
Warming seas, over-fishing and pollution mean it is vital to improve the system for monitoring the world's oceans, says a group of distinguished scientists. The researchers say more data is needed to ensure the world is able to respond effectively to any potential threats.

Proposed initiatives to remove landmines and explosive remnants of war in some 30 countries and three territories around the world are expected to cost 404 million US dollars next year, according to a report jointly published by three United Nations agencies and released Tuesday.

Magallanes region flock in the extreme south of Chile is suffering an outbreak of melophagus ovinus, more commonly known as sheep's ked, with an estimated 10% of farms under strict sanitary control.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has challenged the world's policymakers to start devising a comprehensive deal for tackling climate change at next month's summit in Bali, Indonesia, after a United Nations report released today found that global warming is unequivocal and could cause irreversible damage to the planet.

A major earthquake struck northern Chile on Wednesday, toppling power lines, closing roads and sending terrified residents into the streets. The first reports from the area indicate that two people were killed and dozens injured. However copper smelting in the world's largest mining area resumed a few hours later. The quake was also felt in the capital Santiago as well as neighboring Peru and Bolivia.

Government officials and scientists from around the world are gathered in Valencia, Spain, for a United Nations conference that will culminate with the release later this week of a seminal report on addressing the impacts of climate change.
The European Parliament voted Tuesday to include airlines in the EU strategy to cut greenhouse gases, giving all carriers flying within or into the 27-nation bloc until 2011 to offset some of their emissions by buying carbon dioxide allowances on the open market.

The type of bird flu found in turkeys on an English farm is the virulent H5N1 strain, according to UK government veterinarians. The virus was discovered on Sunday at Redgrave Park Farm near Diss, Suffolk where all 6,500 birds, most of them turkeys, are being slaughtered.

In anticipation of the International Year of Sanitation in 2008 and with more than 2.6 billion people – 40% of the world's population – lacking access to toilets and other sanitation facilities, the head of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme has urged governments to adopt low-cost technology to ensure adequate sanitation for all.

Recent Chilean Health Ministry study found ozone levels in the northeast parts of greater Santiago higher than normal during 180 days this year. The study also linked the high levels of ozone in Santiago's atmosphere with increased rates of pneumonia.