Rescuers airlift 154 to safety after deadly Nepal storm
Kathmandu (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
Workers using helicopters and battling waist-deep snow rescued over 150 people including foreign trekkers left stranded in Nepal's Himalayas Thursday, two days after a major snowstorm that triggered avalanches and killed more than 30 people.
Local officials said 23 bodies have been found on the popular Annapurna circuit trekking route, while five climbers who were staying at a mountain base ...
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Drought-hit US town learns to live without water
Los Angeles (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
In front of the local fire station, Pete Rodriguez stands next to his pick-up truck, filling about a dozen buckets from a vast tank.
He hurries, because another car is waiting behind him.
Rodriquez is one of hundreds of residents and business people in the small town of Porterville, in California's normally verdant Central Valley, who have no running water and are having to re-think how ...
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US calls for 'complete' probe into Hong Kong police brutality
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
The United States has called for a "swift, transparent and complete" investigation into the beating of a handcuffed Hong Kong democracy protester by plainclothes police, as fresh street clashes broke out early Thursday.
Television footage of officers assaulting the unarmed protester in a dark corner of a public park has sparked outrage and calls for prosecution from activists and lawmakers i ...
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Bermuda braces for 'dangerous hurricane' Gonzalo
Miami (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
Hurricane Gonzalo gained strength in the Atlantic Thursday as it barreled toward Bermuda, which was bracing for a hit from the powerful Category Four storm.
Gonzalo's winds were whirling at 145 miles (233 kilometers) per hour, with even stronger gusts, taking it back up a notch on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, the US National Hurricane Center said.
It was expected to pass Friday n ...
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Australia aims to end extinction of native wildlife by 2020
Sydney (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
Australia's Environment Minister Greg Hunt has pledged to end the extinction of native mammal species by 2020, with a focus on culprits such as feral cats.
Hunt said Australia had the worst rate of mammal loss in the world and the nation's "greatest failure" in environmental policy was protecting threatened species.
"Our flora and fauna are part of what makes us Australian," he said in a ...
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Search for missing on Japan volcano called off until next year
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
Japan on Thursday called off the search until next year for seven hikers still missing on a volcano that violently erupted last month, saying freezing conditions had made the operation impossible.
Troops, firefighters and police have been scouring Mount Ontake in central Japan for the missing climbers since the volcano erupted without warning on September 27, killing at least 56 people in Ja ...
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Natural disasters killed over 22,000 in 2013: Red Cross
Geneva (AFP) Oct 16, 2014 -
Natural disasters claimed over 22,000 lives last year, with Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines the deadliest of all, the Red Cross said Thursday.
In its annual report on disasters, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned that the outlook was bleak.
"Climate change is leading to damaged livelihoods and increased vulnerabilities. Natural hazards ar ...
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