Judge won't halt anti-whaling group

A US federal judge in Seattle has declined to immediately restrain the activities of an anti-whaling group.

Storm whips city as rain buckets down

Alana Rosenbaum Victoria was whipped by a violent storm that uprooted trees, left commuters stranded, and deposited up to 46 millimetres of rain on parts of the state yesterday.

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Researchers fight time to save 'secretive' alpine frog

Bridie Smith Fifteen tadpoles hatched since Christmas might not sound exciting. But for those who know about the plight of the Baw Baw frog, it is a big deal.

All treed up, ready to grow - the man who wants to green Holroyd

James Robertson LIKE a modern-day Johnny Appleseed, Terry Tisdale wants to use his fortune to plant 100,000 trees across his beloved Holroyd city.

New marine parks on hold while public has its say

Josephine Tovey, Ben Cubby THE O'Farrell government will continue its moratorium on the establishment of new marine parks for at least another five months as it seeks public feedback on a scientific audit released yesterday.

Swarm of wasps forces family to flee home

Timothy Lawson A family home in Richardson was invaded by a swarm of European wasps on Wednesday night as a nest of thousands of the insects fell through their kitchen ceiling.

Hobart outshines Sydney in summer stakes

Sydney may be basking in "normal" summer warmth today but Hobart has just reached 30 degrees for the sixth time this summer, which is four more times than Sydney.

Sea Shepherd makes pit stop as conflict runs on

ANDREW DARBY The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker today reached Wellington to refuel and take on supplies, as its anti-whaling counterpart Steve Irwin failed in a concerted attempt to lose its pursuers in the Antarctic.

Storms bring blackouts to city

Mex Cooper Peak-hour commuters could brave large hail stones, flash flooding and high winds on their way home this afternoon with severe thunderstorms already rolling through the city and hitting the southeast.

Storms to return for weekend

Thunderstorms are forecast for every district of NSW at some point over the coming days.

Let's be good sports and abolish battery cages

Jason Baker First England won the Ashes from us; now they can declare that they're the first to abolish battery cages.

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Scientist denies he is mouthpiece of US climate-sceptic think tank

Ben Cubby A PROMINENT Australian scientist has rejected as offensive any suggestion he is doing the bidding of a US climate-sceptic think tank that is paying him a monthly fee.

Bill calls for ban on pet shops selling cats, dogs

Lisa Cox The sale of cats and dogs in Canberra pet shops could be banned, following a second attempt by the ACT Greens to make changes to animal welfare legislation.

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Scientist accepts 'cash for climate'

Ben Cubby Australian scientist rejects claim that he does the bidding of a US climate sceptic think tank that pays him.

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Storm relief for people in western Sydney

People in western Sydney whose homes and businesses were battered by heavy rain and flash flooding this month may be able to get natural disaster assistance.

Orica leak smaller than previously thought

Leesha McKenny A leak of hexavalent chromium from the Orica plant in Newcastle on August 8 last year was smaller than previously thought.

Planet's growing dilemma

By 2050 there will be 2.5 billion more people on the planet. How to feed them? Science's answer: a diet of algae, insects and meat grown in a lab, writes John Vidal.

Dirty devils found in Tasmanian garage

A Tasmanian woman got the shock of her life early today when she found two Tasmanian devils mating in her garage.

Thousands of crows invade town

Residents of a south-western Pennsylvania town say they're under siege by thousands of crows that won't go away.

Lioness mauls zoo worker to death

A lioness has killed a zoo worker on a rural conservation farm in South Africa, apparently because security gates were left open.

How a tweet snowballed into a national ad campaign

Graham Readfearn Opinion It was an extraordinary response, but then it was an extraordinary video revealing some extraordinary alliances.

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Storms to return on Friday

Steve Jacobs Severe thunderstorms are likely from Friday to next Tuesday as another trough moves in from the west of the state.

Nitric acid released from Orica plant

Nitric acid has leaked out of Orica's plant near Newcastle, but the chemical giant says it poses no risk to the community or the environment.

Clean-up starts after storms

Residents are cleaning up after severe thunderstorms pummelled parts of NSW.

Shark fishing to be limited in South Australia

Shark fishing has been banned from South Australian metropolitan beaches during daylight hours under new rules that will be trialled for a year.

Weather settles after a day of storms, hail ... and a tornado

Alicia Wood and Janek Speight All eyes were on the Blue Mountains yesterday, as hail pelted suburbs like Katoomba during a severe storm.

Humans blamed for rise in shark attacks

Sharks killed twice as many swimmers and surfers last year than in 2010, with the increase due largely to a growth in tourism and changing shark patterns because of global warming.

