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A simple molecule in the atmosphere that acts as a "detergent" to breakdown methane and other greenhouse gases has been found to recycle itself to maintain a steady global presence in the face of rising emissions, according to new NASA research. Understanding its role in the atmosphere is critical for determining the lifetime of methane, a powerful contributor to climate change. The hydroxyl (OH) radical, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom, one oxygen atom with a free (or unpaired) electron is one of the most reactive gases in the atmosphere and regularly breaks down other gases, effectively ending...

A new study by MIT has revealed that the quantities of nitrous oxide (N2O), otherwise known as laughing gas, being released by the world's oceans has been dramatically underestimated. Heightened levels of N2O have the potential to seriously influence the health of our planet's ozone layer, as the gas is around 300 times more potent than the more prevalent menace of carbon dioxide emissions.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama, who deliberately distanced himself from lobbyists during his campaign and his transition, appointed a defense contractor's lobbyist Thursday to become his No. 2 official at the Defense Department. Obama acknowledged that his choice appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Police have killed the deputy commander of al-Qaida inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, the government said Monday. Abu Hureira was killed a few days ago by police in the northern port city of Tripoli, near the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp where Fatah Islam militants have been fighting Lebanese soldiers for more than two months, said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi. "Cabinet was informed by Interior Minister Hassan Sabei that Lebanese security forces have killed the Fatah Islam's No. 2 in the Abu Samra neighborhood" in Tripoli, Aridi told reporters following a Cabinet...

I won't be Clinton's No 2, says Obama By Toby Harnden in Washington Last Updated: 1:11am BST 11/04/2007 An increasingly confident Senator Barack Obama has rejected the possibility of becoming Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2008 election - but dangled the notion that she might be his vice-presidential candidate. During a television appearance on the popular Late Show With David Letterman, Mr Obama poured cold water on the "dream ticket" of Clinton-Obama that some Democratic strategists are pushing. "No, you don't run for second," he said. "I don't believe in that." When Mr Letterman said it would be a...

HAVANA - North Korea's No. 2 leader blamed the lack of world peace on the United States Saturday at the Nonaligned Summit, saying that because of its failure to respect the sovereignty of other nations, "the international order is destroyed." Parliament leader Kim Yong Nam said desires for peace by the 118 countries in the Nonaligned Movement were "confronted with grave challenges owing to the high-handed acts and unilateralism of the superpower, which denies countries and nations the independent choice of development." The resulting imbalance in global politics constitutes "grave threats to world peace and security," he said. It was...

<p>With no mention of last week's attempt on his life, Ayman al-Zawahiri recited poetry to jihadists on a 17-minute audiotape that appeared on the Internet on Friday.</p> <p>Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant was the target of a January 13 CIA airstrike on a home in Damadola, Pakistan, where al Qaeda members were believed to be attending a dinner.</p>

A global map of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere has revealed the most precise view yet of pollution hotspots around the world.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani troops believe they have surrounded al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri in an operation near the Afghan border, three senior Pakistani officials said Thursday. The officials told The Associated Press that intelligence indicated the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy, has been cornered in an operation. One intelligence official said captured fighters said al-Zawahri had been wounded. The operation began Tuesday in South Waziristan with hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers, who fired artillery and used helicopter gunships to attack dug-in al-Qaida fighters. Dozens of fighters were killed and 18 were captured, the intelligence official said.