Large portions of the United States were contending with heavy snow, high winds and rain Friday, snarling air and ground transportation during a busy holiday travel period. 

Australia's vast continent is sizzling through extreme heatwave conditions this week, with temperatures reaching record highs and emergency services on high alert for bushfires.

Indonesian search and rescue teams Wednesday plucked stranded residents from remote islands and pushed into isolated communities desperate for aid in the aftermath of a volcano-triggered tsunami that killed over 400.

Britain is forbidding puppies and kittens from being sold by pet shops in a bid to crack down on animal exploitation and abuse.

Dozens of filled body bags were hauled away from buildings flattened by Indonesia's volcano-triggered tsunami Monday, as search teams pushed on with the grim hunt for corpses -- and victims who may still be trapped alive under the rubble.

Off the coast of Chile, fisherman face competition from a cunning carnivorous hunter that has decimated their industry due to its voracious appetite.

EU countries and the European Parliament on Wednesday agreed details of a ban on single-use plastics, including plates, cutlery and drinking straws, in a bid to cut marine pollution.

A group of NGOs including Greenpeace and Oxfam have launched a lawsuit against the French state accusing it of taking insufficient action to tackle climate change.

Australian philosopher and author Clive Hamilton has written several books on climate change, including best-seller "Requiem for a Species". 

As the world's nations met in Katowice, Poland to hammer out a climate rescue plan, Hamilton talked to AFP about how hard it is to wrap one's mind around the threat of global warming.

Chile will take the place of Brazil in hosting next year's UN climate summit, delegates at crunch talks in Poland were informed on Friday.