More than 1,500 firefighters are battling scores of forest fires raging on Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra island as a haze envelops neighboring Malaysia and Thailand, forestry officials said Wednesday.
Satellite images showed some 567 "hot spots" from fires and underground heat centres in Riau province on Sumatra as well as Kalimantan in Borneo, a spokesman from Indonesia's forestry ministry Masyud told AFP.
Earth Changes
A powerful summer storm slammed into the St. Louis area Wednesday evening, toppling buildings, street lights, tractor trailers and hundreds of trees.
At least 476,000 customers lost power, Metrolink was shut down and just one-third of flights were getting in and out of Lambert Field.
"This is one of the worst storms we can all remember to hit the city of St. Louis in recent years," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said at a hurriedly called news conference.
At least 476,000 customers lost power, Metrolink was shut down and just one-third of flights were getting in and out of Lambert Field.
"This is one of the worst storms we can all remember to hit the city of St. Louis in recent years," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said at a hurriedly called news conference.
The Earth is on the brink of "major biodiversity crisis" fuelled by the steady destruction of ecosystems, a group of the world's most distinguished scientists and policy experts warn today.
Nineteen leading specialists in the field of biodiversity, including Robert Watson, chief scientist at the World Bank, and Professor Georgina Mace, director of the Institute of Zoology, are calling for the urgent creation of a global body of scientists to offer advice and urge governments to halt what they call a potentially "catastrophic loss of species".
Nineteen leading specialists in the field of biodiversity, including Robert Watson, chief scientist at the World Bank, and Professor Georgina Mace, director of the Institute of Zoology, are calling for the urgent creation of a global body of scientists to offer advice and urge governments to halt what they call a potentially "catastrophic loss of species".
A strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale rocked Indonesia's capital city Jakarta and surroundings at 17:55 local time Wednesday.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A strong earthquake caused tall buildings to sway in the Indonesian capital Wednesday, sending panicked residents fleeing to the streets just days after a deadly tsunami struck main island of Java.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The 6.0-magnitude quake was centered 25 miles beneath the Sunda strait, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site, and struck 90 miles southwest of Jakarta.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The 6.0-magnitude quake was centered 25 miles beneath the Sunda strait, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site, and struck 90 miles southwest of Jakarta.
TOKYO - Heavy rain in Japan triggered floods and mudslides that swallowed houses and destroyed roads, with at least 12 people killed and 11 missing since the start of the rainy season.
The rain has also been devastating in the neighboring Korean peninsula. At least 150 people there are believed dead or missing, mostly in the impoverished communist North, according to officials and aid workers Wednesday.
From western to central Japan, residents evacuated houses for shelters as muddy water swamped city streets and mudslides tore up highways.
The weather temporarily caused Shinkansen bullet trains to stop as the weather agency warned of more to come.
The rain has also been devastating in the neighboring Korean peninsula. At least 150 people there are believed dead or missing, mostly in the impoverished communist North, according to officials and aid workers Wednesday.
From western to central Japan, residents evacuated houses for shelters as muddy water swamped city streets and mudslides tore up highways.
The weather temporarily caused Shinkansen bullet trains to stop as the weather agency warned of more to come.
A moderate earthquake jolted an area along Pakistan's border with neighboring Iran on Wednesday, but there were no reports of injuries or any damage.
The magnitude 5.1 quake that hit at 4:27 am (0457 IST) was centered somewhere on the Pakistan-Iran border, about 1,200 kilometers west of the northwestern city of Peshawar, said Nasir Mahmood, assistant meteorologist at the state-run Seismological Centre in Peshawar.
The magnitude 5.1 quake that hit at 4:27 am (0457 IST) was centered somewhere on the Pakistan-Iran border, about 1,200 kilometers west of the northwestern city of Peshawar, said Nasir Mahmood, assistant meteorologist at the state-run Seismological Centre in Peshawar.
An earthquake measuring 5.6 degrees on the Richter scale jolted a county in northwest China's Qinghai Province at 5:53 p.m. (Beijing Time) Wednesday, according to China Seismological Bureau.
PARIS - Much of western Europe is sweltering under tropical temperatures, as a heatwave claimed its seventh victim since the start of the week.
Authorities in the eastern French town of Macon said a 53 year-old labourer died overnight of "malign hyperthermia" after working outside in temperatures of 33 degrees Centigrade (91.4 Fahrenheit).
Two elderly people died Tuesday in southwestern France as a result of the heat, and in the Netherlands two people died on the opening day of an annual walking event at Nijmegen.
In Spain a man who died of heat exhaustion in the northwest region of Galicia was the second to succumb after a man died in Murcia in the southeast on Sunday.
Authorities in the eastern French town of Macon said a 53 year-old labourer died overnight of "malign hyperthermia" after working outside in temperatures of 33 degrees Centigrade (91.4 Fahrenheit).
Two elderly people died Tuesday in southwestern France as a result of the heat, and in the Netherlands two people died on the opening day of an annual walking event at Nijmegen.
In Spain a man who died of heat exhaustion in the northwest region of Galicia was the second to succumb after a man died in Murcia in the southeast on Sunday.
Providence, Rhode Island - Fire engulfed a dock area at the Port of Providence on Tuesday night when lightning struck as a tanker was unloading gasoline, sending large plumes of smoke and fireballs into the air.
Officials said the ship was able to safely pull away from the dock.
Officials said the ship was able to safely pull away from the dock.
