The British government said Tuesday it will bring in tough new laws against disruptive protesters, after environmental campaigners blocked roads, highways and bridges to highlight climate change.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government would "close down the legal loopholes" used by protesters, whom she labeled "criminals."

As floodwaters persisted in areas of northern and central Thailand and have started to hit low-lying areas in the capital, officials were looking warily ahead Tuesday to developing storms later this month, but were optimistic the devastation of a decade ago would not be repeated.

The Royal Irrigation Department was forced this week to start releasing water from the Pasak Jolasid Dam after it reached capacity, dumping more water into a major artery that flows into the Chao Phraya River, which snakes through Bangkok before it reaches the sea.

Japan is focusing on its neighbors in Asia as it hopes to take a leadership role in the growing push to reduce emissions, having earmarked $10 billion to help the region speed up the move away from fossil fuels.

The Economy and Industry Ministry hosted the first "Asia green growth partnership" meeting Monday, bringing together more than 20 nations, including Thailand and India, as well as the U.S., Australia and countries in the Middle East.

After Syrian farmer Abdelbaqi Souleiman lost his last wheat crop to a wildfire, he had hoped for a better harvest this summer. But this spring there was hardly any rain.

"Last year the field I planted was burnt to the ground," said the 48-year-old.

German officials on Monday unveiled what they said is the world's first commercial plant for making synthetic kerosene, touted as a climate-friendly fuel of the future.

Aviation currently accounts for about 2.5% of worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. While other forms of transportation are increasingly being electrified, the challenge to making large, battery-powered planes is formidable.

More than 20 environmental and climate groups launched a campaign Monday calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship across the European Union, similar to bans on tobacco advertising.

More than 80 Greenpeace activists blocked the entrance to Shell's oil refinery in the Dutch port of Rotterdam to draw attention to the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative calling for the advertising ban.

Pope Francis and dozens of religious leaders on Monday signed a joint appeal to governments to commit to ambitious targets at the upcoming U.N. climate conference, while promising to do their own part to lead their faithful into more sustainable behavior.

"We have inherited a garden; we must not leave a desert to our children," said the appeal, which was signed at a formal ceremony in the Apostolic Palace before being handed over to the head of the COP26 conference, Alok Sharma.

Some residents, business owners and environmentalists questioned whether authorities reacted quickly enough to contain one of the largest oil spills in recent California history, caused by a suspected leak in an underwater pipeline that fouled the sands of famed Huntington Beach and could keep the beaches there closed for weeks or longer.

Booms were deployed on the ocean surface Sunday to try to contain the oil while divers sought to determine where and why the leak occurred. On land, there was a race to find animals harmed by the oil and to keep the spill from harming any more sensitive marshland.

The death toll from Cyclone Shaheen rose to five Monday while other fishermen from Iran remained missing as the storm moved further inland into Oman and weakened.

Authorities in Oman said they found the body of a man who disappeared when floodwaters swept him away from his vehicle. On Sunday as the storm made landfall, they said a child similarly drowned and two foreigners from Asia died in a landslide.

Haydee Rodriguez has just set free a sloth named Maruja 58 in a forested area outside Caracas and is watching her get settled.