EARTH

China will soon publish new regulations to increase supervision of the country's rare earth industry in a move that is likely to drastically change the landscape of the sector, the China Securities Journal informed on Wednesday.

France and Italy have fallen badly behind on pledges to boost their development aid and should follow the example of Britain, which has stuck to pledges despite austerity measures, Bob Geldof said on Tuesday.

China is the top economy in the world, the majority of Americans believe, according to the latest Gallup Poll.

This year Valentine's Day is so special as NASA's Stardust spacecraft is preparing for final date with comet Tempel 1 on its second exploration. The world will be beginning to look at images when the spacecraft is on its closest approach to fly by comet Tempel 1 at about 11:37 pm EST on Monday, with confirmation likely to be received on Earth at about 11:56 pm EST.

China has created a state planning zone covering the country's biggest rare earth mines in a move to cut production of the vital rare mineral elements used for numerous high-tech goods, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday night.

Snow across some drought-hit parts of north and central China brought limited respite from a drought threatening winter wheat crops that has fueled talk of higher global prices, state forecasters said Thursday.

A new combined image of a ring -- not of jewels -- but of black holes comes from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope just in time for Valentine's Day.

A minister in the government of South Sudan was shot dead inside his ministry on Wednesday, days after referendum results confirmed the region will become Africa's newest independent state, officials said.

Resource-rich African governments risk unrest if they hold back the benefits of soaring global commodity prices from their own people, delegates to a major mining conference were told on Wednesday.

Earth will have another brush with the celestial throw of dice today, with an asteroid the size of a car passing close by the planet, but astronomers have ruled out jitters.

Governments in the Asia-Pacific region face the risk of unprecedented numbers of people displaced by floods, storms and other impacts of climate change, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Monday.

Seeking to flee extraordinarily high rates of unemployment in their country, thousands of young Spaniards are seeking to find jobs in Germany.

A report by an American think thank says that U.S. dependence on China for rare earths is extremely problematic and poses both economic and national security risks.

Hungary's government will work to boost employment levels from 55 percent quickly, including with unorthodox measures, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday. Orban told a news conference the changes are needed

The popular Pattaya beach in Thailand is eroding at a rate of nearly two meters a year that could lead to its extinction in less than five years, according to Thai scientists.

The Brazilian government along with Survival International, an organization working for tribal people's rights worldwide, has released never before seen visuals of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe living near the border of Peru.

Japanese imports of rare earths from China rose six-fold in December from November, reflecting a resumption of trade after Beijing's de-facto ban on shipments halted flows of the minerals for two months since late September.

Yunnan Copper Industry (Group), China's third-biggest producer by capacity, added 100,000 tonnes of annual refining capacity this week in Guangdong province.

NASA will host a news briefing on Feb.2 at 10 a.m. PST 2 to announce the Kepler mission's latest findings about planets outside our solar system that may support life.

The World, a man made archipelago in the shape of the seven continents developed off Dubai’s coast, is allegedly sinking into the sea, causing serious concerns for the environment.

African economic growth is heading back to pre-crisis growth levels, propelled by strong demand for its resources and increased South-South investment, notably from China.