Articles by Brian K. Sullivan, Jessica Nix and David Stringer

Infernos Rage From Texas to Australia as Wildfire Season Kicks Off Early

After a year of deadly wildfires around the globe, the world is burning again from Texas to Australia — and in some regions, the blazes are igniting early. Canada’s Alberta province said last month that wildfire season had already begun, …

Battery Fires Make Headlines as Electric Vehicle Sales Take Off

First, Hyundai Motor Co. made headlines about its electric cars catching fire. Five days later, it was General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. The next day, it was BMW AG. Vehicles going up in flames aren’t new to the …

Climate Change Heightens Risk of Fierce Australia Wildfires: Study

Climate change is adding to the risk of fierce wildfires in Australia, according to a scientific study of this season’s blazes that razed an area the size of England and killed dozens of people and more than a billion animals. …

GFG Alliance Eyes Australia Insurance, Banking for Expansion

Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance is planning an expansion of its financial services business outside of Europe, targeting opportunities to provide lending and insurance to mid-sized businesses. “All industries go through this turnaround where new blood is required, and certainly …

Autonomous Cargo Ships Expected to Revolutionize (Disrupt) Shipping

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, is studying the introduction of giant, automated cargo ships to carry everything from iron ore to coal as part of a strategic shift that may disrupt the $334 billion global shipping industry. …

Worst Cyclone in 6 Years Set to Pummel Coast of Queensland, Australia

The worst cyclone in six years is set to smash into the coast of Queensland on Tuesday morning, forcing thousands of Australians to evacuate or seek emergency shelter and prompting some of the world’s biggest miners to halt coal operations. …

How Robots, Drones Are Transforming Mining and Mine Safety

Mines without miners? Not quite. Still, a technology boom in robots, drones, driverless trucks and pilotless trains is beginning to reshape one of the world’s most labor-intensive industries, portending automation of logistics, supply chains and mapping and allowing development of …

Britain Burns: Riots Spread through UK Cities

A wave of violence and looting raged across London and spread to three other major British cities on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain the country’s worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980’s. In London, …

Scientist Accuses Hackers of Climate e-mails of Attack on Conference

A leading climate change scientist, whose private e-mails are included in thousands of documents that were stolen by hackers and posted online, says the leaks may have been aimed at undermining next month’s global climate summit in Denmark. Kevin Trenberth, …

G-20 Leaders Blacklist 4 Tax Havens

Four nations were blacklisted as uncooperative tax havens Thursday after G-20 leaders declared the age of banking secrecy was over and said they would no longer tolerate shady havens draining away badly needed tax revenue. At the request of the …