Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena that can occur in the atmosphere of a planet. The term is normally taken to mean the activity of these phenomena over short periods of time, usually no more than a few days in length. Average atmospheric conditions over significantly longer periods are known as climate. Usage of the two terms often overlaps and the concepts are obviously very closely related.

Basic mechanism

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Weather phenomena result from temperature differences around the globe, which arise mainly because areas closer to the tropics, around the equator, receive more energy from the Sun than more northern and southern regions, nearer to the Earth's poles.

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BBC News | Europe | World Edition

Heavy fighting in South Ossetia
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:02:54 -0000
Georgian forces and South Ossetian separatists resume exchanging heavy fire just hours after agreeing a truce.
Top Italian car designer killed
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:53:56 -0000
Andrea Pininfarina, head of a world-famous Italian car design group, is killed in a road accident in Turin.
Italy arrest over German Mafia killing
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:58:32 -0000
Police in Italy arrest a senior member of a family allegedly linked to Mafia killings in the German city of Duisburg last year.

NYT > Europe

Separatist Fighting Worsens in Georgia
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:11:20 -0000
Fighting in the border region between the former Soviet republic of Georgia and a breakaway enclave has reached its highest level in years.
Sarkozy Says He Won’t Meet Dalai Lama In France
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:06:49 -0000
Carla Sarkozy will meet with the exiled Tibetan leader in southern France on Aug. 22. The French president would meet the Dalai Lama before the end of the year.
Blast Kills 2 in Russia Near Location of 2014 Games
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:57:54 -0000
An explosion killed at least two people on Thursday on a beach close to the resort town of Sochi, where Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics, local police said.

L.A. Times - Europe

U.S., Russia send mixed message on Iran
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The United States and Britain said major powers agreed Wednesday to consider more U.N. sanctions against Iran after Tehran failed to freeze its nuclear activities, but Russia said there was no firm deal.
World Briefing
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Venezuela: Hundreds protest Chavez decrees / Middle East: Israel to free 150 Palestinians / Russia: Solzhenitsyn is buried / Afghanistan: Marine dies in blast / Malaysia: Ibrahim charged with sodomy VENEZUELA Hundreds protest new decrees
Norway beats U.S. women's soccer team in Olympic opener, 2-0
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
American squad never seems to get in the flow while Norwegians live up to their billing. QINHUANGDAO, China -- Norway jumped on the United States from the opening whistle, getting two goals in the first four minutes Wednesday to beat the American women's soccer team, 2-0, at the Beijing Olympics.

UN News Centre - Europe

Georgia: Ban voices alarm at growing violence in South Ossetia
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed serious concern about the mounting violence in South Ossetia, Georgia, where nearly two dozen people have reportedly been wounded or killed in recent clashes.
Belgium joins treaty on international sale of goods - UN commission
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Belgium has become the 28th country to accede to a treaty covering the transnational sale of goods, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) announced today.
Montenegro: UN agency helps refugees escape statelessness
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations refugee agency is helping thousands of refugees who fled to Montenegro from Kosovo to get legal representation.

Europe - International Herald Tribune

German townsfolk wonder: Is it possible to be too green?
By NICHOLAS KULISH Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
The Marburg town council's decision to require solar-heating panels has triggered a vehement debate over the boundaries of ecological good citizenship.
10 killed in South Ossetia clashes
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
Both sides agreed to a cease-fire and to meet for talks but the cease-fire was broken within hours Thursday
2 killed in Russian resort blast
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
At least two people were killed in an explosion near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, close to the disputed Georgian border region of Abkhazia.
Britain's housing bust is bringing down the economy, too
By JULIA WERDIGIER Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
A looming recession in Britain could be worse than in the United States because the Bank of England is constrained by rising inflation from fighting it.
Facebook and StudiVZ battle over Germany
By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
Facebook, the American giant in social networking, tried to buy StudiVZ in an effort to crack the German market. After it was rebuffed, it sued, claiming StudiVZ had stolen its look.
Andrea Pininfarina, 51, head of Italian car design company
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:22:33 -0000
He was chairman and chief executive of the Pininfarina company, which designs Ferraris and Fiats. It was founded in 1930 by his grandfather.

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