SWITZERLAND: Swiss army helicopters have crossed the Franco-Swiss border in an unexpected incursion — to help thirsty Swiss cows.

Hundreds of music-loving snorkellers and divers, joined by long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, attended an underwater concert broadcast at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

For decades, Judy Blume was the ‘confidante’ of teenage girls, writing frankly about their feelings. She will visit Ireland next month to talk about her uncanny empathy, her career and her new novel for adults, says Susan Dominus.

Since the days when authors like Hemingway and Tennessee Williams set up camp, Key West has always been a potent magnet for people looking to drift away from the real world for a while, writes John Daly.

USA: Referring to “this ridiculously stupid winter”, the Ithaca website suggests visiting the Florida Keys this week and returning “when things thaw out.”

Thrill-seekers in Hawaii who don jetpacks that propel them into the air to fly like Iron Man are taking flak from officials and fishermen over safety and conservation fears.

Thrill-seekers in Hawaii who don jetpacks that propel them into the air to fly like Iron Man are taking flak from officials and fishermen.

A tropical storm threatening to grow into a hurricane is heading towards America’s Gulf Coast.

Tropical Storm Isaac gained fresh muscle today as it neared the Florida Keys, threatening to be at or near hurricane strength approaching the island chain.

A 49-year-old grandmother and veteran endurance swimmer had to give up on her quest yesterday to become the first woman to swim unaided from Cuba to the Florida Keys, unable to close the gap on the last 26 miles of a more than 100-mile ocean odyssey.

STANDING at the southern most point of the USA, in Key West Florida, the realisation set in that we had finally run out of road.

AMERICAN endurance swimmer Diana Nyad has begun her attempt to become the first person to swim the shark-filled Florida Straits without the aid of a safety cage.

ON a cloudy day when the rain thankfully held off, a glamorous boutique owner lit up the course when she won the fashion stakes at Killarney Races.

EMERGENCY crews rushed to protect fragile shorelines and islands as the Gulf of Mexico oil slick expanded, prompting a mobilisation of more national guard troops and alerts as far as the Florida Keys.

Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba today, tearing off roofs and sending waves crashing into buildings, as 900,000 Cubans fled to shelters or higher ground and Havana residents in decaying historic buildings prepared for a direct hit.

“Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Ike grew to fierce Category 4 strength today as it roared on an uncertain path that forced millions from the Caribbean to Florida, and Louisiana to Mexico, to wonder where it would eventually strike.

Residents were defying warnings and taking a wait-and-see attitude as a strengthening Tropical Storm Fay swept over the Florida Keys at the tip of the state and bore down on the Gulf Coast.

A fierce storm that could turn into a hurricane appeared to be heading towards Florida today.

AFTER pelting Haiti and the Dominican Republic with torrential rains and floods that killed at least four people, Tropical Storm Fay lashed south-eastern Cuba with downpours and heavy winds yesterday.

A boating woman who was killed when a stingray jumped out of the water in the Florida Keys and hit her face died of skull fractures and brain injuries, not from the animal’s poisonous barb, a medical examiner said.

A pair of heavily armed Cuban soldiers seized a city bus, killed an army officer and triggered a gun battle in a foiled bid to hijack a charter flight bound for the US.

RAIN from Tropical Storm Ernesto started sweeping across the Florida Keys yesterday, as residents hurried to fill gas tanks, gather supplies and board up windows before the main body of the storm strikes.

Rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto swept across parts of the vulnerable Florida Keys today as residents hurried to fill petrol tanks, gather emergency supplies and board up windows before the main body of the storm strikes.

Investigators hope to recover the fuselage of a sunken seaplane to find why it broke apart and plunged into the ocean just off Miami Beach, killing all 20 people on board including three infants.

ONE passenger said he “absolutely never heard the word ‘bomb’ at all” before air marshals shot dead a man during the uproar as an Orlando-bound flight prepared to leave Miami on Wednesday.

By all accounts, Rigoberto Alpizar was frantic as he darted off a plane at Miami International Airport, bumping past passengers and yelling that he needed to get off the aircraft.

SOME residents of the Florida Keys were rethinking their refusal to evacuate for Hurricane Wilma today after the storm isolated them, submerged streets under up to five feet of water and turned out their lights.

Some residents of the Florida Keys were rethinking their refusal to evacuate for Hurricane Wilma today after the storm isolated them, submerged streets under water up to 5 feet deep and turned out their lights.

Hurricane Wilma crashed ashore early today as a strong Category 3 storm, battering south-west Florida with 125 mph winds and pounding waves as it began a dash across the state.

Hurricane Wilma charged toward south-west Florida early today as a Category 3 storm, packing wind gusts of 120 mph, spawning tornadoes and churning up walls of seawater that could make thousands of residents regret they defied evacuation orders.

Rain pounded Key West early today as Hurricane Wilma accelerated towards storm-weary Florida, threatening residents with 115mph winds, tornadoes and a surge of seawater that could flood the Keys and the state’s south-west coast.

HURRICANE WILMA was headed toward Florida late last night and expected to pick up speed “like a rocket”, as thousands of residents had been ordered to evacuate.

Residents evacuated, owners boarded up homes and businesses and emergency officials prepared rescue and relief plans as forecasters predicted Hurricane Wilma would pick up speed on a course toward Florida.

The governor of Florida today declared a state of emergency ahead of approaching Hurricane Wilma, but the state got a little breathing room when the storm’s slower pace postponed its likely landfall.

Hurricane Rita strengthened to a dangerous Category 3 storm early today, sparing the Florida Keys but prompting mandatory orders to once again evacuate New Orleans as well as the Texas city of Galveston.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds early today after lashing the Florida Keys and sparking anxiety as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Thousands of residents fled the Florida Keys as Tropical Storm Rita barrelled toward land, poised to grow into a hurricane with a potential nine-foot storm surge and sparking fears it could eventually ravage the Gulf Coast.

Officials today ordered residents to evacuate from the lower Florida Keys as a strengthening Tropical Storm Rita headed toward the island chain, threatening to grow into a hurricane with a potential eight-foot storm surge.

A FRIEND and former colleague slept last night in his attic. With a gun supplied by the cops when they deputised him after the hurricane.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from idyllic US beaches today as a monster hurricane headed their way after hitting the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from idyllic US beaches today as a monster hurricane headed their way after hitting the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

The first rain from Hurricane Dennis started falling on the Florida Keys today as the storm barrelled towards the Gulf of Mexico, and forecasters warned that it might score a direct hit on the island chain.

A GROUP of Cubans making the third bid in two years to reach the United States in a vintage American car converted into a boat were intercepted by the US Coast Guard, relatives said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Ivan battered the Cayman Islands with ferocious 150mph winds today, threatening a direct hit as it flooded homes and ripped up roofs and trees.