NEW DELHI, Feb. 19 The first reports of bird flu that cropped up in recent days in widely separated countries India, Egypt and France highlighted the disease's accelerating spread to new territories.
International health experts have been predicting widespread dissemination of the disease for about half a year, since they concluded that it could be spread by migrating birds. But the recent acceleration has perplexed many experts, who had watched the A(H5N1) virus stick to its native ground in Asia for nearly five years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the situation as "serious" as bird flu reached her country's mainland, while the deadly H5N1 strain continued to spread across the globe.
On the weekend, France, India and Iran became the latest countries to report finding avian flu in birds, raising the total to 22 worldwide. Seven of these have also reported human cases and deaths.
A town of 20,000 people has been without water for at least four days after untreated toxic wastewater was flushed into a river in southern China, a state newspaper said on Monday.
The official China Daily said a power plant on the Yuexi River in Sichuan province was responsible for the pollution, which caused officials in the town of Guanyin to shut water supplies last Wednesday.
Global warming may decimate the top 10 feet (3 meters) or more of perennially frozen soil across the Northern Hemisphere, altering ecosystems as well as damaging buildings and roads across Canada, Alaska, and Russia.
New simulations from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) show that over half of the area covered by this topmost layer of permafrost could thaw by 2050 and as much as 90 percent by 2100. Scientists expect the thawing to increase runoff to the Arctic Ocean and release vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A powerful earthquake jolted a 2,000-kilometre swath of Indonesia early Saturday, sending hundreds of panicked residents fleeing to higher ground, but fears of a tsunami did not materialize.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage from the magnitude-7.7 quake.
BRAINTREE, Mass., - A Massachusetts man enraged by last weekend's massive nor'easter snowfall is being held on charges he swung a baseball bat at a neighbor.
A moderate earthquake centred in the Indian mountain state of Sikkim on Tuesday sent people running from their homes in the neighbouring eastern state of West Bengal, officials and witnesses said.
Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano yesterday shot trails of steam and ash into the air, just days after scientists noted an increase in activity on the northwest side of the mountain.
Associated Press reports indicate that the volcanic ash was sent trailing over the U.S. Virgin Islands and parts of Puerto Rico.
Officials at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory continue to monitor the volcano and post constant reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A Russian astronomer has predicted that Earth will experience a "mini Ice Age" in the middle of this century, caused by low solar activity.
A volcano on an uninhabited island in Alaska erupted on Monday, sending a cloud of ash 22,000 feet into the air and triggering an elevation of the mountain's threat level.
Scientists detected the morning eruption at Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot (1,730-meter) peak, on satellite imagery, officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.
The observatory issued a Code Red warning, the highest level of alert, for the volcano, because the ash cloud was near a level where it could interfere with jet traffic, said Chris Waythomas, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist.
There were no reports of falling ash from the highly active volcano located in the rugged chain of Aleutian Islands. The nearest community is Nikolski, a tiny Aleut village of 31 people that is 45 miles to the east of the volcano.
Its last eruptive period was in 2001 when three explosions occurred, according to the observatory.
