USDA: America experiencing biggest disaster in history - RT
More than half of the United States hosts areas considered natural disaster sites by the US Department of Agriculture following a ravaging dry spell that has left more than 1,000 counties in 26 different states destroyed.
The USDA says droughts and fires are to blame for their recent labeling of much of the US as being in a state of natural disaster. Among those effected by damage, reports Bloomberg News, are around one-third of the country’s farmers, which contributes in making this declaration the largest ever of its kind by the Department of Agriculture.
“Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tells the country this week in an official statement. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted farmers around the country.”
States that contain the 1,016 counties considered natural disaster sites include California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Hawaii, to name a few. More than half of the Midwest region — the heartland of America’s agriculture community — is currently experiencing moderate to extreme droughts. USDA: America experiencing biggest disaster in history %u2014 RT
Three Grad rockets were fired Wednesday, towards Ashkelon, from Gaza Strip. Two landed in open areas near the city and another landed in the nearby Hof Ashkelon region. No injuries or damage was reported.
U.S. military action against Syria would carry the risk of inadvertently hitting a chemical weapons site, President Barack Obama told to PBS television in an interview on Monday.
"Have we mapped all of the chemical weapons facilities inside of Syria to make sure that we don't drop a bomb on a chemical weapons facility that ends up then dispersing chemical weapons and killing civilians, which is exactly what we're trying to prevent?" AFP news agency quoted Obama as saying during the interview.
Obama further expressed skepticism over whether setting a no-fly zone or waging a major military offensive against Damascus would save lives or change balance of power on the battlefield.
Supporters of a bold intervention in Syria failed to understand the complexity of the situation as there is no one simple solution, Obama said. "If you set up a no-fly zone, that you may not be actually solving the problem," he added.
Saudi Arabia, a staunch opponent of President Bashar Assad since early in Syria' conflict, began supplying anti-aircraft missiles to rebels "on a small scale" about two months ago, a Gulf source said on Monday.
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland - US President Barack Obama faces what could be a frosty G8 meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday after the Russian leader clashed with the West over plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar Assad.
A huge blast has been reported in the western Mezzeh suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus.
Syrian state TV said the blast was caused by "a terrorist attempt to target Mezzeh military airport".
Unconfirmed reports said around 20 soldiers were killed or wounded in the explosion.
Mezzeh military airport is an important strategic installation and plays a significant role in distributing the government's military supplies.
Activists said a big fire was raging inside the airport and that ambulances were heading to the scene.
The UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said that a car bomb had been detonated targeting a military checkpoint near the airport.
