Feds to probe cause of runaway Prius in California (AP)
Driver James Sikes talks about his experiences in his Toyota Prius during a news conference held at Toyota of El Cajon Tuesday, March 9, 2010, in El Cajon, Calif. Sikes' 2008 Toyota Prius raced out of control on a San Diego freeway Monday. A California Highway Patrol officer helped him stop the car. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)AP - A Toyota Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway was towed to a dealership Tu...

Chanel does climate change, with real icebergs (AP)
A model wears creations by German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel as part of his Fall-Winter 2010-2011 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented at The Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, March 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)AP - Models in head-to-toe yeti suits picked their way around towering but quickly melting iceber...

Coast Guard begins hearing on Texas oil spill (AP)
FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2010 file photo, a barge is seen making a large impact gash in the side of the Eagle Otome after the two vessels collided causing as much as 450,000 gallons of crude oil to spill, according to the U.S. Coast Guard in Port Arthur, Texas. The pilots of a tugboat and tanker that collided in a Gulf of Mexico waterway, causing the worst Texas oil spill in 15 years, were aware of how close together their vessels were but were apparently unaware they were about to collide, according to audio recordings played Tuesday, March 9, 2010 during a Coast Guard hearing.The Jan. 23 collision off of Port Arthur dumped 462,000 gallons of crude oil into the Sabine Neches Waterway, forcing its temporary closure and coating some wildlife in oil. No one was injured. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Julio Cortez, File)AP - The captain of an 800-foot tanker that collided with a tugboat in a Gulf of Mexico waterway,...

Toyota, U.S. officials investigate runaway Prius (Reuters)
In this Feb. 7, 2010 photo, the tailends of unsold 2010 Toyota Prius sedans form a long line at a Toyota dealership in Lakewood, Colo. Toyota owners and stockholders have peppered the Japanese automaker with more than 80 class-action lawsuits in the wake of widespread recalls, some contending that defective engineering has caused injuries or deaths and others claiming the company's woes have damaged the value of the vehicles. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)Reuters - U.S. safety regulators and Toyota Motor Corp dispatched investigators to San Diego on T...

US begins probe of runaway Prius in California (AFP)
US safety investigators have begun to probe the case of a runaway Toyota Prius in California, sources said Tuesday, in an incident threatening to undermine the Japanese automaker's effort to repair its battered image.(AFP/DDP/File/Sascha Schuermann)AFP - US safety investigators have begun to probe the case of a runaway Toyota Prius in Californi...

China, India give qualified nod to climate deal (AP)
A truck transporting timbers in Pangkalan Kerinci, outside Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia. Wealthy and developing nations should be able to seal an agreement this year on deforestation, unlocking a key part of the next treaty on global warming, Indonesian negotiators said Monday.(AFP/File/Ahmad Zamroni)AP - China joined India on Tuesday in giving qualified approval to the Copenhagen climate accord ...

Disease threatening endangered Iberian lynx: conservationists (AFP)
A lynx is released during the first experimental reintroduction of two Iberian lynxes in Villafranca de Cordoba, southern Spain in 2009. The Iberian lynx, the world's most endangered feline species, is under renewed threat from a disease affecting animals born in breeding centres in Spain, the conservation programme said Tuesday.(AFP/File/Cristina Quicler)AFP - The Iberian lynx, the world's most endangered feline species, is under renewed threat from ...

IMF boss defends plan for 'green fund' (AFP)
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn addresses students and academics at The University, Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday defended plans to create a 100 billion dollar fund to help countries mitigate the effects of climate change.(AFP/Alexander Joe)AFP - The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday defended plans to create a 100 billi...

Japanese bug shipped in to wage war on knotweed (AFP)
An adult psyllid -- a Japanese insect which preys on Japanese knotweed. The insect is to be introduced on a trial basis in Britain to tackle knotweed, a damaging super-weed which costs millions to tackle every year.(AFP/CABI)AFP - A Japanese insect is to be introduced on a trial basis in Britain to tackle a damaging supe...

Israel, Syria eye nuclear power plants (AFP)
Partial view of the Dimona nuclear power plant in Israel's southern Negev desert, pictured in 2002. Israel and Syria are separately eyeing plans to develop nuclear power to meet the energy needs of the volatile Middle East, ministers told a conference hosted by France to promote reactors.(AFP/File/Thomas Coex)AFP - Israel and Syria each announced plans Tuesday to develop nuclear power to meet the energy n...

EU climate chief: global deal unlikely before 2011 (AP)
AP - The European Union's climate change chief says a global deal on reducing greenhouse gas emis...

Toyota hits back at claims of electronic defects (AFP)
A worker walks past newly assembled Toyota Prius vehicles near the company's plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Toyota sought on Monday to dispel fears about the safety of its electronics, but was put on the defensive when a Prius went speeding out of control along a California highway.(AFP/File/Kazuhiro Nogi)AFP - Toyota sought on Monday to dispel fears about the safety of its electronics, but was put on...

Israel wants nuclear plant with Arab neighbours (AFP)
Partial view of the Dimona nuclear power plant in Israel's southern Negev desert, pictured in 2002. Israel and Syria are separately eyeing plans to develop nuclear power to meet the energy needs of the volatile Middle East, ministers told a conference hosted by France to promote reactors.(AFP/File/Thomas Coex)AFP - Israel unveiled plans Tuesday to work with its Arab neighbours to build a nuclear power pla...

India backs Copenhagen climate deal: minister (AFP)
Smoke billows out of the chimneys of the Kolaghat Thermal Power Station in Kolaghat in 2007. China and India announced on Tuesday they would back the 11th-hour climate accord hammered out in Copenhagen in December, removing doubts that the world's two most populous countries fully supported the contested deal.(AFP/File/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)AFP - India has decided to formally back a climate change accord struck in Copenhagen last year t...

Syria wants to develop nuclear energy (AP)
AP - A senior Syrian official says his country would like to pursue nuclear power to meet growing...