A recent amendment to Peru's Forestry and Wildlife Law is drawing fierce backlash from environmental groups and Indigenous groups that warn it could accelerate deforestation in the Amazon rainforest under the guise of economic development.

The amendment eliminates the requirement that landowners or companies get state authorization before converting forested land to other uses. Critics say the change could legitimize years of illegal deforestation.

Greece on Wednesday announced plans for managing human activities in maritime areas, such as tourism, offshore energy drilling, fishing and environmental protection, irking neighboring Turkey, which said the plans encroach on its jurisdiction.

The announcement about Greece's Maritime Spatial Planning came after the country was rebuked by the European Court of Justice earlier this year for failing to submit the plans to the European Commission, as all coastal European Union member states are required to do. Spatial planning for sea areas is considered necessary for the sustainable use of marine resources, setting out where activities such as transport, tourism, fishing and renewable energy projects can take place, and for the protection of marine environments.

Before Swedish slow TV hit "The Great Moose Migration" began airing Tuesday, Ulla Malmgren stocked up on coffee and prepared meals so she doesn't miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event.

"Sleep? Forget it. I don't sleep," she said.

A sandstorm swept through Iraq, filling the air with choking dust that closed airports and put more than 3,700 people in hospital with breathing difficulties, the health ministry said Tuesday.

Visibility fell to less than one kilometer in central and southern cities as the storm cloaked the region in an eerie orange haze, AFP photographers reported.

At the Barcelona Zoo, a 40-year-old African elephant places her foot through the metal barrier where a zookeeper gently scrubs its sole — the beloved pachyderm gets her "pedicure," along with apple slices every day.

The treatment is part of the zoo's specialized geriatric care for aging animals that cannot be reintroduced into the wild as zoos world over increasingly emphasize lifelong care.

Esteban Gast remembered feeling ashamed in high school while calculating how much carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change, his daily activities created, known as a carbon footprint.

"Have you ever driven a car or flown in an airplane?" were among the long list of questions posed by the calculator.

See you later La Nina, we hardly knew you.

La Nina, the natural cooling flip side of the better known and warmer El Nino climate phenomenon, has dwindled away after just three months. The La Nina that appeared in January, months later than forecast, was a weak one, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

A new executive order from President Donald Trump that's part of his effort to invigorate energy production raises the possibility that his Department of Justice will go to court against state climate change laws aimed at slashing planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuels.

Trump's order, signed Tuesday, comes as U.S. electricity demand ramps up to meet the growth of artificial intelligence and cloud computing applications, as well as federal efforts to expand high-tech manufacturing. It also coincides with "climate superfund" legislation gaining traction in various states.

Indonesia plans to clear forests about the size of Belgium to produce sugarcane-derived bioethanol, rice and other food crops, potentially displacing Indigenous groups who rely on the land to survive.

Local communities say they're already experiencing harm from the government-backed project, which environmental watchdogs say is the largest current planned deforestation operation in the world.

Zen, a 5-year-old border collie, circled friskily around a mound of snow as he picked up a scent, his quick movements signaling to his handler that someone was buried deep below.

Zen has been a rescue dog for three years, and on this day, he was setting an example for 20 others dogs being certified for avalanche rescue in the heart of the Italian Dolomites, where the breathtaking jagged peaks have long enchanted writers, painters and outdoor enthusiasts alike.