ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIAMikhail Verevkin points his spyglass toward the Gulf of Finland and squints into the distance.

One in five of the world’s plant species is threatened with extinction, according to the first global assessment of flora, putting supplies of food and medicines at risk.

Authorities announced on Tuesday new measures to combat a recent increase in air pollution in Mexico City, as officials reported an increase in related ailments such as asthma.

Environment Minister Rafael Pacchiano blamed the rise in ozone levels on the 5.5 million cars and trucks that zoom around the mega-city of 21 million people every day.

Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens warned Tuesday about the threats facing the world's plant kingdom in the first global report of its kind aimed at drawing attention to often-overlooked species.

The "State of the World's Plants" report was drawn up by botanists at the Kew Gardens research center in west London, which has one of the world's largest collections in its greenhouses and sprawling gardens.

Five islands have disappeared in the Pacific's Solomon Islands due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, according to an Australian study that scientists said Saturday could provide valuable insights for future research.

A further six reef islands have been severely eroded in the remote area of the Solomons, the study said, with one experiencing some 10 houses being swept into the sea between 2011 and 2014.

A molasses spill in a river in El Salvador from a sugarcane processing plant has triggered an alert by authorities worried about the effect on fish and people along the waterway.

The civil protection service issued the alert after 3.4 million liters (900,000 gallons) of sludgy, brown, hot molasses was released into La Magdalena river near the town of Chalchuapa, 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of the capital San Salvador.

Talks for a free trade deal between Europe and the US face a serious impasse with “irreconcilable” differences in some areas, according to leaked negotiating texts.

Nuclear war. Climate change. Pandemics that kill tens of millions.

The high-speed navy boat stopped on the moonlit waters of Mexico's Gulf of California as sailors looked through binoculars for small vessels conducting illegal activities under the cover of darkness.

While naval forces patrol the seas to thwart drug trafficking, the sailors were not searching for cocaine ships that night off the coast of San Felipe, a fishing town.

The Canadian city of Fort McMurray remained under threat from catastrophic wildfires Wednesday, authorities warned, after more than 80,000 residents were forced to flee the raging inferno sweeping through Alberta's oil sands region.

No casualties have been reported from the monster blaze, which lashed at residences and motor home parks, causing traffic chaos as people scrambled to safety.