Environment

• Wednesday, January 4th 2012 - 17:37 UTC

  Pale octopus and yeti crabs found surrounding hydrothermal vents near Antarctica

  

  Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents.

• Wednesday, January 4th 2012 - 05:47 UTC

  Piñera announces partial reopening of Torres del Paine Park under strict controls

  

  Chilean President Sebastián Piñera assured on Tuesday that several forest fires in Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia, were “under control” and announced that the national park will partially reopen as of Wednesday. It has remained closed since last Friday when the fire went out of control.

• Tuesday, January 3rd 2012 - 00:52 UTC

  Piñera says Torres del Paine fire under control; 12.795 hectares lost to the blaze

  

  The fire that broke out in the Chilean Patagonia Torres del Paine national park forest is under control due to the effort of hundreds of fire-fighters and improved climatic conditions, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced Monday afternoon.
  The Israeli citizen accused of having caused the fire denied his involvement.

• Monday, January 2nd 2012 - 03:46 UTC

  Victory for Chavez in arbitration with Exxon Mobil over assets’ nationalization

  

  An international arbitration panel has awarded US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp 908 million dollars in compensation for Venezuela's 2007 nationalization of assets, less than 10% of what it sought in a dispute that pitted a top global oil company against one of the world's largest oil exporters.

• Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 03:26 UTC

  UK awards 46 offshore hydrocarbons exploratory licences in controversial areas

  

  UK government has awarded 46 new offshore exploratory drilling licences to firms, including Shell and Centrica, looking for oil and gas. The awards were initially held back due to environmental concerns.

• Friday, December 30th 2011 - 21:17 UTC

  Forest fire in Torres del Pain out of control because of the strong winds

  

  Chile declared on Friday “catastrophe zone” the extreme south province of Ultima Esperanza where a forest fire, so far out of control, has ravaged over 9.000 hectares of pristine flora from the Torres del Paine national park.

• Thursday, December 29th 2011 - 23:12 UTC

  Tourists evacuated from Torres del Paine park threatened by forest fire

  

  Twenty tourists had to be evacuated from the Torres del Paine national park in Chilean Patagonia following the outbreak of a forest fire that has extended to over twenty hectares because of strong winds and difficult access for fire-fighters, reports the local press.

• Thursday, December 29th 2011 - 22:07 UTC

  Scientists establish critical benchmark link for seabirds and available food

  

  An international group of scientists has shown that many seabirds begin to suffer when the food available for them in the ocean declines below a critical level. This level is about one-third of the maximum measured amount of food available. They have found that this critical level is about the same for seabird species around the world. Their study — the most comprehensive ever undertaken — covers birds from the Arctic to the Antarctic and from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

• Tuesday, December 27th 2011 - 13:54 UTC

  Rousseff reiterates pledge to eliminate extreme poverty in Brazil by 2014

  

  President Dilma Rousseff, about to complete her first year in office, reiterated she remains committed to eliminate extreme poverty in Brazil by the end of her term in 2013.

• Thursday, December 15th 2011 - 17:58 UTC

  Brazilian prosecutors suing Transocean and Chevron 10bn dollars for oil spill

  

  Brazilian federal prosecutors are suing Transocean Ltd and Chevron Corp for 20 billion Reais (10.6 billion dollars) in environmental and social damages and asked a court to suspend their operations, according to a statement yesterday.