The death toll of seals washed ashore on the oil-rich Caspian in Kazakhstan since March 31 has risen to 724, the Central Asian state's emergencies ministry said Saturday.
"The overall number of dead seals as of Friday night reached 724, including 528 baby seals," the ministry said. "The coast is continuing to be monitored."
The dead seals have been found along the seashore between two major oil fields in western Kazakhstan. But officials in Kazakhstan cite weather conditions as a possible reason.
"Until February 20, most of the northeastern Caspian did not freeze, and on February 21-22 the northern Caspian had a covering of thin ice that melted by March 20. It could have had a negative effect on the baby seals," the Ministry of Environmental Protection said earlier.
Earth Changes
A minor earthquake measuring five on the Richter scale struck Kent County in southeast Britain Saturday morning, causing damage but no injuries, British television said.
Sky News quoted witnesses as saying that houses had been damaged and chimneys torn from roofs. The earthquake alarmed many local residents because tremors are rare in Britain. Many thought the jolt was an explosion wave.
"We were virtually thrown out of bed at 8:15 a.m., we thought something had exploded in our house," Andrei Ostalsky, head of the Russian BBC Service, said over the phone from Folkestone, Kent, adding that the town had no electricity, the trains had stopped, and telephones were not working.
Sky News quoted witnesses as saying that houses had been damaged and chimneys torn from roofs. The earthquake alarmed many local residents because tremors are rare in Britain. Many thought the jolt was an explosion wave.
"We were virtually thrown out of bed at 8:15 a.m., we thought something had exploded in our house," Andrei Ostalsky, head of the Russian BBC Service, said over the phone from Folkestone, Kent, adding that the town had no electricity, the trains had stopped, and telephones were not working.
The message that God wants believers to be green is emerging from a Vatican conference on climate change in the latest sign of growing concern by religious groups around the world over the fate of the planet.
A mysterious affliction is killing fish once again in the Shenandoah River region.
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| An aerial view from March, 2007 shows mud that oozed and covered some 600 hectares (1,482 acres) in the area of Porong, a district of Sidoarjo in East Java. |
Jakarta - Workers were racing Thursday to repair a massive wall holding back sludge spewing from Indonesia's "mud volcano" that has already flooded hundreds of homes, an official said. Cracks started to appear in the man-made embankment around the disaster area in east Java on Wednesday, prompting authorities to declare the area off limits.
The UK Met Office has released figures showing that this month is set to be the warmest April since records began in England more than 300 years ago.
The data has been compiled from observations that go into the Central England Temperature record.
This series, which dates back to 1659, is the world's longest running temperature series.
The data has been compiled from observations that go into the Central England Temperature record.
This series, which dates back to 1659, is the world's longest running temperature series.
JAKARTA, Indonesia A powerful earthquake has struck the province in Indonesia that was hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami.
A UCSF researcher who found the SARS virus in 2003 and later won a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" for his work thinks he has discovered a culprit in the alarming deaths of honeybees across the United States.
A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe, Asia and even on O'ahu may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is now wiping out bees across the U.S., University of California, San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.
Taiwan's bee farmers are feeling the sting of lost business and possible crop danger after millions of the honey-making, plant-pollinating insects vanished during volatile weather, media and experts said on Thursday.
Over the past two months, farmers in three parts of Taiwan have reported most of their bees gone, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported. Taiwan's TVBS television station said about 10 million bees had vanished in Taiwan.
A beekeeper on Taiwan's northeastern coast reported 6 million insects missing "for no reason", and one in the south said 80 of his 200 bee boxes had been emptied, the paper said.
Beekeepers usually let their bees out of boxes to pollinate plants and the insects normally make their way back to their owners. However, many of the bees have not returned over the past couple of months.
Over the past two months, farmers in three parts of Taiwan have reported most of their bees gone, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported. Taiwan's TVBS television station said about 10 million bees had vanished in Taiwan.
A beekeeper on Taiwan's northeastern coast reported 6 million insects missing "for no reason", and one in the south said 80 of his 200 bee boxes had been emptied, the paper said.
Beekeepers usually let their bees out of boxes to pollinate plants and the insects normally make their way back to their owners. However, many of the bees have not returned over the past couple of months.
