International

"TOKYO — Two and a half years after a series of meltdowns, Japan’s effort to clean up what remains of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is turning into another kind of disaster."

"Their lives are back in limbo because of the massive radioactive water leakage discovered at the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant."

"MOSCOW -- Eleven Nobel Peace Prize laureates urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to drop piracy charges against 30 people detained over a Greenpeace protest last month at an Arctic oil rig."

"Under a new global treaty that limits the use of mercury, some light bulbs will be banned. Some batteries, thermometers and medical devices will be banned too. But mascara is exempt."

"This year’s World Food Prize laureates called on a hungry world to embrace the seeds they helped develop, despite controversy that threatens to limit the reach of biotech crops."

"Three researchers who played prominent roles in developing genetically modified crops — Mary-Dell Chilton of Syngenta, Robert T. Fraley of Monsanto and Marc Van Montagu of Belgium — were awarded the World Food Prize on Thursday at the Iowa Capitol. The music- and history-filled ceremony highlighted the prize’s biggest and most controversial week yet."

"The air we breathe is laced with cancer-causing substances and is being officially classified as carcinogenic to humans, the World Health Organization's cancer agency said on Thursday."

"DAEGU, South Korea -- Coal will surpass oil as the key fuel for the global economy by 2020 despite government efforts to reduce carbon emissions, energy consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said on Monday."

"Japanese authorities may have underestimated by 20 percent the radiation doses workers got in the initial phase of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, a Japanese newspaper reported on Saturday, citing a U.N. panel."

"Exposure to even low levels of common air pollutants during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of babies being born small, according to one of the largest studies of its kind."

Phosphorus is essential for current methods of agricultural production -- but limited world supplies may require profound changes in farming.