Europe

"Gazprom has requested permission from the Crimean authorities to develop oil and gas fields, Crimea's first Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev said Tuesday."

"Paris enjoyed a rare reprieve from traffic jams Monday as a draconian clampdown on cars, aimed at banishing stubborn levels of smog, took effect."

"Glowing reindeer can be spotted in northern Finland thanks to a reflective spray which makes them more visible in a bid to prevent car accidents, Finnish reindeer breeders said on Tuesday."

"GOERLITZ, Germany — German police reached the accident to find what news stories would describe as a scene from a horror show: Seven horses, huddled on a small, dark, highway, had been ripped to pieces by two speeding cars. The drivers had been badly injured. Investigators found pieces of auto wreckage and horseflesh scattered around the site."

"British scientists have developed genetically modified potatoes that are resistant to the vegetable's biggest threat -- blight."

"In a busy world, it’s easy to think about climate change as a far-away problem – one there’s still time to work on later, that’s happening far away from where we live, that will affect our children or grandchildren but not us. That’s gotten a little harder in the United Kingdom this past month, as the heaviest winter rain in more than 250 years has lashed the country into a sodden, leaking mess, and moved worries about extreme weather right up the list."

"BURROWBRIDGE, England -- Severe flooding and landslips cut off rail links to large parts of southwest England for more than 24 hours at the weekend as the government came under pressure for its handling of storms battering Britain."

"Sochi — Just outside the Olympic Park in Sochi, where the Winter Games open on Friday, is a green space with benches, artificial ponds and a couple of hides. 'Ornithological Park', the sign declares. The problem is that there is not a bird in sight in the park, which was set up as a replacement for sensitive wetlands that were covered over for the construction of Games venues."

"Wild salmon will become as rare in Scotland as the giant pandas in Edinburgh Zoo because they are being threatened by sea lice, according to magazine Country Life."