France remains opposed to a free trade deal in its current proposed form between the EU and South American countries due to "major" concerns about deforestation in the region, the government said on Friday.

A rare hurricane-like storm hit western Greece on Friday, disrupting travel and causing floods and power outages on several Ionian Sea islands.

Hurricane Sally lumbered ashore near the Florida-Alabama line Wednesday with 105 mph (165 kph) winds and rain measured in feet, not inches, killing at least one person, swamping homes and forcing the rescue of hundreds as it pushed inland for what could be a slow and disastrous drenching across the Deep South.

The death happened in Orange Beach, Alabama, according to Mayor Tony Kennon, who also told The Associated Press that one person was missing. Kennon said he couldn't immediately release details.

The smoke from dozens of wildfires in the western United States is stretching clear across the country — and even pushing into Mexico, Canada and Europe. While the dangerous plumes are forcing people inside along the West Coast, residents thousands of miles away in the East are seeing unusually hazy skies and remarkable sunsets.

Countries are set to miss all of the targets they set themselves a decade ago to preserve nature and save Earth's vital biodiversity, the United Nations said Tuesday. 

President Donald Trump arrived Monday in California to be briefed on wildfires engulfing swaths of the U.S. West.

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden on Monday slammed rival Donald Trump as a "climate arsonist" whose refusal to take global warming seriously would exacerbate the crisis if the Republican incumbent is re-elected in November.

Greenpeace Netherlands said Monday it will contest in court the Dutch government's 3.4-billion-euro bailout of KLM over a lack of conditions requiring the airline to reduce its environmental impact.

Syrian firefighters and army helicopters Wednesday battled forest fires for a seventh consecutive day in government-held areas of the war-torn country, state media said.

Wildfires raged unchecked throughout California Wednesday, and gusty winds could drive flames into new ferocity, authorities warned.

Diablo winds in the north and Santa Ana winds in the south were forecast into Wednesday at a time when existing wildfires already have grown explosively.