Mexico

US President George W Bush has declared California a major disaster after four days of wildfires sparked the biggest US evacuation since Hurricane Katrina.

The fires left three dead, burnt 1,500 homes and are threatening 68,000 more, causing more than $1bn in damages. More than 500,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as fierce winds fan fast-moving fires that have ravaged land from Santa Barbara to Mexico. Forecasters predict winds to weaken, easing conditions for firefighters.

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Searching for the world's oldest lobster fossil? Head to Mexico where scientists claim they have one some 120 million years old, 20 million years older than lobster fossils previously found.

The fossil is 4.7 inches (12 cm) long and its shell and legs are immaculately preserved by the mud in the southern state of Chiapas where it was found.

"This lobster that we found in Chiapas belongs to the genus
that is in Africa today," said geologist Francisco Javier Vega of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

"This isn't a surprise because at that time, 120 million years ago, Africa and America were relatively close," he told Reuters. "It's very likely that this genus of lobster originated here."

South America and Africa are believed to have split into two continents around 120 million years ago.