Chinese rescue workers managed to extract 29 miners from a flooded coal mine in the Sichuan province.

Workers today began drilling a test shaft at the site of last week's mine explosion in New Zealand to check deadly gas levels before rescue operations can get under way. 29 men are missing inside the Park River mine. [Guardian]

Thirty-six coal miners are missing following an explosion in a New Zealand mine.

The (ridiculous) premiere episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska was the most-watched debut in TLC history with 5 million viewers—which is huge for cable. All you liberals tuning in hoping for a trainwreck aren't helping!

At least seven people died when a natural gas buildup caused an explosion at a Mexican hotel.

Haitian Health Ministry officials today said that 917 people have died in the last three weeks from cholera, which is festering in the relief camps set up after the January earthquake. 14,600 people have been hospitalized for cholera symptoms.

A Carnival Cruise ship stranded off the Mexican coast has been rescued by the Coast Guard.

Former BP chief Tony Hayward is back! Speaking for the first time since his resignation, he said that all of those pesky reporters were part of an unjust media "feeding frenzy" and that he'd definitely go sailing mid-spill again, too.

The death toll from Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano has reached 132 people.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believe they have a "smoking gun" after finding dead coral 4,500 feet below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, seven miles from the Deepwater Horizon rig site. What a coincidence.

Cigarette companies in Indonesia have a captive audience near Mount Merapi. Employees from Sampoerna, one of Indonesia's largest tobacco companies, are helping out volcano victims while also taking advantage of a great marketing opportunity: wearing logo-emblazoned gear and saving people!

Hurricane Tomas bears down on Haiti; residents urged to flee their tent cities for...where?

Over 100 people have died in several volcanic eruptions in Indonesia since late last month, with another large eruption on Mount Merapi last night. A pyroclastic flow of 1,400 degree gas was moving at 60 mph through one village.

"This was a big one," said an Indonesian state volcanologist of today's eruption on Mount Merapi.

The tab for BP's oil spill is expected to reach nearly $40 billion, the company said as it announced its third quarter financial results today. That's $7 billion more than expected, thanks to pesky legal fees and cleanup operations. [Bloomberg]

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted again today — the biggest one yet — for several hours but no injuries were reported. Mount Merapi is one of 22 volcanoes being closely monitored for increased activity. Indonesia just can't catch a break.

Now along with the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia, there's another volcano spewing ash and terrifying residents: Anak Krakatau. The volcano is currently on Level 2 alert. And two other Indonesian volcanoes are one level below a full alert.

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted for the third time today, sending ash nearly 20 miles from the mountain. At least 35 people have died and nearly 50,000 people who live nearby have moved to government run camps.

A presidential commission yesterday found that BP and Halliburton knew that the cement mixture used to seal the Macondo well before the oil spill had "repeatedly failed lab tests." You should probably grab some Halliburton shares while they're hot.

Monday's tsunami in Indonesia killed at least 370 people.