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| October 13, 2013 |
 Killer Indian cyclone wreaks havoc, 1 million evacuated Gopalpur, India (AFP) Oct 13, 2013 - A massive relief operation kicked into gear in eastern India Sunday after a terrifying cyclone killed at least 18 people, forced one million from their homes and left a trail of destruction along the coast. Cyclone Phailin was dissipating rapidly after pounding the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh overnight, uprooting trees, overturning trucks, flattening homes and knocking out power line ... more |  |
Tropical Storm Octave forms off Mexico's Pacific coast Mexico City (AFP) Oct 13, 2013 - Tropical Storm Octave formed off Mexico's Pacific Coast south of the Baja California peninsula on Sunday, US and Mexican weather services said. Located about 565 kilometers (350 miles) south of the tip of the peninsula, the storm was traveling north-northwestward at 23 kilometers per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said. Octave had top winds of 80 kilometers per hour t ... more |  |
Water and lava, but - curiously - no explosion Buffalo NY (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - Rocky pillars dotting Iceland's Skaelingar valley were projectiles tossed into the fields by warring trolls. That, at least, is the tale that University at Buffalo geologist Tracy Gregg heard from a tour guide and local hiker when she visited the site on two occasions. But Gregg and a colleague have a new explanation for the presence of the lava formations - this one also unexpected. ... more |  |
First test of Venice's 5.4 billion euro flood barriers Venice (AFP) Oct 12, 2013 - Flood-prone Venice on Saturday carried out the first test of its 5.4 billion euro ($7.3 billion) barrier system known as "Moses", designed to protect the Renaissance city from rising sea levels. The ambitious engineering project involves installing 78 mobile barriers divided into four sections at the three inlets to the Venice lagoon, with the largest inlet divided in half by an artificial i ... more |  |
 Residents willing to pay for water improvements Urbana IL (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - Managing storm-water runoff in urban settings is critical to keep basements dry, streets clear and passable, and streams and rivers healthy, but how much are homeowners willing to pay for it? A University of Illinois survey of randomly selected households in Champaign-Urbana concluded that people are willing to pay to reduce flooding in their own basement, but they may also place a high va ... more |  |
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 Study suggests women, not men, created much of ancient cave art University Park, Pa. (UPI) Oct 11, 2013 - A study of hand prints on cave walls suggests much of Paleolithic cave art was created by women, a Penn State archaeologist says. Taking as his starting point previous research that found average finger lengths in people vary by gender, Dean Snow has been studying ancient hand prints in caves for nearly a decade, National Geographic reported. Looking at pictures of cave art at on ... more |  |
 Studying the socialside of carnivores East Lansing MI (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - The part of the brain that makes humans and primates social creatures may play a similar role in carnivores, according to a growing body of research by a Michigan State University neuroscientist. In studying spotted hyenas, lions and, most recently, the raccoon family, Sharleen Sakai has found a correlation between the size of the animals' frontal cortex and their social nature. In her lat ... more |  |
Climate change threatens Northern American turtle habitat Knoxville TN (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - Although a turtle's home may be on its back, some North American turtles face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens to reduce their suitable habitat. A new study that reconstructs the effects of past climatic changes on 59 species of North American turtles finds that the centers of the turtles' ranges shifted an average of 45 miles for each degree of warming or cooling. While ... more |  |
13 dead, millions without power as typhoon hits Philippines Manila (AFP) Oct 12, 2013 - Typhoon Nari pounded the northern Philippines early Saturday, killing 13 people, ripping roofs off thousands of buildings, and leaving more than two million without power. Nari tore into the country's northeast coast around midnight (1600 GMT Friday), toppling trees and pylons as it cut a westward swathe through the farming regions of the main island of Luzon, officials said. "While ther ... more |  |
 Rural land use policies curb wildfire risks - to a point Pullman WA (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - Using Montana's fast-growing Flathead County as a template, a Washington State University researcher has found that moderately restrictive land-use policies can significantly curb the potential damage of rural wildfires. However, highly restrictive planning laws will not do much more. "Effective land-use planning can reduce wildfire risk," says Travis Paveglio, a clinical assistant profess ... more |  |
