By Hejratullah Ekhtiyar
JALALABAD, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, January 26, 2012 (ENS) - The southeastern Afghan province of Nangarhar was once home to thousands of hectares of olive groves, but residents say water and electricity shortages, combined with land grabs and war, have left the industry devastated. State-run farms here once produced 8,000 tons of olives in a season, but in the decade since the fall of the Taliban, laborers have harvested a total of just 1,400 tons. >>more

WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2012 (ENS) - President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address tonight to announce the opening of domestic energy development both on public lands and at sea. The President directed his administration "to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources," a policy that will have an enormous impact on the marine environment of the United States. Then he said his admininstration would permit enough clean energy development on public lands to power three million homes. >>more

WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2012 (ENS) - Increased oil, natural gas and renewable energy production within the United States and energy efficiency will lower U.S. reliance on coal and imported energy sources through 2035, finds the latest forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical and analytical agency within the Department of Energy. Energy-related emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are projected to remain below their 2005 level through 2035. >>more

VANCOUVER, Canada, January 24, 2012 (ENS) - Miller's grizzled langur, a species of monkey that was believed to be extinct or on the verge of extinction has been found in Borneo by an international team of scientists. Findings of the team of Canadian, U.S. and Indonesian scientists, published in the "American Journal of Primatology," confirm the continued existence of this monkey. Photos captured by their camera trap show that it lives in an area where it was not known to exist. >>more

SYDNEY, Australia, January 23, 2012 (ENS) - The City of Sydney and Taronga Zoo have launched the Year of the Dragon 2012 Chinese New Year Festival by joining forces to save the Komodo dragon. The rare monitor lizards found only in Indonesia, are listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP visited the zoo to welcome the Taronga Foundation as the city's 2012 charity partner for the festival, alongside Maurice Newman, chairman of the Taronga Foundation. >>more

ROME, Italy, January 23, 2012 (ENS) - As the cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on its side on the shore of Giglio Island 10 days after striking a rock that gashed open her side, divers Sunday found two more bodies. Their recovery brings the death toll to 15, with 24 people still missing. The huge ship is grounded in an environmentally sensitive area of a national park, and Italian authorities ordered the salvors to take better precautions before removing an estimated 2,400 tons of fuel from the vessel. >>more