Texas has seen growing interest from companies hoping to bury carbon dioxide in its oil fields, putting the state at the forefront of a government-subsidised climate change programme. 

From the moment Mpho Putsoenyane's daughter was born in Zamdele, a South African township near Sasol's chimneys and gas flares, the Hlomphostar coal-to-liquid fuels plant, the baby had difficulty breathing.

Rescuers rushed on Monday to search for survivors and restore communications in the French overseas territory of Mayotte, where hundreds or even thousands of people are feared dead as the…