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By Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) - Human activity kept global temperatures close to a record high in 2011 despite the cooling influence of a powerful La Nina weather pattern, the World Meteorological Organization said on Friday. On average, global temperatures in 2011 were lower than the record level hit the previous year but were still 0.40 degrees Centigrade above the 1961-1990 average and the 11th highest on record, the report said. WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud warned that the consequences of global warming could be permanent

Neutrinos do not go faster than light, according to fresh measurements of a test last year that had suggested the particles broke the Universe's speed limit, CERN said on Friday.

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio state agency said on Friday there is evidence that the high-pressure injection of fluid underground related to fracking caused a series of Ohio earthquakes culminating in a New Year's Eve tremor in any area not known for seismic activity. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which overseas the oil and gas industry, said in a report that the state should pass a new law prohibiting drilling at what is called the Precambrian basement rock level (a depth that begins at 9,184 ft) and would require companies to "review existing geologic data" before drilling.

GENEVA (Reuters) - La Nina, a weather phenomenon usually linked to heavy rains and flooding in Asia-Pacific and South America and drought in Africa, seems to have reached its peak and is expected to fade between March and May, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday. A weak to moderate La Nina pattern has cooled the tropical Pacific since around October, a considerably weaker event than in 2010-11, the United Nations agency said in a statement. [More]

By Katy Migiro NAIROBI, Feb 3 (AlertNet) - An exceptional harvest after good rains and food deliveries by aid agencies have ended famine in Somalia for now but food stocks could run out again in May, the United Nations said on Friday.

By Katy Migiro NAIROBI, Feb 3 (AlertNet) - An exceptional harvest after good rains and food deliveries by aid agencies have ended famine in Somalia for now but food stocks could run out again in May, the United Nations said on Friday. [More]

Scientists who threw down the gauntlet to physics by reporting particles that broke the Universe's speed limit said on Friday they were revisiting their contested experiment.

By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear regulator said on Friday it has sent a letter to Dominion Resources laying out the requirements for the restart of the company's quake-rattled North Anna nuclear plant.

* Japan's disaster sparked nuclear rethink worldwide * France also remains staunchly pro-nuclear in Europe By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power complex should not be allowed to call into question of the wisdom of atomic energy, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Friday. "After the tsunami wave hit the Fukushima power plant, some governments decided not to build new nuclear power plants and some even to abandon nuclear energy as such," Klaus said in a speech to the U.N.

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Surging flood waters in northern and eastern India have affected millions of people, forcing many from their homes as swollen rivers wash away roads and make rescue work difficult, government and aid officials said on Friday. [More]

By Shinichi Saoshiro and Yoko Kubota TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will strive to avoid a complete shutdown of its 54 nuclear reactors and avert crippling power shortages in the near term while charting plans to reduce the nation's dependence on nuclear power, the government said on Friday.

By Sylvia Westall and Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic agency chief said on Friday he had broad support for his plan to strengthen international safety checks on nuclear power plants to help avoid any repeat of Japan's Fukushima crisis

BEIJING (Reuters) - Torrential rain in two drought-stricken central China provinces triggered landslides and brought down houses, killing at least 44 people and leaving 33 missing, state media said on Friday. The number of people evacuated from the city of Xianning in Hubei province rose to 100,000 by Friday evening, with thousands still stranded, official news agency Xinhua said. [More]

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO (Reuters) - A planned building in Norway will be at the most northern location so far to generate more energy than it uses, demonstrating that "green" buildings can work anywhere, its backers said on Friday. A group including Norwegian aluminum maker Norsk Hydro and Swedish construction group Skanska said it would construct the six-to-seven-story building in Trondheim, with offices and shops covering up to 9,000 sq meters (96,880 sq ft). [More]

By Pascal Fletcher MIAMI (Reuters) - Wildlife experts and volunteers in the Florida Keys have rescued seven of a group of pilot whales stranded in shallow waters and are using boats and a helicopter to locate more of the animals, officials said on Friday. [More]