Natural Disasters

Hawaii braces for flooding as Tropical Storm Flossie approaches

- A tropical storm with the potential to trigger serious flooding and mudslides was bearing down on Hawaii on Monday and authorities there cautioned residents and tourists to stay inside and off the roads.

Germany's Schaeuble set to stay center stage in euro crisis

BERLIN - Two years ago, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was on the point of giving up his role as iron fist in the euro zone debt crisis, but the 70-year-old champion of closer European integration now seems likely to remain on Europe's center stage.

World, Euro Zone 28 Jul 2013

China quakes death toll rises to 89, hundreds injured

BEIJING - The death toll from two earthquakes in China's western Gansu province has climbed to 89, with more than 500 people severely injured, after 1,200 buildings collapsed and tens of thousands more were badly damaged, said the official Xinhua news agency. | Video

World, China, 22 Jul 2013

China quake death toll more than doubles to 54, hundreds hurt

BEIJING - The death toll from a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in China's western Gansu province on Monday more than doubled to 54 people, the municipal government said, with hundreds injured as many homes in affected areas collapsed. | Video

World, China, 22 Jul 2013

Businesses in NZ's capital grind to halt after quake, limited damage

WELLINGTON - Wellington's central business district ground to a halt on Monday as bank trading desks were closed and offices were shuttered for safety inspections after a strong earthquake rattled New Zealand's capital city the previous day.

World, 21 Jul 2013

Study raises new concern about earthquakes and fracking fluids

NEW YORK - Powerful earthquakes thousands of miles away can trigger swarms of minor quakes near wastewater-injection wells like those used in oil and gas recovery, scientists reported on Thursday, sometimes followed months later by quakes big enough to destroy buildings.

Science, Environment, 12 Jul 2013

China, Taiwan brace for typhoon as flood toll exceeds 200

BEIJING/TAIPEI - China and Taiwan braced on Friday for the impact of Typhoon Soulik as the toll of dead and missing from torrential rain across a broad swath of China climbed beyond 200.

World, Environment, China, 12 Jul 2013

Study raises new concern about earthquakes and fracking fluids

NEW YORK - Powerful earthquakes thousands of miles (km) away can trigger swarms of minor quakes near wastewater-injection wells like those used in oil and gas recovery, scientists reported on Thursday, sometimes followed months later by quakes big enough to destroy buildings.

Environment, Science 11 Jul 2013

Tropical Storm Chantal heads for Dominican Republic, Haiti

SANTO DOMINGO - Tropical Storm Chantal headed toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Tuesday, barreling across the Caribbean and threatening to ramp up to near hurricane strength.

Environment, 09 Jul 2013

New Jersey top court voids award for lost ocean view

- Less than a year after Hurricane Sandy devastated the New Jersey shore, the state's highest court made it easier for cities and towns to avoid paying costly compensation to homeowners whose water views have been blocked by the building of sand dunes.

U.S., Environment, 08 Jul 2013

Ethiopia and Eritrea: An elusive peace on the cards?

Ethiopia and Eritrea are still at each others’ throats. The two neighbours fought hammer and tongs in sun-baked trenches during a two-year war over a decade ago, before a peace deal ended their World War I-style conflict in 2000. Furious veRed Sea, UNrbal battles, however, have continued to this day.