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Pakistan says more than 18,000 have been killed by Saturday's powerful earthquake that also hit northern India and Afghanistan. The 7.6-magnitude quake, with an epicentre 80km (50 miles) north-east of Islamabad, flattened entire villages. Another 40,000 people are believed to be injured, said military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan. Several countries have offered to help, with US President Bush and UN chief Kofi Annan expressing their concern. "The people of the United States offer our deepest sympathies for the loss of life and destruction," said George W Bush in a statement.

Hurricane activity has increased and is likely to remain high for a decade or more, the head of the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.

HARWINTON (AP) -- A human fetus, with the umbilical cord still attached, was discovered Tuesday at a sewage treatment plant. The fetus was discovered in a screen at the Torrington Area Water Treatment Facility which serves the Torrington, Hartford and Litchfield areas, police said. Medical personnel believe the fetus was in the first trimester, said Sgt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the state police. The fetus was taken to the chief medical examiner's office for examination. Several witness have been interviewed and detectives have specific leads in their investigation, Vance said.

TORONTO (AP) - Canada is set to become the third country to legalize gay marriage, with Parliament likely to pass landmark legislation Tuesday despite strong opposition from Conservatives and religious leaders. Although gay marriage already is legal in seven provinces, the bill would grant all same-sex couples in Canada the same legal rights as those in traditional heterosexual unions. The Netherlands and Belgium already allow gay marriage. The legislation, drafted by Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, needs at least 155 members of the House of Commons to gain a majority of the 308-seat House. While some of his Liberal...

(CNN) -- Dramatic new data from the December 26, 2004, Sumatran-Andaman earthquake that generated deadly tsunamis show the event created the longest fault rupture and the longest duration of faulting ever observed, according to three reports by an international group of seismologists published Thursday in the journal "Science." "Normally, a small earthquake might last less than a second; a moderate sized earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted between 500 and 600 seconds (at least 10 minutes)," said Charles Ammon, associate professor of geosciences at Penn State University. The quake released an amount