Environmentalists are faulting slow progress at a U.N.-backed meeting of nearly all the world’s countries toward beefing up protections for biodiversity on Earth.

The energy crisis provoked by Russia’s war in Ukraine has helped Spain and Portugal emerge in an strategically advantageous position as an “energy island” in Europe with a relatively low reliance on Russian natural gas.

India’s renewable energy push will be far from easy.

Europe’s most pressing energy policy goal was reducing carbon emissions that cause climate change before Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Spain’s government is readying a package of emergency economic measures worth 6 billion euros in direct aid and tax breaks and 10 billion euros in loans for families and businesses affected by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government’s upcoming budget will increase spending on defense and national security while reducing household expenses.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale to Bahrain of M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Upgrade and related equipment for an estimated cost of $176 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

President Vladimir Putin’s threat to have “unfriendly” countries pay for Russian natural gas exports only in rubles from now on has got the not-so-friendly treatment from European Union nations.

Greece has signed deals worth some 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to buy three navy frigates and six additional Rafale fighter jets from France, as Athens strengthens its armed forces in response to tension with neighboring Turkey.

WASHINGTON – The United States has imposed sanctions on two Russian companies and a North Korean entity for transferring sensitive items to North Korea’s missile program, the State Department said on Thursday.