oil spill study faults US government and BP
Washington - Lack of official government oversight and BP Plc's lack of 'management discipline' contributed to an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and caused the worst US oil spill ever, an initial report by scientists said.
Vietnam man charged with tiger smuggling
Hanoi - Police in Vietnam filed charges against a man they said was part of a ring smuggling frozen tiger carcasses through the port of Haiphong, a police official said Tuesday.
French environmental parties set for merger for stronger position
Paris - France's two chief environmentalist parties were preparing Friday for a decisive meeting to agree to merge in order to boost their political position in French politics.
New Zealand starts fighting kiwifruit disease
Wellington - New Zealand agriculture officials were preparing Friday to spray kiwifruit vines infected with a new bacterial disease, saying the impact on one of the country's most valuable export industries was not yet clear.
Report: 'Culture of complacency' partly responsible for oil spill
Washington - A US commission on Tuesday said systemic safety problems at BP plc and other contractors resulted in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, US media reported.
New Zealand alert for kiwi fruit disease (Roundup)
Wellington - It could be more than a week before New Zealand growers of kiwi fruit, one of the country's most valuable exports, know the potential impact of a vine disease never seen before in the country.
New Zealand alert for kiwifruit disease
Wellington - New Zealand growers of kiwifruit, one of the country's most valuable exports, were anxiously awaiting results of tests Tuesday after the discovery of a vine disease never before seen in the country.
BP did not put profit ahead of safety, Obama's oil spill panel says
Washington - A US inquiry into BP's devastating Gulf oil spill could find no evidence that the British oil company ever put profit ahead of safety in its drilling operations, the inquiry's chief investigator said Monday.
China considers new rare earth mineral production controls
Beijing - China may tighten environmental standards around the extraction of rare earth minerals, state media said Sunday, a move which could raise the prices of its rare earth exports.
Hungary's red mud disaster claims 10th victim
Budapest - An elderly man has died from injuries sustained in the toxic waste spill from a Hungarian aluminium plant last month, a hospital official announced on Friday, bringing the death toll in Hungary's worst environmental disaster to ten.
Investigator: BP oil well failed cement tests before Gulf spill
Washington - The cement used to seal BP Plc's oil well in the Gulf of Mexico failed three stability tests, including one test just seven days before the April 20 blowout that caused the worst oil spill disaster in US history.
Malaysian police rescue 23 pangolins from suspected smugglers
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police rescued 23 pangolins thought to have been smuggled from Indonesia for Malaysian dinner tables, a news report said Thursday.
Gulf oil disaster death toll: 6,000 birds, 600 turtles
Washington - Among the saddest images from BP Plc's three- month-long oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico were those of oil-slicked birds struggling to survive.
Thai police raid illegal wildlife warehouse
Bangkok - Thai police on Friday raided an illegal wildlife warehouse believed to have exported 'tons' of protected species every week.
Hungary's toxic spill puts regulation in spotlight (News Feature)
Budapest - The massive waste spill at a Hungarian aluminium plant earlier this month which left nine people dead has sparked a heated debate about how such toxic material is monitored, and whether the regulators are up to the task.
India rejects alumina refinery expansion project
New Delhi - The Indian government on Thursday rejected the proposal by British firm Vedanta Resources Plc to expand its alumina refinery in eastern India, news reports said.
India launches special environmental court
New Delhi - India on Tuesday established a special court for environmental issues, a news report said.
Vietnam police seize shipment of rare animal carcasses
Hanoi - Vietnamese police arrested a women for trafficking rare animals in the country, an officer said Tuesday.
Third arrest in Hungary toxic spill case, compensation talks begin
Budapest - The number of suspects interviewed by Hungarian police in connection with a recent fatal chemical spill rose to three on Monday as police announced that a third aluminium company employee had been detained for questioning.
Toxic spill plant restarted, few villagers return home (Roundup)
Budapest - The alumina plant at the centre of a toxic waste spill that has left nine dead in Hungary's worst ecological disaster has restarted operation, a government spokesperson said Friday evening.
Hungary toxic spill plant to resume operation Friday
Budapest - The alumina plant behind the recent toxic waste spill in western Hungary is to resume production from noon Friday, a government spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
Hungary toxic spill plant to reopen, ninth death confirmed (Roundup)
Budapest - The Hungarian alumina plant behind a huge toxic mud spill is to restart operation by Friday, disaster management chief Gyorgy Bakondi said on Wednesday.
Ministers visit toxic spill site as disaster claims ninth life
Budapest - A ninth victim died Wednesday from injuries suffered during last week's toxic mud spill at an aluminium plant in central Hungary, officials said.
Hungarian government takes control of toxic spill firm (Roundup)
Budapest - The Hungarian government took control on Tuesday of MAL Ltd, the firm at the centre of a toxic waste spill that has left eight dead and become the country's worst-ever environmental disaster.
Hungarian government takes control of toxic spill firm (Extra)
Budapest - The Hungarian government took control on Tuesday of MAL Ltd, the firm at the centre of a toxic waste spill that has left eight dead and become the country's worst-ever environmental disaster.
