AP - Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn't taken, a new study says.

AP - The global food crisis will only worsen because of climate change, the U.N. climate chief said Friday, urging leaders of the world's richest countries meeting in Japan next week to set goals to reduce carbon emissions within the next dozen years.

AP - Syria has returned a marble artifact to Iraq that was stolen from one of the country's archaeological sites.

AP - Tropical Storm Bertha continues to speed across the Atlantic Ocean.

Reuters - A Chinese man who bought an emaciated pig who survived for 36 days under rubble after May's massive Sichuan earthquake and promised to care for it for life has been given an award by an animal rights group.

AP - North Korea said Friday it will not take further steps to dismantle its nuclear program until the U.S. and its other negotiating partners award fuel oil and political benefits promised under an aid-for-disarmament deal.

AFP - A review of the European Union's procedures for vetting genetically modified crops does not imply the policy will undergo far-reaching change, a French environment minister said Friday.