International

"TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan today declared that the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been brought to a state of cold shutdown, turning a corner in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

'The nuclear reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown and therefore we can now confirm that we have come to the end of the accident phase of the actual reactors,' Prime Minister Noda told a news conference.

"Russia's vast tundra has been ravaged by oil companies unwilling to clean up their acts."

"FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A bubble rose through a hole in the surface of a frozen lake. It popped, followed by another, and another, as if a pot were somehow boiling in the icy depths. Every bursting bubble sent up a puff of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas generated beneath the lake from the decay of plant debris. These plants last saw the light of day 30,000 years ago and have been locked in a deep freeze — until now. ..."

"Police officers investigating the theft of thousands of private emails between climate scientists from a University of East Anglia server in 2009 have seized computer equipment belonging to a web content editor based at the University of Leeds.

"SAN FRANCISCO – Nearly 36,000 people gathered last week in two groups on opposite ends of the Earth to discuss the same thing: Our planet and our future. But their responses are starkly divergent. One group -- scientists at the American Geophysical Union meeting drilling ever deeper into the evidence -- said, in broad terms, 'Change is worse than we thought.' The other group -- delegates at the United Nations climate talks -- countered, 'Mañana.'"

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Wednesday to increase its production target for the first time in three years, a move that appeared to signal that Saudi Arabia and Iran had put aside their recent differences on oil policy, at least temporarily.

"Countries from around the globe agreed on Sunday to forge a new deal forcing all the biggest polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but critics said the plan was too timid to slow global warming."

"Scientists eagerly await data that may prove the existence of the Higgs boson, which is key to understanding mass in the universe. Or the hints may be a false alarm."

"DURBAN, South Africa, December 8, 2011 (ENS) - With less than 24 hours left before the end of another climate change conference, negotiators in Durban are working around the clock to salvage the talks, with the African Group vowing on Thursday to ensure some kind of deal is achieved.

Progress has been made on several issues, including the structure of the Green Climate Fund, with an agreement imminent on the multi-billion dollar long-term financing instrument.