International

"All those strange sea monster sightings in days of yore? This may be the best explanation yet."

"When engineers faced resistance from residents in Denmark over plans to build wind turbines on the Nordic country’s flat farmland, they found a better locale: the sea. The offshore wind farm, the world’s first, had just 11 turbines and could power about 3,000 homes. That project now looks like a minnow compared with the whales that sprawl for miles across the seas of Northern Europe."

"Toshiba Corp. plans to stop building nuclear power plants after incurring billions of dollars in losses trying to complete long-delayed projects in the U.S., a move that could have widespread ramifications for the future of the nuclear-power industry."

"High atop the Greenland ice sheet lies thousands of dollars of sophisticated scientific monitoring equipment key to projecting future sea level rise. Their batteries are drained and in need of repair, but a scientist charged with their care fears she can't reach the equipment because of Trump's de-facto Muslim ban."

"When the chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s national oil and gas company mapped out a glowing future for fossil fuels at a discussion in Davos this past week, dissent came from an unexpected corner of the room."

"Over 2,000 years ago, an important tree had one of its branches removed on the order of Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. It was under this very tree that the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Ashoka bestowed kingship on the branch, and planted it in a thick-rimmed solid gold vase."

"Researchers warn of approaching ‘major extinction event’ if action is not taken to protect around 300 species, including gorillas, chimps, lemurs and lorises".