VENICE, La./LONDON (Reuters) - Shares of BP Plc gained Monday after it announced progress in containing its Gulf of Mexico oil leak but the energy giant still faced tough questions from investors and U.S. lawmakers as the spill threatened more of the U.S. Gulf coast.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan aims to transform several of its outlying islands into models of green energy production as part of a 10-year effort to cut its overall greenhouse gas emissions, the government said on Monday.

KUALA LUMPUR/BEIJING (Reuters) - ExxonMobil warned against quick reactive changes to deepwater drilling laws that damage long-term investment decisions and urged governments to take time to assess the reasons for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain have killed 53 people in China's southwestern Guangxi region since late May, including three children swept away as they walked home from school, state media reported on Monday.

VENICE, La./PENSACOLA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - BP's containment cap is capturing an increasing amount of oil spewing from a ruptured Gulf of Mexico well, but the U.S. admiral leading the government relief effort said on Sunday the coast will be under siege from the massive spill for many more months.

VENICE, La/PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla (Reuters) - The latest effort to siphon oil and gas gushing from a ruptured deep-sea wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico is working well so far, U.S. officials said on Saturday, as President Barack Obama defended his handling of the environmental crisis.

MIAMI (Reuters) - BP Plc has increased the amount of oil it is collecting through a containment cap fitted over its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well, and is working to improve on that rate, the U.S. national oil spill response commander said on Saturday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo screenings of "The Cove," an Oscar-winning documentary about a grisly annual dolphin hunt have been canceled over planned protests by conservatives who say the film is anti-Japanese, the distributor said on Saturday.

TOKYO (Hollywood Reporter) - The first cinema due to show "The Cove" in Japan has bowed to pressure from right-wing protest groups and pulled the documentary from theaters.

TOKYO (Hollywood Reporter) - The first cinema due to show "The Cove" in Japan has bowed to pressure from right-wing protest groups and pulled the documentary from theaters.

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - BP began capturing oil spewing from its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Friday and President Barack Obama warned the company against "nickel and diming" residents and businesses hurt by the 46-day spill.

MUSCAT (Reuters) - Cyclone Phet, despite weakening to a Category 1 storm, pummeled Oman's coastline on Friday, killing two and halting the small oil-producing country's oil and gas production, officials and state media said.

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - BP cleared the way on Thursday for an attempt to cap the runaway oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and funnel escaping crude to the surface in a high-stakes bid to slow the 45-day-old undersea gusher.

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The western Canadian province of Alberta moved to give greater protection to its small and declining population of grizzly bears on Thursday, designated the animals as a threatened species.

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama (Reuters) - At the Pelican Pub in Alabama's oil-fouled Dauphin Island, the normally jolly mood has turned as dark as the tar balls on the beaches as residents fear their idyllic way of life may never be the same.

MUSCAT (Reuters) - Tropical Cyclone Phet hit the coast of the Gulf state of Oman on Thursday, but weakened from an ominous Category 4 storm down to a Category 2, leaving oil and liquefied natural gas production unharmed.

OSLO (Reuters) - Brazilian farmers are setting more fires in parts of the Amazon where deforestation has slowed, according to a study on Thursday that shows weaknesses in a U.N. plan for slowing climate change.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The official in charge of managing the U.S. response to the oil leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday downplayed the possibility of using a nuclear or other explosive device to try to seal off the well.

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Commission issued Britain with a final warning over air quality standards in London and British overseas territory Gibraltar Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it had finalized a rule that would protect millions of people from smokestack emissions of sulfur dioxide, which can lead to asthma and other lung problems.