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As Israel continues airstrikes on Lebanon, the country is now threatened by its worst ecological disaster. At least 35,000 tonnes of oil gushed into the Mediterranean, after Israeli warplanes hit

• China plans to invest US $175 billion (more than 1.5 per cent of its national GDP) towards protecting the environment during its 11 th five-year plan. The money will be spent on water pollution control, improving air quality in cities, disposing of solid waste, harnessing soil erosion and improving rural environment.

On July 27, a group of Greenpeace activists entered a field of genetically engineered maize in southern France and carved a giant "crop circle' with an "X' in the field. The action, taken to mark the

Heat wave in the US, Europe As the us experiences a heat wave unprecedented in the past 57 years, its largest city New York has declared a state of emergency for the first time. Following

The eu has agreed in a compromise that its six-year us $65 billion budget for scientific research will fund embryonic human stem-cell research, so long as it does not involve destruction of

An oil spill has occurred in one of Russia's largest export pipelines, polluting about 10 sq km of forests and contaminating local water sources. The country's ministry of natural resources has

The European Commission has banned 22 chemicals used in hair dyes, following research by its scientific committee that links long-term use of certain products to an increased risk of bladder cancer.

More than 40,000 people were evacuated as typhoon Prapiroon hit southern China on August 3, pounding an already battered area with more heavy rains and winds. Till reports last received, at least six

In the last week of July, the eu has signed its biggest fisheries deal with an African country, Mauritania, whose coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world. The accord will

Bowing to pressure from consumer and environmental groups, Brazilian soy traders have stopped buying soybeans grown in the Amazon basin for the time being. The move is an effort to preserve the