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Europe's climate change chief says he is astonished at the positive progress by governments towards a global deal on CO2. Miguel Arias Cañete said it was "quite astounding" that 149 nations have published their plans to curb carbon emissions. break He warned, though, that nations' pledges had not yet reached the level needed to prevent potentially dangerous warming. break. "We have countries which together produce nearly 90% of global emissions - {snip] - there were only 35 countries and they covered less than 14% of emissions. Break. "There is no complacency - but we if we had kept on going...

Producing fresh drinking water from the sea - desalination - has always seemed to be the most obvious answer to water shortages.Our oceans cover more than 70% of the earth's surface and contain 97% of its water. But the energy needed to achieve this seemingly simple process has been costly. Now, thanks to new technologies, costs have been halved and huge desalination plants are opening around the world.The largest seawater desalination plant ever, Israel's Sorek plant near Tel Aviv, just ramped up to full production. It will make 624 million litres of drinkable water daily, and sell 1,000 litres -...

Ancient bones from a North Yorkshire cave, including the remains of rhinos, bears and hyenas, are to go on display in a "virtual museum" more than a century after they were excavated. Some of the bones, found in Victoria Cave in the dales, date back more than one hundred thousand years. At that time, such beasts were common in northern England. A team of archaeologists from the organisation DigVentures has set out digitise the site's unique collection. The cave was discovered in 1837 when a man noticed his dog disappear through an opening in the hill, and reappear through another....

Up to 40,000 people climb Croagh Patrick every year - a 760m-high mountain in the far west of Ireland - as part of a pilgrimage to honour the country's patron saint. It's one of Ireland's top tourist destinations and has become popular with runners. But not everyone is happy, including the Catholic Church.On a clear day you can see Croagh Patrick from miles away, its near perfect conical shape mirrored against the sky. Originally a site for pagan ceremonies, St Patrick is said to have climbed the mountain more than 1,500 years ago, fasting and praying for 40 days and...

At least 44 people are now known to have died, and more than 500 injured, following two major explosions in China's northern port city of Tianjin. Twelve firefighters were among the dead, China's official Xinhua news agency said as it reported a doubling of the death toll. Two blasts happened in a warehouse storing "dangerous and chemical goods" in the port area of the city. The blasts caused a huge fireball that could be seen from space. Buildings within a 2km radius (1.5 miles) had windows blown out, office blocks were destroyed and hundreds of cars burnt-out. Images on Chinese...

Fragments of a suspected Russian missile system have been found at the Flight MH17 crash site in Ukraine, investigators in the Netherlands say. They say the parts, possibly from a Buk surface-to-air system, are "of particular interest" and could help show who was behind the crash. But they say they have not proved their "causal connection" with the crash. MH17 crashed on land held by Russian-backed rebels in July 2014, killing all 298 on board. There were 283 passengers, including 80 children, and 15 crew members on the Malaysian Airlines airliner. About two-thirds of those who died were Dutch nationals,...

Plane overshot the runway at Blackbushe Airport on Hampshire border The £7m jet crashed into a carpark and exploded after hitting the ground Rajaa Hashim, Osama's stepmother, named among those killed yesterday Sana Bin Laden, Osama's half-sister, and husband Zuhair Hashim, Osama's brother-in-law also named as being killed by family friend Other fatality believed to be Jordanian pilot, who has yet to be identified Osama bin Laden's stepmother, half-sister and brother-in-law are thought to be among four people killed after a private jet owned by the family exploded into a fireball after overshooting a runway while trying to land outside...

A historic deal offers hope that the country's landmines could be cleared More than 11,000 people have been killed or maimed by landmines in Colombia over the past 25 years. Only Afghanistan has higher numbers of landmine victims, Colombian government figures suggest. Many of the mines have been planted by Colombia's largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), during the 50-year armed conflict with the government. As part of peace negotiations currently under way in Cuba, the Farc recently agreed to work with the Colombian security forces to clear the mines. Risky task The guerrilla group...

"Officials say the new waterway will be a symbol of the new Egypt" Few things in Egypt are more iconic, revered and profitable than the Suez Canal. So in a bid to refloat the country's ailing economy, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is building another one. He broke ground on the second Suez Canal last August, at a ceremony full of pomp and patriotism. With fighter jets conducting aerial displays overhead, Egypt's new strongman promised it would be "a channel of prosperity". Tight deadline It was not plain sailing at the start. There was some flooding at the drilling site...

