Thai police Tuesday said they had seized almost 200 live protected pangolins, which are prized in China and Vietnam as an exotic meal and for use in traditional medicine.

The animals -- known as "scaly anteaters" -- were discovered on Monday in two pick-up trucks that were stopped by highway police in the province of Udon Thani in the country's northeast.

The operator of the leaking Fukushima nuclear plant said Tuesday that it dumped more than 1,000 tons of polluted water into the sea after a typhoon raked the facility.

Typhoon Man-yi smashed into Japan on Monday, bringing with it heavy rain that caused flooding in some parts of the country, including the ancient city of Kyoto.

Environmentalists on Monday unveiled unprecedented footage of a legendary sea creature, the giant oarfish, as they stepped up a campaign against bottom trawling.

The origin of the myth of the sea serpent -- a snake deemed capable of capsizing vessels and swallowing crew -- the giant oarfish reaches a length of 11 meters (36 feet) and more than 250 kilos (550 pounds).

In the coastal redwood forests of central California, scientists trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the reproductive problems of dozens of endangered condors think they have uncovered the culprit: the long-banned pesticide DDT.

The soaring scavengers with wingspans wider than NBA players are tall were reintroduced to the rugged coast of Big Sur in 1997 after a century-long absence. Upon arrival, the birds found plenty to eat, with dead California sea lions and other marine mammals littering the craggy shoreline.

A European court has upheld the Berlin Zoo's copyright claim against a British firm that had sought to market products under the name "Knut - Der Eisbaer" — German for "Knut - The Polar Bear."

The General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled Monday that British firm Knut IP Management Ltd.'s product-line name too closely resembled the Berlin Zoo's earlier trademarked brand "Knud," and could confuse consumers looking to purchase merchandise related to the zoo's most famous animal.

Japan is once again without atomic energy as its only operating nuclear reactor went offline Sunday for refueling and maintenance, and other plants remain closed for intensified safety checks following the 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-stricken plant in Fukushima.

Despite signs that the Fukushima crisis is worsening, Japan's commitment to restarting many of its 50 idled reactors appears stronger than ever, a year after a previous government said it would begin to phase out nuclear power completely.

"Hatch," a 10-year-old male Bengal tiger, has lived in a 20-by-16-foot (6-by-5 meter) cage with cement walls and nothing green in sight since he was traded to the Villa Dolores Zoo after spending his first three years in a circus. A similarly dismal cage next door is home to an unnamed female tiger. A poster says tigers "love water" and "bathe on hot days, swimming across rivers and lakes."

But these cats don't even have a paddling pool.

California Gov. Jerry Brown and China's top climate negotiator on Friday signed the first agreement between a U.S. state and China that seeks greater cooperation on clean energy technologies and research meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The memorandum of understanding signed with China's National Development and Reform Commission was another aggressive move by California to combat climate change. The state has already passed the nation's most ambitious greenhouse gas limits, including a so-called "cap and trade" system that put a price on carbon pollution in the state.

Japan's new solid-fuel rocket blasted off Saturday carrying a telescope for remote observation of planets in a launch coordinated from a laptop computer-based command center.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Epsilon rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT), live footage showed.

The three crew of the International Space Station (ISS) who returned to Earth this week endured a hair-raising descent after their height sensors failed, a Russian cosmonaut revealed on Friday.

Pavel Vinogradov said that he and the two other crew of the Soyuz capsule which touched down in Kazakhstan Wednesday had groped their way through the landing after they lost all data about their height from the ground.