SCIENCE

Pope Francis wrapped up an arduous 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Friday, defying health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore.

For Pennsylvania farmer George Wherry, 85, fracking for natural gas under his otherwise bucolic fields means greater economic "freedom" -- one of the many reasons he'll be voting for Donald Trump in November.

Millions of people across Southeast Asia struggled Thursday with flooded homes, power cuts and wrecked infrastructure after Typhoon Yagi swept through the region, as the death toll passed 200.

A new study posits a very surprising answer to one of history's great mysteries -- what killed off the Neanderthals?

Residents of Hanoi waded through waist-deep water Wednesday as river levels hit a 20-year high and the toll from the strongest typhoon in decades passed 150, with neighbouring nations also enduring deadly flooding and landslides.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed Tuesday in the pair's first and so far only scheduled debate of the 2024 election campaign.

Concentrations in the atmosphere of the powerful greenhouse gas methane are rising at an accelerating pace, threatening efforts by countries to meet their climate targets, researchers warned on Tuesday.

Mass expulsions? The 78-year-old, known for his unfinished US-Mexico border wall project, has said he would be happy to "use the military" as part of the effort and would open detention camps to process targets for expulsion.

Europe must massively ramp up investment including through joint borrowing as part of a "new industrial strategy" to keep pace with the United States and avoid dependence on China, a keenly awaited report warned Monday.

On a hot summer day, contractors snake wiring through the basement of a townhouse in southeast Washington to install a heat pump, a key component of the United States' multi-billion dollar push towards greater home electrification.

The 2024 northern summer saw the highest global temperatures on record, beating 2023's high and making this year likely Earth's hottest ever recorded, the EU's climate monitor said Friday.

Taiwanese volunteers gathered around a large inflatable whale as they learned how to help beached sea mammals -- an increasingly common sight across the island.

Republican White House candidate Donald Trump unveiled a plan Thursday to install billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk at the head of a government efficiency commission to eliminate "trillions" of dollars in wasteful spending.

Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old's papacy.

Pope Francis, 87, flies to Indonesia Monday on the first leg of an ambitious four-nation tour, with inter-faith ties set to dominate his visit to the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson's detention in a Greenland prison pending his possible extradition to Japan has not prevented him from continuing his fight to save the animals, he told AFP in an interview.

Pacific leaders wrapped up a key summit in Tonga on Friday, endorsing a major joint policing initiative and rebuffing moves from China's regional allies to sideline long-term partner Taiwan.

By embarking aged 87 on the farthest journey of his papacy, Pope Francis is doing something some believed impossible -- and seeking to silence those who doubt his ability to fulfil his role.

Pope Francis embarks Monday on a 12-day trip to Southeast Asia, the longest and farthest of his papacy that will challenge the 87-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

The arrest and charging by France of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has thrown a spotlight on the international connections of a man with at least four passports and high-level contacts but who has also aroused the attention of security agencies around the world.

A quarter of all the energy China consumes now comes from non-carbon sources, according to research published Thursday, as Beijing rapidly pivots its huge economy to a greener footing.

Hundreds of rows of gleaming panels blanket swathes of scrubby sand at sunset in a remote northern Chinese desert -- once the biggest solar farm in the world.

A showdown is brewing over the gender makeup of the next European Commission after member states put forward an overwhelmingly male candidate lineup -- in open defiance of EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Among the swanky skyscrapers of India's financial capital Mumbai, hundreds of dangerously dilapidated buildings facing demolition are crowded with families risking their lives rather than braving impossibly high rents.

Near the heavily fortified border that divides North and South Korea, a monitoring device is working 24-7 -- not tracking missiles or troop movements, but catching malaria-carrying mosquitoes that may cross the border.

Australia on Friday launched a multi-million dollar effort to stop pesticide runoff and other water quality issues on the Great Barrier Reef, the latest effort to save the ailing natural wonder.

Pacific island leaders gather for a key summit in the Kingdom of Tonga on Monday, aiming to navigate rapidly rising seas, damaging great power rivalries and violent unrest in New Caledonia.

Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes once joked he could not tell the difference between an AA battery in his kids' toys and the gigantic lithium-ion units powering today's green energy revolution.

At a tiny outpost in the wine world, Ireland's handful of winemakers are cautiously eyeing long-term growth potential as climate change warms up its cool climate.