"The operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said on Monday that contaminated ground water had likely been flowing into the sea, acknowledging such a leakage for the first time."

"June 2013 broke monthly records over much of northern Canada, western Russia, southern Japan, the Philippines, part of southwestern China, and central southern Africa."

"The U.S. Export-Import Bank board of directors voted on Thursday not to proceed with the financing of U.S. exports to help build a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, following a plea from U.S. environmental groups to stop the project."

"TOKYO — The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant stood ready Thursday to inject boric acid into one of its most heavily damaged reactors after it found steam emanating from the reactor building. The preventive measure would stave off sustained nuclear reactions in the reactor’s damaged core, though officials stressed that such reactions were a remote possibility."

"SAVAR, Bangladesh — On the worst days, the toxic stench wafting through the Genda Government Primary School is almost suffocating. Teachers struggle to concentrate, as if they were choking on air. Students often become lightheaded and dizzy. A few boys fainted in late April. Another retched in class."

"Significant progress was made last year in strengthening nuclear safety around the world, the U.N. atomic watchdog said in its annual review, despite the 'challenge' posed by a large number of ageing reactors."

"The World Bank's board on Tuesday agreed to a new energy strategy that will limit financing of coal-fired power plants to 'rare circumstances,' as the Washington-based global development powerhouse seeks to address the impact of climate change."

"Reports from a landmark meeting to debate protections for Antarctic wildlife suggest that Russia has stalled U.S. and European initiatives to establish no-kill zones in the Southern Ocean."

BERLIN -- Sea levels could rise by 2.3 metres for each degree Celsius that global temperatures increase and they will remain high for centuries to come, according to a new study by the leading climate research institute, released on Monday."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. has started taking measures to contain highly radioactive groundwater at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, but its strategy is based on a theory that is disputed by industry experts."