ink Locusts from North Africa Swarm Through Cairo
Wed Nov 17,11:31 AM ET
By Amil Khan and Tom Perry
CAIRO (Reuters) - Swarms of pink locusts swept through the Egyptian capital on Wednesday, evoking the biblical description of the plagues which struck in the time of Moses.
The swarms of millions flew high above tall towers or swooped down onto treelined streets, where scared pedestrians stamped on them or ran for cover.
The flying insects arrived from neighboring Libya after devouring the countryside in central and western Africa in past months. But locust experts said they were unlikely to wreak similar havoc in Egypt, where agriculture is a cornerstone of the economy.
"This is really horrible," said one man as he ran past a building where locusts, some of them more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, smacked into office windows or landed on cars.
Some of the locusts, which arrived and disappeared in waves, settled on shrubs and trees. Authorities battled swarms at Cairo international airport, but flights were unaffected...
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