Beatrice Tridimas

The European Parliament has backed plans for the EU to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, an international agreement protecting energy investments, over concerns it undermines efforts to fight climate change.

Since the 1990s, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has allowed firms and investors to sue governments on the grounds that their profits could be hurt by policies aimed at cutting planet-heating emissions from fossil fuel burning.

The EU is revamping its migration system, hoping to appease an ascendant far right by tightening border controls in the bloc and paying poorer nations to intercept immigrants before they ever reach its shores.

Its 'Fortress Europe' tactic is drawing fire from left and right - sparking fears of migrant abuse as well as criticism of the European Union for failing to stem the rising number of illegal sea crossings.

This summer, up to 15,000 athletes will descend on Paris in search of sporting glory but the organisers of the 2024 Games have added a fresh ambition to the Olympic motto of "faster, higher, stronger" - they want to be greener too. 

As global sporting bodies face increased scrutiny over their environmental impact, the Paris organisers have vowed to halve the carbon footprint of this summer's Games compared to previous years - they say the event, which begins on July 26, will be "historic for the climate".

Across Europe, governments are introducing new rules, doling out stricter punishments and ramping up surveillance in response to a rise in climate demonstrations and direct action protests, such as blocking roads or throwing paint at artworks.

The clampdown could have a chilling effect on the ability of climate activists to protest and could constitute a threat to democracy, according to rights experts, the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

When a migrant rescue non-profit asked Nicolas Zemke if he could design an app to pinpoint ships in distress in the Mediterranean, the German web developer headed to a hackers' convention to look for like-minded volunteers.

He found help among the hordes of tech hobbyists huddled over their laptops at the Chaos Computer Club's annual gathering in the northern city of Hamburg - a mecca for hackers and activists intent on using their coding skills for social good.

With a fan base of 3.5 billion – nearly half the global population – football is the world's most popular sport and its carbon footprint is huge.

With emissions created by energy use in stadiums, travel by fans and teams, broadcasting, the multibillion-dollar market for kits and other merchandise and even matchday meals, the beautiful game takes a not-so-beautiful toll on the planet's climate.

Nearly 300 million people around the world will need humanitarian aid in 2024, according to the United Nations, but after a record shortfall in donations last year, aid workers are bracing for the funding crisis to continue.

Only a little more than one-third of the $57 billion required to provide aid was funded last year, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in its annual assessment of global humanitarian needs.

It will take nearly 30 years to close the gender pay gap between men and women in Britain, according to a new report from women's equality charity the Fawcett Society.

British men earn on average 574 pounds ($715) more than women per month, a pay gap of 10.7% that will not close until 2051 if progress continues at the current pace, the report said.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg pleaded not guilty in a British court on Wednesday to a public order charge after she was arrested at an environmental rally in London last month.

Police detained Thunberg, 20, and dozens of protesters on Oct. 17 and charged them with failing to comply with conditions they imposed to prevent "serious disruption to the community, hotel and guests".

In between rows of sprouting cotton crops, the dried-out stems of wheat and sugar beet carpet a stretch of farmland near Turkey's Aegean coast, helping to lock in soil nutrients and moisture – even in the scorching heat.

In nearby fields, where cotton is being grown without the protective blanket, the plants wilt and wither under the sun.