Europe

"Officials raise alert as 'zombie' birds fall to earth amid fears city may be in grip of avian ailment Newcastle disease."

"Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has given his unequivocal backing to the divisive 'fracking' process used to extract shale gas from rocks, risking angering his party's supporters from more rural areas."

"Britain's biggest ever 'fatberg' has been removed from a London sewer. Thames Water say a 'bus-sized lump' of food fat mixed with wet wipes formed in drains under London Road in Kingston upon Thames."

"The European investment bank (EIB), the EU's main lending arm, said it would stop financing most coal-fired power stations to help the 28-nation bloc reduce pollution and meet its climate targets."

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- So much for the lessons of Fukushima. Never mind oil spills, the Russian Federation is preparing an energy initiative that, if it has problems, will inject nuclear material into the maritime environment."

"In high summer, it should be possible to wander freely through a stand of mature ash trees."

"The world's largest offshore wind farm, which can generate enough electricity for half a million homes, was officially opened off Britain's south-east coast on Thursday."

"For 27 years, forests around Chernobyl have been absorbing radioactive elements. A fire would send them skyward again – a growing concern as summers grow longer, hotter and drier."

"German brewers have warned Chancellor Angela Merkel's government that any law allowing the controversial drilling technique known as fracking could damage the country's cherished beer industry."

"LONDON — More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease."