The International Whaling Commission (IWC) gave aboriginal Greenlanders the go-ahead Monday to kill hundreds of whales even as Iceland came under fire for contravening a ban on commercial hunting.
Japan, under fire overseas for whaling it justifies as research, has released its findings -- whales are losing blubber because ocean resources are growing scarce.
Supporters and opponents of whale hunting were at loggerheads late Wednesday at a meeting of the 89-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Brazil.
Nations will square off in Slovenia next week over the fate of hundreds of whales in the crosshairs of Japanese and Greenland hunters accused of sidestepping a commercial killing ban.
Wetlands, among the world's most valuable and biodiverse ecosystems, are disappearing at alarming speed amid urbanisation and agriculture shifts, conservationists said Thursday, calling for urgent action to halt the erosion.
Pakistan's farmers are still counting their losses from the devastating floods that have put a third of the country under water, but the long-term impact is already clear.
The reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran by the United States in the face of protests by Washington's European allies marks a highly unusual transatlantic rupture that may only be healed by the coming American elections.
The west's relations with Russia are at a turning point after its intervention in Georgia and a pact to sell Australian uranium to Moscow is in the balance, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday.
US Navy ships Monday surrounded a ship seized by Somali pirates carrying tanks and other weapons, amid confusion about the cargo's destination and reports the ship's captain had died.
Western governments are mobilizing their arms manufacturers to ramp up production and replenish stockpiles heavily diminished by supplying Ukraine's six-month-old battle against Russia's invasion.
A ferocious heat wave scorching the western United States could finally begin to wane in the coming days, forecasters said Wednesday, but they warned of dangerous fire conditions as howling winds sweep through the bone-dry region.
Western allies kicked off a major naval exercise in the Baltic Sea on Saturday amid rising tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
Western powers on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with short-range missiles for imminent use against Ukraine, calling it a dangerous escalation of the conflict that threatened European security.
The west of Japan had its hottest ever summer this year, official figures showed Monday after a season in which heatstroke reportedly killed hundreds and hospitalised tens of thousands nationwide.
Western and Arab leaders ramped up the pressure on Syria and Iran at the United Nations, as US President Barack Obama vowed to keep Tehran from getting its hands on nuclear weapons.
The United States, Britain and France warned Iran on Thursday that time is running out for a negotiated settlement to the showdown on its nuclear program.
