A devastating plague of caterpillars ravaging part of West Africa is not armyworms, as previously believed, but an unidentified species, experts say.
A UN emergency co-ordinator told the BBC the insects in Liberia and Guinea were very different from armyworms.
He said experts had noted the insect has distinct feeding patterns, life cycle, habits, movement and appearance.
Specialists are studying the pest to find a way of controlling the swarm, which has affected 400,000 residents.
Earth Changes
More than 30 Victorians have died in the record heatwave while 29 homes have been destroyed by bushfires that are still threatening. The deaths of more than 30 Victorians will be investigated as authorities count the toll from last week's record-breaking heatwave.
A shell-shocked Premier John Brumby toured bushfire-ravaged Gippsland yesterday and admitted the scorching heat had taken its toll on the state. "I know it has not been a perfect week," he said.
The State Coroner will today start investigating the deaths from the heatwave when the mercury soared past 43C for three days in a row in Melbourne. Police said at least 30 people died but the toll could be much higher.
A shell-shocked Premier John Brumby toured bushfire-ravaged Gippsland yesterday and admitted the scorching heat had taken its toll on the state. "I know it has not been a perfect week," he said.
The State Coroner will today start investigating the deaths from the heatwave when the mercury soared past 43C for three days in a row in Melbourne. Police said at least 30 people died but the toll could be much higher.
The heaviest snowfall in 20 years has closed thousands of schools and caused transport chaos up the eastern side of Britain, with London and the surrounding areas the hardest hit.
© Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty
A man crosses The Mall on his skis near Buckingham Palace on his way to work in London
A man crosses The Mall on his skis near Buckingham Palace on his way to work in London
When you think of earthquakes, west coast states like California usually come to mind. So should folks here in Mississippi be concerned?
The truth is that several Mississippi counties are at risk for a severe earthquake in the future. That's why governor Haley Barbour made January 26th through 30th, Mississippi's Earthquake Awareness Week.
There are only illustrations of perhaps the worst series of earthquakes to hit the New Madrid seismic zone back in 1811 and 1812. That zone consists of a series of faults that cross the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; stretching 40 miles wide and 200 miles long.
The truth is that several Mississippi counties are at risk for a severe earthquake in the future. That's why governor Haley Barbour made January 26th through 30th, Mississippi's Earthquake Awareness Week.
There are only illustrations of perhaps the worst series of earthquakes to hit the New Madrid seismic zone back in 1811 and 1812. That zone consists of a series of faults that cross the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; stretching 40 miles wide and 200 miles long.
Town covered in fine ash dust after eruption.
A geologist said it looks like Alaska's Mount Redoubt wants to erupt.
In fact, she said odds are higher that it will than it won't. Groans and steam continue to come from the mountain, prompting officials at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage to move five C-17 cargo planes to McChord Air Force Base in Washington.
For Japan's Mount Asama, it's a different story. That volcano did erupt early Monday morning, sending fine, powdery ash on to Tokyo, which is about 90 miles away.
A geologist said it looks like Alaska's Mount Redoubt wants to erupt.
In fact, she said odds are higher that it will than it won't. Groans and steam continue to come from the mountain, prompting officials at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage to move five C-17 cargo planes to McChord Air Force Base in Washington.
For Japan's Mount Asama, it's a different story. That volcano did erupt early Monday morning, sending fine, powdery ash on to Tokyo, which is about 90 miles away.
Three Indonesians died after huge waves washed them away on a beach on Java island, while nine people were killed in floods and landslides in other parts of Java and Sulawesi, officials said on Sunday.
The bodies of three high-school students had been found on Parangtritis beach south of the city of Yogyakarta, a rescue official said, while two people were still missing after they were swept away on Saturday while waiting to watch the sunrise.
The beach is a popular tourist area but known for its dangerous currents and big waves.
The bodies of three high-school students had been found on Parangtritis beach south of the city of Yogyakarta, a rescue official said, while two people were still missing after they were swept away on Saturday while waiting to watch the sunrise.
The beach is a popular tourist area but known for its dangerous currents and big waves.
Edmonton - Carol Quiring had to fish about three metres of eavestroughing out of her hot tub after winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour tore through parts of Alberta Friday night.
It was part of a storm system that was also being blamed for blasting out windows and flinging construction debris around in Winnipeg Saturday.
Ms. Quiring, who lives in a north Edmonton neighbourhood, looked out her back door Saturday morning and noticed that the cover on her hot tub had slid several centimetres.
When she looked more closely, she could see a three-metre long chunk of metal eavestroughing sticking out of the pool.
Thinking that the wind had blown her neighbours' eavestrough down, she knocked on a few doors looking for the owner.
It was part of a storm system that was also being blamed for blasting out windows and flinging construction debris around in Winnipeg Saturday.
Ms. Quiring, who lives in a north Edmonton neighbourhood, looked out her back door Saturday morning and noticed that the cover on her hot tub had slid several centimetres.
When she looked more closely, she could see a three-metre long chunk of metal eavestroughing sticking out of the pool.
Thinking that the wind had blown her neighbours' eavestrough down, she knocked on a few doors looking for the owner.
© Julian Bayliss/Kew
Scientific surveying Mount Mabu -- Mozambique - found a wealth of wildlife including Pygmy Chamelons.
Scientific surveying Mount Mabu -- Mozambique - found a wealth of wildlife including Pygmy Chamelons.
The team were browsing Google Earth - freely available software providing global satellite photography - to search for potential wildlife hotspots. A nearby road provided the first glimpses of a wooded mountain topped by bare rock. However, only by using Google Earth could the scientists observe the extent of woodland on the other side of the peak. This was later discovered to be the locally known, but unmapped, Mount Mabu. Scientific collections and literature also failed to shed light on the area.
A small earthquake struck the desert area of Kern County Saturday, it was reported.
A preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey said the 4.4-magnitude quake hit at 1:09 p.m. It was centered eight miles from the sparsely populated town of Randsburg.
A preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey said the 4.4-magnitude quake hit at 1:09 p.m. It was centered eight miles from the sparsely populated town of Randsburg.
Three vacationing in Costa Rica report they were near epicenter.
Joan Ackerman, 79, Mary Stuermer, 87, and Irene Stevens, 84, of Cedar Crest retirement home in Pompton Plains, had just sat down to eat in a ramshackle roadside restaurant just north of San Jose in Costa Rica when their vacations were abruptly interrupted by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that shook the country, killing at least 23 on Jan. 8.
The family-owned eatery was close to the epicenter of the earthquake, the Poas Volcano.
Joan Ackerman, 79, Mary Stuermer, 87, and Irene Stevens, 84, of Cedar Crest retirement home in Pompton Plains, had just sat down to eat in a ramshackle roadside restaurant just north of San Jose in Costa Rica when their vacations were abruptly interrupted by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that shook the country, killing at least 23 on Jan. 8.
The family-owned eatery was close to the epicenter of the earthquake, the Poas Volcano.
