AFP - State electricity company Electricite de France said early Friday conditions were not right for "a major development in Great Britain," apparently giving up an imminent bid for nuclear power operator British Energy.

AP - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama seized on a record oil company profit to argue that rival John McCain offers only tax breaks for Big Oil and "short-term gimmicks" to consumers struggling with soaring gasoline prices.

AFP - State electricity company Electricite de France said early Friday conditions were not right for "a major development in Great Britain" following reports the French group could make an official announcement of a bid to acquire nuclear power operator British Energy.

AFP - Surging oil prices helped US energy giant ExxonMobil to a 14 percent jump in quarterly net profit to 11.68 billion dollars in results Thursday short of most forecasts on Wall Street.

AFP - State electricity company Electricite de France could make an official announcement Friday of a bid to acquire nuclear power operator British Energy after the French group's directors backed the move.

AFP - California said Thursday it planned to sue the US government for failing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aircraft, construction and agricultural equipment.

AP - Less costly methods for producing oxygen from water have been developed by researchers in the U.S. and Australia, possibly setting the stage for more use of fuel cells to produce energy.

AFP - Libya is negotiating with Moscow to buy Russian weapons and for the construction of a nuclear power station, the countries' prime ministers said on Thursday.

AP - More factory closures and traffic restrictions could be in the works under an emergency plan to clean Beijing's noxious air for the Olympic Games, the government said Thursday.

Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.