- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
Biden to order protection of ancient US forests
President Joe Biden was marking Earth Day on Friday by ordering protections for the United States' ancient forests, seen as a crucial weapon in the fight against climate change, during a trip to Seattle.
The Democrat has campaigned heavily for environmental protections and US leadership in the response to global warming, but has regularly run up against lack of support in Congress.
His executive order, signed in the heavily wooded and often spectacularly wild Washington state, will recognize the importance of America's old-growth forests in regulating climate change -- but also their vulnerability in an era of ever more intense wildfires.
In the order, Biden requires officials overseeing federal lands to inventory mature forests within a year and to identify threats to the trees.
"America's forests are a key climate solution, absorbing carbon dioxide equivalent to more than 10 percent of US annual greenhouse gas emissions," the White House said in a statement.
"Federal lands are home to many of the nation's mature and old-growth forests, which serve as critical carbon sinks, cherished landscapes, and unique habitats.
"However, these magnificent ecosystems are threatened by the climate impacts that are already here, with intensifying wildfires demanding urgent action to protect our forests and the economies that depend on them."
Throughout his presidency, Biden has set ambitious environmental goals and he quickly reversed his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's move to pull the United States from the Paris climate accords.
However, with a barely functional majority in Congress, he has seen major policy initiatives on the environment fail to get off the ground.
Many of Biden's biggest pushes have come through executive orders, which do not require congressional approval, but can be countermanded by the next president.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it was restoring safeguards weakened by Trump, including a requirement for assessing climate impacts from infrastructure projects.
This will play a key role in the wave of public works set to unroll across the country under the White House's successfully passed $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill.
F.Schneider--AMWN