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 WHO launches drive against mercury thermometers Geneva (AFP) Oct 11, 2013 - The World Health Organization and campaigners launched a drive Friday to try to wipe out mercury in medical thermometers, a day after nations signed a UN treaty to control the toxic liquid metal. "Mercury is one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern and is a substance which disperses into and remains in ecosystems for generations, causing severe ill health and intellectual ... more |  |
Primate brains follow predictable development pattern Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Oct 14, 2013 - In a breakthrough for understanding brain evolution, neuroscientists have shown that differences between primate brains - from the tiny marmoset to human - can be largely explained as consequences of the same genetic program. In research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Professor Marcello Rosa and his team at Monash University's School of Biomedical Sciences and colleagues at Univ ... more |  |
Fishermen, farmers secure livelihoods ahead of Indian cyclone Srikakulam, India (AFP) Oct 12, 2013 - As a crowd of Indian youths frolicked in the rising surf, fisherman Tonka Rao worked frantically to prevent Cyclone Phailin from destroying his livelihood. "This boat cost me 400,000 rupees ($6,500)," the 60-year-old said as he lashed his pride and joy to a tilting palm tree on a beach in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. "I don't want to lose it." While authorities mobilised Saturday ... more |  |
 Strike ends, temporarily, in India's Andhra Pradesh state Hyderabad, India (UPI) Oct 11, 2013 - Electricity workers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh called off their political strike ahead of a severe cyclone forecast to hit the coast Saturday night. However, union leaders for the striking 30,000 workers and 15,000 contract workers warned that their decision is based on a commitment to help the state withstand a cyclone due to land on the coast, New Delhi TV reported. ... more |  |
Indian MET wins forecasting battle as cyclone ravages east coast New Delhi (AFP) Oct 13, 2013 - India's weather office stood vindicated Sunday morning over its predictions for Cyclone Phailin which were consistently below those from foreign meteorologists who foresaw higher wind speeds and greater damage. "They have been issuing over-warnings, we have been contradicting them," L.S. Rathore, the director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a press conference in N ... more |  |
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 China criticises Spain lawsuit over former president Beijing (AFP) Oct 11, 2013 - China on Friday criticised a lawsuit in Spain against former Chinese president Hu Jintao over allegations of human rights abuses in Tibet. "Tibet is an inseparable part of China," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing, adding the region's affairs are a Chinese "domestic" matter. "We are firmly opposed to any country or any individuals' interference in Chin ... more |  |
 Greenpeace boss admits surprise at harsh Russian response The Hague (AFP) Oct 11, 2013 - Despite its expertise at risky protests, Greenpeace's head admitted he was "extremely surprised" by Russia's response in the Arctic and never imagined activists would face piracy charges and years in jail. "We were extremely surprised," International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said in an AFP interview from the group's global headquarters in Amsterdam. "Last year we did exactly the sa ... more |  |
Elephants may understand pointing Fife, Scotland (UPI) Oct 12, 2013 - A study by researchers at Scotland's University of St. Andrews found elephants understand pointing by humans without being trained. Dr. Richard W. Byrne and graduate student Anna Smet studied 11 elephants in Zimbabwe for two months, reaching the conclusion that elephants understand pointing, The New York Times reported Friday. The elephants were given a simple pointing test, Smet ... more |  |
Strong quake strikes near Crete, material damage reported Athens (AFP) Oct 12, 2013 - An earthquake with a magnitude of more than six degrees struck near the island of Crete in southern Greece on Saturday, with initial reports of damage to houses and shops . According to the US Geological Survey the quake had a 6.4 magnitude, while the Athens Observatory gave it a magnitude of 6.2. The epicentre was some 60 kilometres (37 miles) off the city of Hania in western Crete, the ... more |  |
U.S. block on military aid to Egypt likely to backfire Cairo (UPI) Oct 11, 2013 - The U.S. suspension of much of its annual $1.5 billion military aid to Egypt will antagonize other longtime U.S. allies in the Arab world and damage relations with the Egyptian military that have been a cornerstone of U.S. strategy in the Middle East for 35 years, analysts say. Indeed, the gesture by Washington isn't likely to effect any changes in Cairo, not yet anyway, and will probab ... more |  |
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