Over half a dozen earthquakes struck off the coast of the Philippines on Friday triggering a tsunami alert.
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake just 21.6 miles underneath the ocean floor triggered the tsunami 60 miles east of Sulangan at 8:47pm local time. The major quake was followed by a series of seven lesser quakes (5.5, 5.4, 5.1, 4.8, 5.4, 4.9, 5.0) in a two hour span. Continue reading
A Qatar based energy company has been taken offline because of a virus attack similar to the one that crippled Saudi Arabia’s biggest energy company.
RasGas had their websites and email systems taken offline by the attack although they claimed that none of their production was taken offline. Continue reading
The number of unemployed in the 17-nation Eurozone reached a record 18 million in July according to statistics released by the EU statistics agency.
Eurostat said that the 18,002,000 jobless total is the highest since record keeping began in 1995. The percentage of 11.3% remained unchanged only because the data for June was revised to a higher number. Continue reading
Tensions between the Israeli and United States governments reached fever pitch over the issue of Iran’s nuclear program in a recent high-level meeting between the prime minister and the American ambassador, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday. Continue reading
The U.S. Geological Survey says a 7.9 magnitude undersea quake has hit the waters off the shore of the eastern Philippines.
There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but a tsunami alert is in effect in several coastal areas in the region late Friday. Continue reading
Unlike Hurricane Katrina which rushed through New Orleans and Louisiana, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac have stalled sending over two feet of rain that has flooded the areas around New Orleans.
The upgraded levee system put in place after Hurricane Katrina spared the city itself of flooding but surrounding towns are under several feet of water. Continue reading
Over two feet of rain has fallen over New Orleans and Louisiana as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac move very slowly to the north. The continual heavy rain is causing massive flooding issues including threatening to cause a dam to fail.
An immediate evacuation of Kentwood, Louisiana was issued just before 2pm on Thursday due to the possible failure of the Lake Tangipahoa Dam. The dam is located just across the Mississippi/Louisiana border in McComb, Mississippi. Mayor Whitney Rawlings said it was a 50/50 chance the dam would fail. Continue reading
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that cases of West Nile virus rose 40 percent last week and are on pace to hit the record levels of 2002 and 2003.
The CDC says 1,590 cases have now been confirmed with 66 deaths. Half the cases have been in Texas. Continue reading
Five security forces including senior officers were killed today in another series of terrorist attacks in Iraq.
Police Brigadier General Nadhim Tayeh was killed when gunmen opened fire on his car in central Baghdad. An army colonel died during a bombing later in the day. Continue reading
Syrian President Bashir al-Assad made a public address on state run television where he rejected calls for a United Nations buffer zone to provide humanitarian aid to civilians impacted by the country’s civil war.
“Talk of buffer zones firstly is not on the table,” he said. “Secondly it is an unrealistic idea by hostile countries and the enemies of Syria.” Continue reading