"In the village of Pithauli, surrounded by ripening mustard fields, a woman hauls a cow carcass on a trolley, drops it in an open field, then runs and hides in a nearby hut as dozens of vultures swoop down."

"The president of the Maldives resigned yesterday in what one aide described as a coup d'etat."

"The Chinese government said on Monday it will ban the country's airlines from participating in a European Union scheme to charge for carbon emissions from flights into and out of Europe and ban airlines from charging customers extra because of the EU plan."

Chris Buckley reports for Reuters February 6 2012.

SEE ALSO:

"Opponents Of EU Airline CO2 Scheme To Meet In Moscow" (Reuters)

"Russian scientists have drilled into the vast, dark and never-
before-touched Lake Vostok 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica, the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti said Monday."

"“Yesterday, our scientists stopped drilling at the depth of 3,768 meters and reached the surface of the subglacial lake,” the news agency quoted a source as saying. The team had “finally managed to pierce” the ice sheet into Vostok, the source said.

"NAIROBI, Kenya -- The United Nations said Friday that Somalia's famine is over, but the world body's Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back."

"Oil, gas and mining industries are battling a late addition to the 2010 financial reform law that requires energy companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments."

"HONG KONG -- On Midway atoll in the North Pacific, dozens of young albatross lie dead on the sand, their stomachs filled with cigarette lighters, toy soldiers and other small plastic objects their parents have mistaken for food."

"MIAMI -- The U.S. is not ready to handle an oil spill if drilling off the Cuban coast goes awry but can be better prepared with monitoring systems and other basic steps, experts told government officials Monday."

The Cossoloottoo family in Centerville, Iowa, suspected vaccinations were the culprit when their 6-month-old daughter got seizures and what looked like autism. Their concerns were worsened by studies linking vaccinations to autism -- studies later discredited as fraud. It wasn't until some 10 years later that a specialist at the Mayo Clinic correctly diagnosed their daughter as having a genetic disorder, Dravet syndrome, that strikes one in 20-40,000 children born.

"A drought that a government official called the most severe Mexico had ever faced has left two million people without access to water and, coupled with a cold snap, has devastated cropland in nearly half of the country."

"Canada’s Nunavut Territory is the largest undisturbed wilderness in the Northern Hemisphere. It also contains large deposits of uranium, generating intense interest from mining companies and raising concerns that a mining boom could harm the caribou at the center of Inuit life."

"UNITED NATIONS -- This summer's sustainable development conference in Brazil, known as Rio+20, is emerging as an overt attempt by U.N. officials to shift away from the divisive politics of climate change to a broader debate on the green economy and how to bring it to developing nations."

"Companies that disclose greenhouse gas emissions see a small rise in stock price following disclosure, compared to similar companies that keep mum, researchers say."

"TOKYO -- The temperature fell to minus 8.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning near Japan's crippled nuclear power plant, causing water pipes and valve seals to rupture, leaking tons of water."

"Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant discovered Sunday that the damaged pipes spilled nearly eight tons of water from 14 locations. Two additional water leaks were discovered today, according to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company.

"Certain disease outbreaks, including some of the worst pandemics of the 20th century, are linked to weather patterns in the Pacific Ocean, according to new research. Scientists said tracking these climate changes can help officials anticipate and plan for surges in illnesses."