Japan suspects high recordings at reactor due to faulty thermometer

The Tokyo Electric Power Company said the temperature in one of the damaged reactors at its Fukushima nuclear station rose above safety limits yesterday, even as it injected increased amounts of cooling water.

Climate change role in floods won't be clear for a decade, say scientists

Ben Cubby The floods inundating northern NSW and Queensland are likely to have been driven in part by human-induced climate change - although the precise extent of this influence won't be known for another decade.

Environmental groups claim 320,000-tonne black hole in official recycling figures

Ben Cubby About 320,000 tonnes of bottles, cans and other containers appear to have gone missing from the national recycling inventory, according to environmental groups who have compared industry data with a new government report.

Science helps turn crocodiles into handbags

Deborah Smith WHICH little crocodiles will grow quickly and have the finest skin fit to be turned into handbags and shoes?

Ludwig can't comment on slaughter practice

Federal Agricultural Minister Joe Ludwig declined to comment on animal slaughter practices he observed last month at abattoirs in the Middle East.

Sydney house catches fire after lightning strike

A house in Sydney's north-west has caught fire after being struck by lightning.

Thunderstorms hit Blue Mountains

Steve Jacobs Severe thunderstorms have hit the Blue Mountains this afternoon and are moving towards the north-east.

Woman saved from flooded car

Staff Reporters A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for southeast Queensland, with Brisbane under threat of large hail, heavy rainfall and flash flooding.

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Whalers knock activist off jet-ski into sea

Andrew Darby Japanese whalers have scrambled to recover from sustained attacks by conservationists in the Antarctic and have maintained their tail on the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin.

Veteran journalist mauled in dog attack

Jane Holroyd Veteran television journalist Peter Harvey is recovering in hospital after being attacked by two dogs in a park yesterday.

'Unusually high' dolphin kill rate

The number of dolphins killed by Australia's commercial shark fisheries is ''higher than previously thought,'' a Senate estimates hearing has heard.

Say it with flowers but don't expect everything to be rosy

James Robertson Australian flower crops, struggling to bloom through a dark and damp summer, are under threat this Valentine's Day from foreign imports.

Solar roof project uses wasted energy to warm air and water

Ben Cubby A new form of solar panel that warms air and water as well as generating electricity is being developed by Sydney researchers.

Europe's big chill settles in, bringing beauty and destruction

Regions across Europe sustained another deluge of extreme weather over the weekend, prompting a deadly avalanche in Kosovo, snarling air and train travel, and blanketing Rome with a rare dusting of snow for the second time in a week.

Electrical storm causes widespread train delays

James Robertson An electrical storm knocked out a large section of the Western and Blue Mountains railway lines yesterday, delaying hundreds of passengers.

Fears research monkeys are illegally taken from wild

Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie Australia's importation of primates for research has sparked an investigation into allegations that the little-known trade breaches international agreements on animal welfare.

Agricultural science jobs axed

Two of Australia's top agricultural science positions will be axed by the Gillard government as part of a shake-up of the federal agriculture department, a Senate estimates hearing has been told.

Severe thunderstorm warning issued for southeast Queensland

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southeast Queensland for this afternoon, with the possibility of damaging winds, flash flooding and large hailstones.

Death toll rises as big cold freezes Europe

Freezing temperatures left thousands of people stranded without power in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe on Saturday, as the death toll from one of the coldest winters in years continued to rise.

Spare a thought for poor jack mackerel

The marine food chain goes something like this: sun, phytoplankton, zooplankton, shrimps, sprats, forage and demersal fish, pelagics and apex predators. Remove any one link and the whole web collapses.

Foreign molluscs muscle in

Katie Cuttris They are small, they cling to the bottom of boats or lurk in ballast water, and can wreak havoc on Australia's waterways.

The cloak and dagger operation to expose cruelty

Alicia Wood The abattoir workers were nervous. They were in a hotel room with a member of Animal Liberation NSW, the organisation they had phoned anonymously with stories of cruelty from inside the Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors.

Family rescued as hail hits home

Jim O'Rourke A STRING of thunderstorms that swept across Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the central coast and the Hunter Valley yesterday caused flash flooding and hail the size of golf balls.

Sulphur dioxide leak at Orica plant

Elevated levels of sulphur dioxide have been reported leaking from Orica's Port Kembla plant on the south coast.

Industry call to scrap state pollution target

Farrah Tomazin Businesses are pushing Ted Baillieu to scrap Victoria's pollution reduction target.

Hailstorms hammer Sydney

Severe thunderstorms have passed over western Sydney, leaving several damaged homes in their wake.

Severe thunderstorm warning issued for parts of Southeast Queensland

Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds and large hailstones in parts of southeast Queensland this afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.