The President of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, described Cyclone Pam as "a monster" Vanuatu's president has told the BBC many of his people are homeless after the "monster" cyclone that ravaged the Pacific island nation on Saturday. His voice breaking, Baldwin Lonsdale said Cyclone Pam had destroyed most buildings in the capital Port Vila, including schools and clinics. A state of emergency has been declared in the tiny state of 267,000 people, spread over 65 islands. At least eight people are reported to have been killed. However, it is feared the toll will rise sharply as rescuers reach outlying islands...

Critics of wind turbines argue vehemently that they are ugly and inefficient - a blot on the landscape and an expensive folly to boot. Efficiency has always been a strange critique given that the fuel driving turbines - wind - is free. And while electricity generated from wind may currently be more expensive than that from some fossil fuels, costs are coming down fast. Eye sores? That is simply a matter of opinion. But a new wave of turbine technologies are looking to end the debate once and for all, by making wind power cheaper, more flexible and, in...

The new jawbone: its teeth are smaller than those of other human relatives Scientists have unearthed the jawbone of what they claim is one of the very first humans. The 2.8 million-year-old specimen is 400,000 years older than researchers thought that our kind first emerged. The discovery in Ethiopia suggests climate change spurred the transition from tree dweller to upright walker. The head of the research team told BBC News that the find gives the first insight into "the most important transitions in human evolution". Prof Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas said the discovery...

The brain was discovered inside a skull found at Heslington near York A human brain, believed to be the oldest ever discovered, may have been preserved for over 2,000 years by mud, archaeologists have said. The organ was found inside a decapitated skull at an Iron Age dig site near York in 2008. Tests on the remains suggested they were from the 6th Century BC, making them about 2,600 years old. York Archaeological Trust said the skull had been buried in wet, clay-rich ground providing an oxygen-free burial. They said the burial location could have helped conserve the brain,...

Trident question comes to the surface The SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens want Trident to be scrapped The loch at Faslane is very calm on a beautiful spring-like day, seagulls wheel above the jetty and its short, white radar tower. Beneath the still waters, I presume, lurks some of Britain's ageing nuclear deterrent. The future of Trident may not be much of an issue in the election, but it will be one of the most important, and expensive, decisions the new government makes. And it could be a vital issue in any negotiations if there is a hung...

Scientists say they have gained new insight into what lies at the very centre of the Earth. Research from China and the US suggests that the innermost core of our planet has another, distinct region at its centre. The team believes that the structure of the iron crystals there are different from those found in the outer part of the inner core. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Geoscience. Without being able to drill into the heart of the Earth, its make-up is something of a mystery. So instead, scientists use echoes generated by earthquakes to study...

Social media users who spread racial hatred should be banned from sites such as Twitter and Facebook, MPs say. The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism wants prosecutors to examine if prevention orders like those used to restrict sex offenders' internet access could be used. The cross-party group also highlighted the use of anti-Semitic terms online. {snip] The trust - which monitors anti-Semitism in Britain - says this was its highest figure recorded since it began work in 1984. {Snip] 'Hate crimes' The Parliamentary inquiry was set up following a rise in incidents in July and August last year during...

The first straw houses in the UK to be offered on the open market are on sale. Though straw walls might be most readily linked to a story of pigs making questionable construction choices, the team behind these homes says the material could help to sustainably meet housing demand. The homes are the result of an engineering research project led by the University of Bath. The researchers worked with specialist architectural firm Modcell. The team says this development should move building with straw from a niche technique for the ecologically minded to the wider market. A typical three-bedroom house...

Mountaineers in Chile have discovered the wreckage of a plane that went missing more than 50 years ago. Twenty four people died when the aircraft disappeared in 1961 - among them eight players for what was then one of Chile's top football teams. VIDEO at site.

An Ubuntu-powered smartphone is coming to the market a year and a half after a previous attempt to launch a model via crowdfunding failed.The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu edition relies on a card-like user interface that is not focused on apps. Unlike the original proposal, the handset does not become a desktop PC when plugged into a monitor. It is initially being targeted at "early adopters", who developers hope will become advocates for the platform. The British company Canonical, which developed the Linux-based operating system, said it hoped to emulate the success of Chinese companies including Xiaomi with its launch...

Do you own an iPhone? Then you're SMARTER than an Android user: Infographic reveals link between education and phone choice Study found states with more college graduates, such as Alaska and Vermont, have higher iPhone sales New Mexico, Iowa and Delaware have lowest percentage of iPhone users, and a lower number of graduates The more densely populated an area, the more chance iPhone sales will be higher, according to the research Previous study found that iPhone owners are vainer and spend more on clothes than those who have Android iPhone users have a reputation for being smug – and...