Europe

"Hundreds of homes have been evacuated and thousands left without power in Scotland and Northern Ireland as Storm Frank brings torrential rain and gales."

A spate of fires has been sweeping northern Spain for over a week now, an unusual phenomenon in regions that skirt the rough seas of the Bay of Biscay and are normally rainy, especially in winter."

"The European Parliament has decided to set up a 45-member inquiry committee to investigate breaches of EU rules on car emission tests and alleged failures by EU member states and the European Commission to enforce EU standards."

"MPs have voted to allow fracking under Britain’s national parks, drawing accusations that the government has sneaked the measure through parliament without a proper debate."

"Critics say the PM should make no move to cut subsidies until he knows how it would affect the UK’s ability to meet its Paris accord obligations".

"A fire on an oil platform in the Caspian Sea burned on Monday for a fourth day, and the Azerbaijani company that operates the site warned that the fire could spread to the oil wells that feed the platform, heightening the risk of a spill."

"Britain wants to close all of its coal-fired power plants by 2025 and lower their output from 2023, the government said on Wednesday, making it the first major economy to put a date on shutting down polluting coal plants to curb carbon emissions."

"The UK is alone among G7 nations in dramatically increasing its fossil fuel subsidies, despite an earlier pledge to phase them out, a new report has found."

"The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Thursday said glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto weedkiller Roundup, was unlikely to cause cancer in humans, but it proposed new controls on any residues in food."