AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Hurricane-force winds and rain lashed northern Europe on Thursday, disrupting air, rail and sea travel for thousands, toppling trees and construction cranes, and killing 11 people, including a 2-year-old boy crushed by a collapsed wall in London.
The wind whisked bicycles and trash cans off the streets of Amsterdam and tossed into its fabled canals. A ship was blasted loose from its moorings near Rotterdam into an oil pipeline.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's plane landed in gusts of up to 80 mph in London for a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair after she cut short a visit to Berlin to avoid the worsening weather.
Earth Changes
BERLIN (AFP) - The British Isles and Germany were battered by a severe storm front packing gale-force winds that left one man dead in northwest England, with forecasters predicting worse to come.
Winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour ripping through western and central Germany, moving eastwards.
Winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour ripping through western and central Germany, moving eastwards.
Australia's long drought is forcing snakes out of hiding and into urban areas this summer, with experts warning snakebites are more likely.
The drought has forced snakes to move to urban areas looking for moisture, prompting a caution to people to be careful around creeks, waterways and long grass.
The drought has forced snakes to move to urban areas looking for moisture, prompting a caution to people to be careful around creeks, waterways and long grass.
WASHINGTON, D.C. and LONDON, ENGLAND - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) is moving the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. It is now 5 minutes to midnight. Reflecting global failures to solve the problems posed by nuclear weapons and the climate crisis, the decision by the BAS Board of Directors was made in consultation with the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes 18 Nobel Laureates.
Santa Clarita, California -- Snow fell on the palm trees of West Los Angeles and Malibu Wednesday afternoon as Jack Frost visited the Southland again.
NBC4 forecaster Fritz Coleman said the mixture of precipitation in West Los Angeles at about 3 p.m. included a dusting of snow. Residents in West Los Angeles said the snow accumulated in parking lots, on cars and around palm trees near Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards and other areas.
NBC4 forecaster Fritz Coleman said the mixture of precipitation in West Los Angeles at about 3 p.m. included a dusting of snow. Residents in West Los Angeles said the snow accumulated in parking lots, on cars and around palm trees near Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards and other areas.
Comment: The photogallery provides some quite impressive contrasts and, at the very least, makes a stark visual statement about our changing climate.
Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched a fierce attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their "Chicken Little" attitudes to global warming.
His attack is in sharp contrast to the green image that the US car companies have been trying to promote at this year's Detroit Motor Show.
Mr Jolissaint was speaking at a private breakfast where the chief economists of the "Big Three" US car firms presented their forecasts for auto industry sales this year.
Most of the audience - which was mainly made up of parts suppliers - seemed to nod in agreement with Mr Jolissaint.
Neither Ford's chief economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, nor General Motors' chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem, who were on the panel with Mr Jolissaint, questioned his assertion.
His attack is in sharp contrast to the green image that the US car companies have been trying to promote at this year's Detroit Motor Show.
Mr Jolissaint was speaking at a private breakfast where the chief economists of the "Big Three" US car firms presented their forecasts for auto industry sales this year.
Most of the audience - which was mainly made up of parts suppliers - seemed to nod in agreement with Mr Jolissaint.
Neither Ford's chief economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, nor General Motors' chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem, who were on the panel with Mr Jolissaint, questioned his assertion.
Comment: A large car corporation that has a lot to gain from the continued sale of large cars claims that global warming does not exist. A less objective source would be hard to find. Read Laura's recent editorial "Fire and Ice - The Day After Tomorrow" for the real deal.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Winters in Russia are always tough, but rarely like this - so warm that bears aren't hibernating and so gray that humans are having trouble waking up.
Much of the European part of Russia has been gripped by an uncharacteristic warm spell this winter, with temperatures generally well above freezing and little if any snow.
Much of the European part of Russia has been gripped by an uncharacteristic warm spell this winter, with temperatures generally well above freezing and little if any snow.
Severe storms with winds up to 80mph are threatening to batter parts of England, Northern Ireland and Wales for several days.
Gusts could hit 80mph in some exposed hill and coastal areas of the country and 60-70mph elsewhere, while high rainfall will put some places at renewed risk of flooding.
The storms will be followed next week by plunging temperatures, snow and widespread frosts across the country.
Gusts could hit 80mph in some exposed hill and coastal areas of the country and 60-70mph elsewhere, while high rainfall will put some places at renewed risk of flooding.
The storms will be followed next week by plunging temperatures, snow and widespread frosts across the country.
Harsh winter weather has swept across much of the United States, leaving scores of people dead, hundreds of thousands without electricity and threatening to decimate California's citrus crops.
At least 50 people have died in storm-related accidents since Friday, the majority in car accidents on icy roads, major US news media reported Wednesday.
At least 50 people have died in storm-related accidents since Friday, the majority in car accidents on icy roads, major US news media reported Wednesday.
Comment: Still optimistic?