Locusts invade Irkutsk

The authorities in the Irkutsk region of Siberia have declared a state of emergency due to an invasion of locusts.

Officials at the regional department of agriculture said the pests had already destroyed almost 400,000 hectares of crops.

They have said they will spend millions of roubles to fight the onslaught.

The southern Russian region of Stavropol, as well as Dagestan, have also been hard hit by locusts in recent weeks.