Kabul -- A strong earthquake of magnitude 5.6 struck northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website the quake's epicentre was at a depth of 208 km (130 miles).
The quake occurred at about 6 am local time and was also felt in the capital, Kabul, some 260 km (160 miles) from the epicentre lying to the south of the city of Faizabad of northeastern Badakhshan province.
Earth Changes
Two earthquakes shook northern California early on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter of the first quake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, was located 19 miles west of Petrolia, California. And the second quake, measuring 4.1, hit 11 miles west southwest of Fort Ross, California, according to the U.S.G.S. National Earthquake Center.
The epicenter of the first quake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, was located 19 miles west of Petrolia, California. And the second quake, measuring 4.1, hit 11 miles west southwest of Fort Ross, California, according to the U.S.G.S. National Earthquake Center.
About 100 people are dead or missing in Yemen after severe flooding caused by torrential rain affected large areas of the country in the past few days, a government official said on Sunday.
Television pictures showed survivors signalling to rescue helicopters in the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra which suffered 30 hours of heavy rain.
"About 7,000 people have been made homeless and there are about 100 dead or missing. We are still trying to gather more exact figures but communications with some of the affected areas have been cut off," the Yemeni official told Reuters.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Sunday for parliament to approve 20 billion rials ($100 million) in emergency funding for rescue operations and to help rebuild areas affected by the most serious flooding in decades.
Television pictures showed survivors signalling to rescue helicopters in the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra which suffered 30 hours of heavy rain.
"About 7,000 people have been made homeless and there are about 100 dead or missing. We are still trying to gather more exact figures but communications with some of the affected areas have been cut off," the Yemeni official told Reuters.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Sunday for parliament to approve 20 billion rials ($100 million) in emergency funding for rescue operations and to help rebuild areas affected by the most serious flooding in decades.
© Les Martin
A huge spider devours a bird in Atherton, near Cairns.
A huge spider devours a bird in Atherton, near Cairns.
Amateur photographer and bird enthusiast Les Martin took the photos in his back yard last week and while he was amazed at the sight, he never imagined his pictures would be such a hit.
"I didn't realise there'd be so much excitement," he said yesterday.
© Bela Szandelszky
The rhino baby and his mother in the Budapest Zoo
The rhino baby and his mother in the Budapest Zoo
© Associated Press/San Jose Police Department
In this picture released by the police department of San Jose, some of the 52 cows that were killed by lightning lie along a fence on a ranch in Valdez Chico village near San Jose, Uruguay, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008. The cows were killed when lightning hit the wire fence during a fierce storm, according to police.
In this picture released by the police department of San Jose, some of the 52 cows that were killed by lightning lie along a fence on a ranch in Valdez Chico village near San Jose, Uruguay, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008. The cows were killed when lightning hit the wire fence during a fierce storm, according to police.
A photograph released by the San Jose Police Department shows the black and brown cows lying dead in a long row.
© Trent Field
Storm clouds just off the Gold Coast.
Storm clouds just off the Gold Coast.
The Bureau of Meteorology said wind gusts of 102 kilometres an hour were recorded at Amberley, west of Brisbane, at 4.50pm, while Brisbane Airport recorded up to 53 kilometres an hour, and the city 33 kilometres an hour.
Hailstones the size of golf balls were reported at North Ipswich and west of the city at Boonah and smaller hail stones also fell over Enoggera and Newmarket in Brisbane's north.
A lightning strike on a transmission tower left swathes of Johannesburg without power this afternoon, City Power said.
"It is very widespread," said spokesman Louis Pieterse of the outage which stretches from at least Rosebank in the north east to Mondeor in the south.
Court cases at the Johannesburg High Court, including judgment in the "Jeppestown massacre" case, were among the daily affairs put on hold as technicians tried to repair the damage and restore power.
"It is very widespread," said spokesman Louis Pieterse of the outage which stretches from at least Rosebank in the north east to Mondeor in the south.
Court cases at the Johannesburg High Court, including judgment in the "Jeppestown massacre" case, were among the daily affairs put on hold as technicians tried to repair the damage and restore power.
Seattle - Seven Puget Sound killer whales are missing and presumed dead in what could be the biggest decline among the sound's orcas in nearly a decade, say scientists who carefully track the endangered animals.
"This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, said Friday. "The population drop is worse than the stock market."
While the official census won't be completed until December, the total number of live "southern resident" orcas now stands at 83.
"This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, said Friday. "The population drop is worse than the stock market."
While the official census won't be completed until December, the total number of live "southern resident" orcas now stands at 83.
© AFP
The interior ministry, updating an earlier toll, said at least 58 people died in flooding fed by torrential downpours that hit Hadramaut and Mahara provinces on Thursday and Friday.
At least five others were reported missing in Mahara.
Four people were also killed by lightning in the southern provinces of Tayez and Lahj, and a mother and son also died when struck by lightning in the Al-Mahwit region north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
