President Barack Obama on Friday burnished his environmental legacy by establishing the world's largest marine reserve, home to thousands of rare sea creatures in the northwestern Hawaiian islands.

Obama's announcement more than quadrupled the size of the existing protected area, known as the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which is now 582,578 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers) -- about four times the size of California.

Acrid smog blanketed Singapore Friday as the city-state was hit by the year’s first major outbreak of haze, an annual crisis sparked by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia.

Not far from tourists sipping cocktails on Bali's tropical, palm-fringed beaches, thousands of protesters in sarongs and headdresses waved banners and chanted during a noisy protest.

A massive refinery fire in Nicaragua caused an oil spill that has contaminated sensitive nearby coastal habitat, a nonprofit group here said.

Coca-Cola has temporarily halted operations at a bottling plant in northern India over alleged environmental violations, an ongoing controversy which has dogged its factories in the country.

Soaring temperatures worldwide made July the Earth's hottest month in modern times, setting a new high mark for global heat in 137 years of record-keeping, U.S. government scientists said Wednesday.

The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration came just two days after the U.S. space agency NASA released its climate data, which also found July was a record-breaking month.

A giant panda on loan from China to Austria has given birth to two naturally conceived twins, an exceptionally rare event for the endangered species, Vienna's famous Schoenbrunn Zoo said Tuesday.

More rain Saturday was expected to swamp already soggy ground across Louisiana and other parts of the Gulf Coast where at least two people died and dozens had to be rescued from waist-high water surrounding their homes.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency as rescue workers in the southeastern part of the state braced for more precipitation.

Millions of Americans will spend the weekend hot under the collar as soaring East Coast temperatures and stifling humidity slapped excessive weather warnings on New York and Philadelphia.

The combination of heat and humidity would make it feel as hot as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in the two cities. 

For farmer Mohlakoane Molise, the view of the enormous Katse dam from his smallholding high in the mountains of Lesotho taunts him daily.

His country is suffering through its worst drought in 35 years, but the vast and vital water reserves remain out of reach, destined instead for export to neighboring South Africa.