Odd News

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Thar desert is expanding in the eastern and northeastern directions, scientists say and warn that desertification is a challenge that India is going to increasingly face.

Manila, May 19 (DPA) Twelve people were killed and more than 34,000 displaced after Typhoon Halong hit the Philippines, the Civil Defence Office said Monday.

Beijing, May 17 (Xinhua) The toll in Monday's China earthquake rose to 28,881 Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, the information office of the State Council said.

Bangkok, May 15 (DPA) Warnings of a second cyclone heading for Myanmar, which is reeling from the impact of Cyclone Nargis, have been cancelled, meteorologists said Thursday.

Lucknow, May 15 (IANS) At least 60 people were feared killed in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh after strong winds lashed the state and officials Thursday said the toll could go up further.

Geneva, May 15 (DPA) Heavy rain forecast for the disaster-struck Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar represented 'the worst scenario imaginable', said a spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Manila, May 14 (Xinhua) Two moderate earthquakes hit northern Philippines early Wednesday without causing any damage, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said.

Beijing, May 14 (Xinhua) An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale rocked the Taitung city in southeastern Taiwan at 2.27 a.m. Wednesday, the China earthquake networks centre said.

New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) It was not darkness at noon but at 10 a.m. as the skies over the Indian capital clouded over Wednesday and a light drizzle gave way to a massive storm with drivers slowing to snail's pace as the wind uprooted trees and dust swirled.

Kochi, May 14 (IANS) Global warming has added a new commodity to the Kerala farmers' basket - a virtual commodity called carbon credit - thanks to their use of biogas.

Agra, May 13 (IANS) Pained at the way the Ganges has turned into a trickle at some places due to damns built along the river, a former IIT professor has decided to go on a fast unto death to save 'Gangaji'.

Muscat, May 10 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and green activist Maneka Gandhi has been conferred the A.S.G. Jayakar Award for creating awareness about animal rights, deforestation, climate change and river pollution.

Washington, May 6 (IANS) Global warming is likely to imperil tropical species much more than fauna in the Arctic regions, even with a slight rise in temperature.

Dhaka, April 29 (IANS) A cyclonic storm called Nargis is brewing over the Bay of Bengal and may hit the India-Bangladesh coast in the next four to five days, the meteorological office here has warned.

Bhubaneswar, April 28 (IANS) Orissa Monday alerted its fishermen and advised them not to venture into the sea as a deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal had intensified into a cyclonic storm, officials said.

London, April 28 (IANS) Birds can detect and avoid predators by smell, an ability earlier thought to be associated with other animal species, according to latest research.

Ahmedabad, April 28 (IANS) Three people have died in a heat wave in Gujarat this weekend, officials said Monday. The deaths took place in Narmada, Bhavnagar and Rajkot districts.

Dhaka, April 27 (IANS) Bangladesh has formed a panel to save the river Buriganga, whose water has turned pitch black because of the dumping of millions of tonnes of human and industrial waste.

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) India has surplus water and one of the richest traditions of managing it, but still water crisis has reached a critical level in the country, says the author of a new book on the subject.

Ranchi, April 25 (IANS) Schools in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi have been issued a directive to hold classes in the morning due to the heat wave.