China environmental fines up 49 percent on year, ministry says

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's environmental fines amounted to 848 million yuan ($122.72 million) in 2016, up 49 percent from a year earlier, according to a document distributed by the Environment Ministry ahead of a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

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Shell sells Canadian oil sands, ties bonuses to emissions cuts

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell most of its Canadian oil sands assets for $8.5 billion, the latest international oil major to withdraw from the costly projects, which are among the most carbon heavy.

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Famine-hit South Sudan to charge up to $10,000 for foreign work permits

JUBA (Reuters) - War-ravaged South Sudan has hiked work permit fees 100-fold for foreign aid workers to $10,000, officials said, despite suffering from famine.

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EPA auditor to review emissions testing checks after VW case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watchdog plans to review whether the agency's internal controls are effective at detecting vehicle emissions fraud, the EPA's Office of Inspector General said.

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Vietnam says must be sure Formosa Plastics can operate safely

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam will only allow Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics' local unit to dispose of waste once it is completely sure it can do so safely, the government said on Wednesday.

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Malta's 'Azure Window' rock formation collapses into the sea

VALLETTA (Reuters) - A rock structure in the form of an arch which had featured in countless Malta tourism brochures collapsed into the sea on Wednesday in what Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described as a "heartbreaking event".

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Wildfire threat remains after killing six, destroying numerous structures

(Reuters) - The threat of wildfires is expected to remain high on Wednesday in the U.S. Plains, where prairie fires have claimed six lives, prompted thousands of evacuations and destroyed numerous structures.

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