Protective dyke completed around Hungary's toxic spill village
Budapest - A 1,500-metre dyke to contain a possible second spill of toxic red sludge from the leaking Hungarian alumina plant was completed overnight, disaster management spokesman Tibor Dobson said Tuesday.
Sludge firm faces nationalization after chief's arrest (2nd Roundup)
Budapest - The managing director of MAL Ltd, the owner of the alumina plant behind last week's catastrophic toxic waste spill in Hungary, was arrested Monday as the death toll from the incident rose to eight.
Hungarian parliament moves to nationalize mud spill plant (Extra)
Budapest - One week after a toxic waste spill unleashed millions of cubic metres of alkaline slurry in western Hungary, the nation's parliament has started procedures to nationalize the plant that had been responsible for storing the waste.
Head of Hungarian sludge firm arrested; death rises to 8 (Roundup)
Budapest - The managing director of MAL Ltd, the owner of the alumina plant behind last week's catastrophic toxic waste spill in Hungary, was arrested Monday as the death toll from the incident rose to eight.
Director of Hungarian toxic spill firm arrested (Extra)
Budapest - The managing director of MAL Ltd, the owner of the alumina plant behind last week's catastrophic toxic waste spill in Hungary, has been arrested, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told parliament on Monday.
Thai authorities nab tortoise smuggler
Bangkok - Thai authorities arrested a Madagascan man upon his arrival at Bangkok airport after finding 218 endangered tortoises tucked away in his suitcases, officials said Monday.
EU experts to assist Hungary with toxic waste clean up
Work continues to prevent second red mud spill in Hungary (Roundup)
Budapest - Engineers and construction workers were hurrying on Sunday to build a new dam to protect Hungarian villages from a possible second wave of toxic red mud from the damaged waste storage reservoir of an aluminium refinery.
Work continues to prevent second red mud spill in Hungary
Budapest - The cracked wall of a waste storage reservoir in Hungary that has already unleashed a toxic wave of red mud over nearby villages appears to be stable, disaster spokesman Tibor Dobson said Sunday.
Red mud spill village evacuated amid fears of fresh spill (Roundup)
Budapest - The Hungarian village of Kolontar has been evacuated amid fears of a fresh red mud spill, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday.
NGOs say Hungarian dam had cracks since June (Extra)
Berlin - The Hungarian alumina plant whose dam burst this week, causing the country's largest ever ecological disaster, had dangerous cracks in its walls allowing toxic sludge to leak out since at least June, activists said Saturday.
Government sets up red mud disaster website (Extra)
Budapest - The government has set up an English-language website to provide official updates on developments on the red mud spill disaster in western Hungary.
Hungarian village evacuated amid fresh spill fears (2nd Lead)
Hungarian village evacuated amid fresh spill fears (1st Lead)
Budapest - The Hungarian village of Kolontar has been evacuated amid fears of a fresh red mud spill, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday.
Hungarian village evacuated amid fresh spill fears (Urgent)
Budapest - The Hungarian village of Kolontar has been evacuated amid fears of a fresh red mud spill, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday. dpa rh sg ncs
No apparent danger from chemicals tanker collision (Roundup)
Paris - French authorities said Friday that there was no danger to the environment after a tanker carrying 6,000 tons of solvent collided with another ship off the western coast of France.
EU nations to help Hungary clean up toxic spill
Brussels - Experts from a handful of European Union states are set to travel to Hungary over the coming days to help contain a toxic mud spill that has killed six people so far, the European Commission said Friday.
Six confirmed dead in Hungary's worst ecological catastrophe (Roundup)
Budapest/Vienna - The level of toxicity from an industrial waste spill in western Hungary is higher than previously believed, an environmental group warned Friday, as the disaster claimed its fifth and sixth victims.
Frustration grows in ruined village after toxic spill (News Feature)
Kolontar, Hungary - Frustration was growing Friday among the inhabitants of Kolontar, the village at the centre of a chemical waste spill that has become Hungary's worst ever ecological catastrophe.
Chemicals tanker in danger of sinking off French coast
Paris - A tanker carrying 6,000 tons of solvent was in danger of sinking Friday off the western coast of France after colliding with another ship, the online edition of the daily Ouest France reported.
White House denies misleading on oil spill (Roundup)
Washington - The US government never intended to understate the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico during the BP Plc spill earlier this year, the White House said Thursday, after a preliminary report found inaccurate estimates shook public confidence in the government's ability to respond to the crisis.
Danube agency: Toxic sludge to have 'little effect' outside Hungary
Vienna - Hungary's toxic waste spill is unlikely to damage the Danube, the head of the organization of countries located along the river said Thursday in the Austrian capital Vienna.
Australian goes green to the grave
Sydney - Cancer victim Allan Heywood received his dying wish this week and was buried upright in a biodegradable body bag in what is claimed to be Australia's greenest cemetery.
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