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Strong quake jolts remote islands off New Zealan:
WELLINGTON: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the remote Kermadec islands north of New Zealand on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported. The epicentre of the quake, recorded at 1:36pm (2336 GMT Monday), was 131 kilometres (81 miles) from Raoul Island and at a depth of 35 kilometres. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the area, which is part of the "Ring of Fire" where the Pacific plate of the earth's crust meets other continental plates.

Brazil floods kill at least 59, uproot thousands:
RIO DE JANEIRO: Rescue workers rushed to help stricken residents in southern Brazil Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes.The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded by the floods after days of torrential rain."Santa Catarina is facing its worst weather tragedy," state Gov. Luis Henrique Silveira told reporters.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called Silveira and told him the federal government stood ready to provide medicine and other supplies, the state said on its Web site.
The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.5 million people, leaving about 150,000 people without electricity and eight towns out of the 60 affected completely cut off by floodwaters and landslides.The death toll was likely to rise as several people were missing, state officials said.The floods also shut down a branch of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Bolivia to Brazil, cutting off supplies to Santa Catarina and neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, the company that operates the line said.Brazilian newspapers showed photographs of streets submerged by the waist-high flood waters in the state, which is one of Brazil's wealthiest and known for its large number of descendants of German and Italian immigrants.Transport in the state was paralyzed as roads were cut off by the flooding and landslides. Television footage showed hillsides breaking away and sliding into rivers of mud. A lane of one main road collapsed after its earth foundations crumbled.

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