A UN team has arrived in Australia to investigate possible damage to the Great Barrier Reef by the mining industry.
Fears that coal exports and oil and gas exploration would jeopardise the reef prompted the Unesco delegation's visit. Environmentalists have urged the government to suspend mining development until a government review is completed.
The reef is home to 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish.
The Great Barrier Reef, which holds Unesco World Heritage status, lies off the coast of the state of Queensland, which is the largest producer of coal in the country.
Appointments
UN team examines mining threat to Great Barrier Reef
New British laws to hit big tops hard
Laws to stop tigers, camels, zebras and snakes being used as performing animals in circuses in England have been announced by the British government.
Environment Minister Jim Paice told MPs he hoped the laws would be brought in before the end of the parliament in 2015.
Currently between 35 and 50 wild animals are thought to be used by circuses in England, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs offered to help find new homes for the retired performers.
OCee Design join furniture industry sustainability programme
OCee Design has become the latest furniture manufacturer to become a full member of the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP).
FISP, which is audited by FIRA International, was launched in 2006 to support and improve the furniture industry's sustainability credentials. FISP has rapidly become established as the industry forum on all environmental and sustainability issues.
First assessment of endangered UK penguins since oil spill
Almost a year since thousands of endangered penguins' lives were threatened by an oil spill on Nightingale Island - part of Tristan da Cunha, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic - a survey to assess the birds' population has taken place.
When the bulk carrier, MS Oliva, ran aground on 16 March last year, a huge effort to rescue the penguins was launched. The ship was travelling from Brazil to Singapore with a cargo of 65,000 tonnes of soya beans and 1,500 tonnes of bunker fuel when it ran aground.
How the Boris Island airport would impact Thames estuary wildlife
The reflections of redshank that shimmer in the wet silt of the Thames river estuary are an illusion: the birds appear still, but they are in a race against time to eat enough before the tide comes in and they retreat on land to wait for their next meal. To ingest enough energy to survive, they need to eat two insects a second.