A London judge Friday ruled that global mining giant BHP Group is liable in Brazil's worst environmental disaster when a dam collapse 10 years ago unleashed tons of toxic waste into a major river, killing 19 people and devastating villages downstream.

High Court Justice Finola O'Farrell said Australia-based BHP was responsible despite not owning the dam at the time.

An Indigenous group attended the opening ceremony of the People's Summit offsite from the COP30 climate conference, while other people walked along the river at sunset in Belem, Brazil. Jose Rivera prayed before an image of the Virgin Mary painted on a tree in Armero, Colombia, the day before the 40-year anniversary of the Nevado del Ruiz volcanic eruption that killed about 25,000 people and wiped out the town.

Landslides triggered by torrential rains in Indonesia 's Java island killed two people and left 21 others missing, officials said Friday. Rescuers are still searching for the 21 reported missing.

Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in Indonesia's Central Java province on Thursday evening, officials said in a statement.

At about 10 o'clock every morning, women in hijabs and loose long dresses wade through Zanzibar's turquoise shallow tides to tend their sponge farms -- a new lifeline after climate change upended their former work.

Hundreds of people in Tunisia's city of Gabes protested on Thursday in front of a court as it examined whether to suspend a nearby factory accused of widespread pollution.

More heavy rain fell in parts of Taiwan on Thursday from a tropical depression that caused flooding and brought a continued risk of landslides.

A total of 95 people were injured around the island due to the storm that made landfall in southern Pingtung County on Wednesday evening. Authorities had evacuated more than 8,500 people from coastal and mountainous areas as Fung-wong approached.

Electricity demand will rise much faster than overall energy growth in the coming decades, underscoring the need for diversified energy sources, according to an analysis released Wednesday.

The report by the International Energy Agency said renewable energy, led by solar power, will grow faster than any other major source in the next few years and that coal and oil demand will likely peak globally by the end of this decade. The report noted that many natural gas projects were approved in 2025, due to changes in U.S. policy, indicating worldwide supply will rise even as questions remain about how it will be used. Meanwhile, global nuclear power capacity is set to increase by at least a third by 2035 after being stagnant for years.

The first major cold spell of the season plunged parts of the southeastern U.S. into record-low temperatures Tuesday, delivering a shock for 18 million people under a freeze warning across Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Meanwhile, several inches of snow blanketed areas along the eastern Great Lakes as the blast of cold air moved through.

The direct shot of Arctic air affecting the eastern two-thirds of the country migrated east — and far southeast — from the Northern Plains, which was hit with gusty chills and snow over the weekend. For much of the Southeast on Tuesday, that meant an abrupt transition into wintry temperatures after reaching well into the 70s and 80s (21 to 27 Celsius) in recent days.

Taiwan evacuated more than 8,300 people from coastal and mountainous areas and closed schools before a tropical storm brushes the southern part of the island later Wednesday.

Fung-wong had super typhoon strength when it battered the Philippines on Sunday, causing flooding, landslides, power outages and at least 27 deaths. Still holding tropical storm strength Wednesday morning, it was expected to continue losing wind speed and size as it approached Taiwan.

=In the foothills of Japan's Northern Alps, people are chasing monkeys.

Wearing bright orange vests, the humans ring bells, blow whistles and strike rocks and trees with walking sticks as they weave through bamboo and brush. Using GPS trackers, they follow the monkeys' movements and radio teammates to close in when nearby. The aim is to herd the animals back into the mountains and away from farms and homes.