Britain on Wednesday unveiled a raft of proposals to improve animal welfare, including a ban on puppy smuggling, trophy hunting and live animal exports.

A juvenile minke whale that became stranded in London's River Thames has been put down after its condition deteriorated and vets decided it could not survive in the open water.

The Asian Development Bank will stop financing new coal power plants under a draft energy policy released Friday that was cautiously welcomed by environmental groups.

The German government said Wednesday it would set more ambitious targets to reduce CO2 emissions after a landmark ruling by the country's top court declared a flagship climate protection law "insufficient."

The United Nations said Tuesday that thousands of families across war-torn Yemen have been hit by torrential rains and deadly floods since mid-April that destroyed homes and shelters. 

Uber has teamed up with UK technology startup Arrival to create an electric car for the app-based US ride-hailing firm that will help to cut emissions, the pair said Tuesday.

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's northeastern coast on Saturday, authorities said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

Germany's Daimler and Volvo Group announced Thursday they are teaming up to build hydrogen fuel-cells for use in long-haul trucks by 2025.

Baptized Cellcentric, their joint venture aims to become a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen fuel-cells, a technology which also provides zero tailpipe emissions.

Tonnes of dead fish have washed up on the shore of a highly polluted lake in eastern Lebanon in the past few days, an official said Thursday.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fish kill in Lake Qaraoun on the Litani river, which several local fisherman said was unprecedented in scale.

Germany's highest court ruled Thursday that the government's flagship climate protection plan was "insufficient", a major setback for Angela Merkel's right-left coalition in an election year when environmental issues are expected to take center stage.