Strong earthquake felt in southern Italy

ROME, Oct 26 (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale rocked southern Italy on Thursday, sending people running into the streets but causing no known casualties, officials said.

The National Geophysics Institute said the quake was centred deep in the Mediterranean Sea. It was felt in the southern regions of Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata as well as in Messina, Palermo and other cities on the island of Sicily.

The Civil Protection department in Rome said there were no reports of damage or injuries from the quake, which struck at 4:28 p.m (1428 GMT).

"The quake was strong and people ran into the streets," a Civil Protection spokesman said.

Officials added, however, that any damage would be limited because the epicentre of the quake was very deep -- more than 200 km (120 miles) -- below the sea.

"This was very strong but it was also very deep so I don't expect too many problems," said Enzo Boschi, president of the National Geophysics Institute.

The last major earthquake to hit southern Italy was in 1980 when some 3,000 people died. A quake near Messina, Sicily, in 1908 killed between 70,000 and 100,000 people.

Both registered about 7.2 on the Richter scale.

Floods declared a major incident

Police have declared the flooding in the Highlands as a major incident.
Northern Constabulary have warned of more extreme weather with heavy rain and winds reaching 80mph.

In Dingwall, Coastguard crews have assisted in evacuating residents from their homes and children and elderly people given shelter at the academy.

Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service have dealt with more than 160 calls since 0900 BST in the Ross and Cromarty areas.

Storms have also flooded houses and premises in Kirkwall in Orkney where most schools have been closed.

Flood water in Dingwall also lapped at the windows of cars in the police car park and water poured down the High Street.

There are fears high tides will worsen conditions for Dingwall, where water is already up to 4ft in some parts of the town.

Local councillor and Dingwall resident Margaret Paterson said: "This is just so distressing and there are so many people who don't know where to turn to.

"Their homes are flooding and some have moved upstairs. We have tried to get people out of their homes.

"Elderly and young children have been taken up to Dingwall Academy."

Golspie and Fortrose are also affected.

Highland and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Ambulance Service, Highland Council and roads agency Transerv are involved.

Firefighters in Easter Ross are trying to divert water away from homes after overnight floods.

More than a foot of water is reported to have affected the village of Evanton, with a minor landslide nearby and some flooding in Dingwall.

The Met Office has issued a heavy rain warning for the Highlands, Moray, Aberdeenshire and the Northern Isles.

Superintendent Andy Cowie, the officer co-ordinating with emergency services at Northern Constabulary's incident room, said small communities have been among the hardest hit.

He said: "The changing weather situation continues to give us some concern, however, all agencies are working closely together to try to ensure minimum disruption to people's lives."

"I would urge people to take heed of police warnings and not to travel through road closed signs for their own and the safety of emergency services personnel."

"It has been some of the heaviest continuous rain I can remember in 70 years."
Ken Humphreys
Ross-shire farmer

Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, on the rubbles of a mosque which was destroyed by last year's earthquake, in Balakot, 180km (112 miles) from Islamabad October 25, 2006.
Reuters/STR/PAKISTAN

Third time lucky for Mexico resort as storm misses

LOS CABOS, Mexico, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos escaped serious damage from a cyclone for the third time in two months on Wednesday when Tropical Storm Paul skirted it and blew toward the mainland.

Rescuers working in the rain evacuated more than 1,500 people on Tuesday night from shantytowns near the Baja California resort. High waves killed a Mexican fisherman and swept away a U.S. tourist, who is presumed dead.

The storm, at one point a moderate Category 2 hurricane, lost strength and changed direction, moving away from Los Cabos. The resort is made up of the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

American tourists sipped rum with their breakfast at one sunny hotel terrace. Bartender Antonio Lemus was awed at the area's good fortune of barely escaping a triplet of powerful storms this hurricane season.

"Three times we were on the verge, and at the last minute they dissipated or swerved," he said. "They're saying around here the hand of God touched Cabo San Lucas."

Last month, Hurricane Lane threatened Los Cabos before dodging the region and carrying fierce winds and rain into the western state of Sinaloa.

Two weeks earlier, Hurricane John, with winds of 115 mph (185 kph), barreled toward the tip of Baja California and sent hundreds of tourists fleeing to the airport before it lost strength and veered to the northeast, instead hitting state capital La Paz and killing at least three people.

LASHING RAIN

The edge of the latest storm lashed Los Cabos with rain and winds on Tuesday night. Die-hard vacationers waded through calf-deep rainwater clutching plastic beer cups to reach nightspots like the Cabo Wabo bar, which were buzzing despite the weather.

Police banged on flimsy doors in poor neighborhoods in danger of being flooded to evacuate the most vulnerable.

Women clutching toddlers and small bundles of basic possessions ran to buses that carried them to schools converted into makeshift shelters.

John Bryan Skoor, a 65-year-old from Washington state, was swept off a beach at Los Cabos by a wave and is presumed dead, a U.S. consulate official said.

A Mexican fisherman was also killed in the storm, state officials told Reuters.

By Wednesday morning, Paul had passed east of the Baja California peninsula and headed across the Sea of Cortez toward the coast, where it was expected to strike the farming state of Sinaloa. Paul's winds reached 45 mph (75 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Sinaloa on the western mainland, where three people were killed by Lane last month.

"This general motion is expected to continue during the next 24 hours taking the center of Paul into mainland Mexico within the warning area later today," the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Damage to tomatoes, one of Sinaloa's main farming products and a staple in Mexican cuisine, led to a shortage after Lane hit in September, causing a spike in the country's inflation.

World's coral reefs in danger

Sea temperatures are rising, weakening the reefs' resistance to increased pollutants, such as runoff from construction sites and toxins from boat paints. The fragile reefs are hosts to countless marine plants and animals.

"Think of it as a high school chemistry class," said Billy Causey, the Caribbean and Gulf Mexico director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"You mix some chemicals together and nothing happens. You crank up the Bunsen burner and all of a sudden things start bubbling around. That's what's happening. That global Bunsen burner is cranking up."

Report of troops with skull irks Germans

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed disgust Wednesday at photos that appeared to show German troops in Afghanistan posing with a human skull and pledged that any soldiers found to be involved would be punished severely.

The macabre pictures were published by Germany's biggest-selling daily, Bild, which said they showed German peacekeepers near the Afghan capital of Kabul in early 2003.

The uniformed men were seen holding up the skull and posing with it on a jeep; one is seen exposing himself with the skull. Bild's headline declared: "German soldiers desecrate a dead person."

The newspaper said it was unclear where the skull came from, but cited an unidentified serviceman as saying it may have come from a suspected "mass grave" outside Kabul.

Bild, which would not identify the source of the photos, said it was unclear whether the skull belonged to an Afghan or dated back to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

"We all saw pictures today that are shocking, that are repugnant and that can be excused by nothing," Merkel said during a speech in Berlin. "The government will investigate the soldiers who play a role and act with full severity."

Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung earlier told reporters that "we are conducting the investigation at full steam." If the incident is confirmed, he added, those involved will face "disciplinary or even criminal measures."

"Anyone who behaves this way has no place in the Bundeswehr," Jung said, referring to the German military.

Military chief of staff Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan said two suspects had been identified and were being questioned. One of them is still with the military and the other has left, he said.

Prosecutors in Potsdam, where the military has its command center for deployments abroad, opened an investigation after the pictures were published, spokesman Wilfried Lehmann said. Possible charges include disturbing the peace of the dead, he said.