Japan culls 42,000 chickens after second bird flu outbreak
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
Japan on Monday ordered the slaughter of some 42,000 chickens as officials announced the country's second bird flu outbreak in less than a month.
DNA tests confirmed the H5 strain of the virus at a farm in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki after its owner reported Sunday that several chickens had died suddenly, the local government said.
Officials began the slaughter on Monday and ...
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Lightning strike kills four on Brazil beach
Sao Paulo (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
A lightning strike during a sudden downpour killed four Brazilian beachgoers Monday, media reports said.
The victims - a pregnant woman and three men - had been relaxing at Praia Grande in southeastern Sao Paulo state when they were struck as they sought shelter at a beach kiosk, web news portal G1 reported.
G1 added that four other people had been taken to hospital.
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China officials dismissed over diseased meat scandal
Beijing (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
China has dismissed eight officials after pork from pigs infected with a "highly contagious virus" was found to have entered the market, state media said Monday.
The country's latest food scandal was revealed in an investigation by state broadcaster China Central Television which said the annual revenue of the tainted pork was more than 20 million yuan ($3.2 million).
The meat had come f ...
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Three dead, thousands flee as storm hits southern Philippines
Butuan, Philippines (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
Three people were killed, one is missing and thousands fled their homes as a tropical storm battered the southern Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain, officials said Monday.
The storm, locally named "Seniang" and with winds of up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, slammed into the main southern island of Mindanao before dawn, then crossed to the central islands, the government we ...
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Egypt reports 10th bird flu death this year
Cairo (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
Egyptian health authorities on Monday reported the country's 10th death this year from bird flu, as well as the first case of H5N1 infection in the capital.
The death occurred last week in the southern province of Aswan, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said.
In the capital, a 42-year-old man was diagnosed and quarantined on December 26, the 25th case of bird flu in the cou ...
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Indonesia fears missing jet 'at bottom of sea'
Jakarta (AFP) Dec 29, 2014 -
International search planes and ships scouring Indonesian waters for a missing AirAsia plane focused Monday on a patch of oil for possible clues, as a top official warned the aircraft was likely at the bottom of the sea.
Australia, Singapore and Malaysia joined the Indonesia-led search as anguished relatives waited for news of their loved ones more than a day after Flight QZ8501 disappeared ...
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What are the mechanisms of zooxanthella expulsion from coral?
Hiroshima, Japan (SPX) Dec 30, 2014 -
Coral bleaching, which often results in the mass mortality of corals and in the collapse of coral reef ecosystems, has become an important issue around the world, with the number of coral reefs decreasing annually. Associate Professor Kazuhiko Koike and Ms. Lisa Fujise of the Graduate School of Biosphere Science at Hiroshima University and their collaborators have proposed mechanisms that might ...
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