Tornado hits New Orleans area; 1 dead (AP)

   

AP - Eighteen months after Hurricane Katrina, Stella Chambers' modest red-brick house had finally been repaired, and she was waiting for one last utility hookup to move back in. But the 85-year-old woman never made it.

Source

Costa Rica probes deaths of 500 pelicans (AP)

   AP - Authorities in Costa Rica said Tuesday they are investigating the mysterious deaths of about 500 brown pelicans along the country's Pacific coast over the last five days but do not suspect bird flu was the cause.
Source

Blair, Merkel say fight global warming (AP)

   

AP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday the moment was right to come up with new measures to combat global warming and vowed that the world's industrialized countries would push strongly this year for new emissions goals.

Source

Group: Germany's amphibians threatened (AP)

   AP - This year's unusually warm winter could cause large numbers of amphibians to die in Germany, an environmental organization said Tuesday.
Source

Groups sue to protect marine mammals (AP)

   AP - Two conservation groups sued the federal government Tuesday claiming marine mammal regulators are not doing enough to protect polar bears and walruses against the combined threat of oil and gas exploration and global warming.
Source

Norway to encase sunken German WWII sub (AP)

   AP - A German submarine that was sunk off Norway at the end of World War II will be buried in special sand to protect the coastline from its cargo of toxic mercury, the government announced Tuesday.
Source

Giant squid lights up for attack

   Enormous deep-sea squid emit blinding flashes of light as they attack their prey, research shows.
Source

Ireland examines tsunami early warning system (AFP)

   

AFP - Ireland is to examine setting up a tsunami early warning system, even though such a threat is believed to be remote, Marine and Natural Resources Minister Noel Dempsey said.

Source

Archaeologists extracting ancient lovers (AP)

   

AP - Archaeologists working on the eve of Valentine's Day carefully began digging up the bones of a prehistoric couple on Tuesday, hoping to keep their 5,000-year-old embrace undisturbed forever.

Source

Blair calls for post-Kyoto deal

   G8 leaders have a "tremendous opportunity" to strike a new deal to combat global warming, says Tony Blair.
Source

Teraflops chip points to future

   A chip the size of a fingernail and capable of more than a trillion calculations per second is unveiled by Intel.
Source

Red Planet 'hiking maps' made

   Scientists using data from a European space probe orbiting Mars have produced new topographic maps of the Red Planet.
Source

Comet clash kicks up dusty haze

   Collisions between comets may be kicking up copious amounts of dust observed around a dead star.
Source

MEPs vote to cut waste mountain

   MEPs vote in favour of binding targets to reduce waste produced in the EU and increase recycling.
Source

Albino seal to go back to the sea

   A rare albino seal pup is to be released back into the sea after being washed up on a Lincolnshire beach.
Source

Buy African flowers - UK minister

   Romantics in the UK should woo their loved ones with flowers imported from Africa rather than Europe, a minister says.
Source

Berlin talks for Blair and Merkel

   Tony Blair is to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel - whose country is hosting the EU presidency - for talks.
Source

Ancient chimps 'used stone tools'

   Chimpanzees in West Africa were using stone tools to crack nuts 4,300 years ago, archaeologists say.
Source

Mice cloned from skin stem cells

   Healthy mice are successfully cloned from skin cells taken from adult mice, US researchers report.
Source

Attempt to cut EU waste mountain

   MEPs are to expected to vote in favour of binding targets to reduce volumes of waste produced in the EU.
Source

Action call on disappearing coast

   Much of the Welsh coastline is threatened by erosion and flooding in the near future, the National Trust says.
Source

Anti-whalers boycott Japan push

   A special meeting of the global whaling body called by Japan is boycotted by most anti-whaling nations.
Source