Wildfires

Windy and dry weather raised the threat of wildfires across the Southeastern United States, where flames have already charred thousands of acres of forest and brush. Residents of 60 homes near the western North Carolina town of Wilkesboro were placed under an evacuation order as a large forest fire raced through the area. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency.

Cuban firefighters brought one of the country’s largest forest fires on record under control, but not before it had devastated 19,770 acres of pine and eucalyptus forest in Pinar del Rio province.

Bangladesh Storms

At least 12 people were killed, hundreds of others injured and dozens left missing by three days of severe storms in southern Bangladesh. The storms pounded the region with heavy rainfall and winds up to 60 mph. Power poles were uprooted and homes flattened by the powerful gales, according to Moyezuddin Khan,district commissioner of Bhola district on the southern coast.

Deforestation Victims

China now has fewer than 20 Siberian tigers living in its wilderness, and researchers blame their disappearance on a loss of habitat caused by deforestation. The latest findings emerged from a two-month joint study by wildlife experts from China, the United States and Russia. Earthquakes

Two days of minor tremors in metropolitan Los Angeles rattled nerves and set off car alarms, but caused no significant damage.

Earth movements were also felt in northern Tunisia, northern Greece, Taiwan and Fiji.

Spring Twisters

At least six people were killed and dozens hospitalized and hundreds of homes weredestroyed after a tornado packing winds of more than 250 mph cut a 25-block swath of destruction through Cincinnati’s northeastern suburbs. Tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms also pounded the Midwestern states.

Species Confusion

A Spanish pig that had been raised as a dog went into a depression when it was forced to live with other pigs, Madrid’s daily El Mundo reported. The owners of the 176-pound male pig, Trufo, had treated it like a pet dog, walking it on a leash, feeding it milk and biscuits, washing it with shampoo and teaching it to sit on its back feet. But when the owners moved to France, the 1-year-old porker was left at a pig farm near Madrid where it fell into a monthlong depression because it apparently could not stand the bad smells and the pig fodder. Trufo was finally cheered up by the arrival of a female and assumed his role as a pig. But he still expects to be kissed goodnight, the newspaper reported.

Additional sources: U.S. National Earthquake Information Center and the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.