Israel On ‘Locust Alert’

Israel's Agriculture Ministry set up an emergency hotline Monday and has asked citizens to immediately report any sightings of locusts in order to prevent an outbreak of the destructive insects that have invaded Egypt.

Swarms of locusts have landed on crops in Egypt, causing widespread devastation, but the government claims it has eradicated 95 percent of them.

Small numbers of locusts were seen on Monday above NasrCity, Cairo Stadium, and CairoInternationalAirport, according to a ministry statement released late Sunday and quoted by the government news agency MENA.

Several residents n Egypt burned tires to disperse the swarms.