A GROUP of Italian scientists went on trial yesterday for failing to predict an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in central Italy in 2009 despite signs of increased seismic activity in the area.

Flooding and landslides from the season’s first tropical storm have killed at least 150 people and left thousands homeless in Central America, officials said today.

Hundreds of people in Iceland have been evacuated from their homes amid fears of a second volcanic eruption, Civil Protection Agency officials said today.

A HIGH-PROFILE corruption scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi’s inner circle is denting the Italian Prime Minister’s hopes of a sweeping victory in regional elections next month.

Mud and boulders loosened by days of heavy rain swept down a volcano and partly buried a small town, swallowing up homes as flooding and landslides across El Salvador killed at least 124 people.

Dozens of wildfires broke out across Greece, torching olive groves, cutting off villages and sending residents fleeing as one of the largest blazes swept perilously close to the capital's northern suburbs.

A MAN made homeless by April’s earthquake in central Italy has asked Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to keep his promise and provide victims with lodging in one of his houses.

L’AQUILA’s public hospital was hailed as a state-of-the-art, earthquake-proof building when it opened in 2000.

A strong earthquake shook parts of southern Mexico last night, sending thousands of residents fleeing from buildings into the streets.

Hundreds of tourists and residents have been evacuated as a forest fire swept through resorts in northern Greece, destroying homes and cars.

Fountains of ash, rock and sand rained down on Sicily’s Mount Etna, but a river of molten lava that had threatened to swallow up a tourist station stopped its fiery advance.