| December 19, 2008 |  |
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 Geneva (AFP) Dec 18, 2008 
Catastrophes killed more than 238,000 people this year, with cyclone Nargis which swept through Myanmar accounting for more than half the deaths, a study by reinsurer Swiss Re showed on Thursday. "While the total cost to society was 225 billion dollars (182 billion euros), 50 billion dollars was covered by property insurance, making 2008 the second costliest year ever in terms of insured ... read more 
Calgary, Alberta (UPI) Dec 17, 2008 Canadian researchers say they've determined extinction risks for plants growing in the Earth's tropical regions are higher than previously thought. University of Calgary Assistant Professors Jana and Steven Vamosi studied plant extinction risks in areas close to the equator. "The tropics contain many ancient species of plants, leading many to consider tropical species as less ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Dec 18 | Dec 17 | Dec 16 | Dec 15 | Dec 12 |
 
London (UPI) Dec 18, 2008 British medical researchers say they're concerned a new human version of mad cow disease has been detected, officials said. While most cases of new variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (vCJD) in Britain have occurred in people with a genetic profile carried by 42 percent of the population, the BBC reported that a young man with a different genetic profile appears to have the disabling ... more  
The Hague (AFP) Dec 18, 2008The Dutch government on Thursday unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to reinforce dykes and the coastline and augment fresh water supplies in the face of rising sea levels due to global warming. Two-thirds of the Netherlands lies below sea-level and the country is increasingly worried about the threat of devastating floods. The government's national water plan proposes strengthening ... more  
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Dec 18, 2008A Malaysian warship was the vessel that helped Chinese sailors repel Somali pirates who had boarded their ship in a dramatic high-seas battle, a maritime watchdog said Thursday. "A Malaysian military helicopter fired warning shots at the pirates' boat. This forced the sea raiders to abandon their operation to hijack the ship," said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Board's ... more 
Jakarta (AFP) Dec 18, 2008Reconstruction in areas of Indonesia's coastline devastated by the 2004 Asian tsunami is nearly complete four years after the disaster, a key group of international donors said Thursday. The Multi Donor Fund (MDF) of foreign nations and international financial institutions has paid out 334 million dollars of 692 million pledged since May 2005 to help tsunami-hit Aceh province and Nias ... more |
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CesiumAstro buys Vidrovr to embed AI across satellite communicationsLos Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 11, 2026 CesiumAstro has acquired Vidrovr in a move to integrate artificial intelligence directly into its space communications systems, payloads, and satellite platforms, extending AI-driven analytics and r ... more  
Behind Space Innovation The Growing Role of Outsourcing ServicesLos Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 11, 2026 Explore the reasons outsourcing has become the norm in space innovation. Discover how it helps teams reduce turnaround times, lower costs and improve results within a short time. ... more 
After oil, US moves to secure access to Venezuelan mineralsCaracas (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 US mining companies are lining up to invest in Venezuela, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during a visit to Caracas on Wednesday as he pushed for greater access to critical minerals. ... more
  
Left, right and faithful unite to demand human control over AIWashington, United States (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 A coalition spanning US conservative figure Steve Bannon, progressives, labor unions and faith groups announced Wednesday a joint declaration of principles on artificial intelligence, framing the effort as a pushback against what they called Silicon Valley's reckless deployment of AI. ... more 
Europe should focus on industrial AI, SAP saysWalldorf, Germany (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 Europe should focus on competing in industrial AI, a top executive at German software giant SAP said, as the continent plays catch-up in the race for the cutting-edge technology against the United States and China. ... more 
Questions over AI capability as tech guides Iran strikesParis, France (AFP) Mar 7, 2026 The latest bout of fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran has seen AI deployed as never before to sift intelligence and select targets, although the technology's use in war remains hotly debated. ... more
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Brussels (AFP) Dec 18, 2008European Union fisheries ministers met Thursday to start haggling over fish quotas amid warnings of dwindling stocks and huge waste. In what has become a Brussels tradition, the ministers faced a night of marathon negotiations closely watched by fishermen and environmental groups. One of the main issues facing the ministers concerns discarded catches. Non-governmental organisations ... more  
Beijing (AFP) Dec 18, 2008Leading Chinese rights defender Ni Yulan was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday for harming public property, after she tried to stop authorities from tearing down her house, her husband said. "The Beijing Xicheng court sentenced her to two years in prison this morning," husband Dong Jiqin told AFP. "They... refused to accept the evidence and arguments that I had prepared." ... more 
Beijing (AFP) Dec 18, 2008China is preparing to send warships to fight rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia, the government said Thursday, a day after one of its commercial vessels foiled an attack near the African state. "We are preparing and making arrangements to send naval ships to the Gulf of Aden to protect the sea lanes there," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told journalists. "We will make a ... more 
Beijing (AFP) Dec 18, 2008China has banned jailed dissident Hu Jia from receiving family visitors as punishment for winning the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, his wife said on Thursday. Zeng Jinyan told AFP that authorities informed her on Thursday she would not be allowed her monthly visit to Hu, a day after the European Parliament awarded him the prize in absentia. She said ... more |
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Iran names Khamenei's son as new supreme leaderTehran (AFP) Mar 8, 2026 Iran's ruling clerics on Sunday appointed their slain leader's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, defying threats against him from the United States and Israel as they pummel the country. ... more 
Trump suggests US troops could be sent to secure Iran's uraniumAboard Air Force One (AFP) Mar 7, 2026 US President Donald Trump evoked Saturday the idea of sending ground troops into Iran to secure the country's stockpiles of enriched uranium, as part of efforts to dismantle Tehran's nuclear program. ... more 
Kremlin says nuclear weapons in Finland would threaten RussiaMoscow (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 Russia said on Friday it saw Finland's move to lift restrictions on hosting nuclear weapons as a potential threat and vowed to respond if Helsinki followed through with the plan. ... more
  
Elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei suggests ultraconservatives steering IranParis, France (AFP) Mar 9, 2026 With the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali as Iran's supreme leader, the country's ultraconservatives have defied the United States and Israel and signalled their intent to keep the war going, experts told AFP. ... more 
China says opposes any targeting of new Iran leaderBeijing (AFP) Mar 9, 2026 China said Monday that Iran's decision to name Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father was a domestic matter, and it opposed any attempt to target him. ... more 
Four years after banning Russia, FIFA and IOC passive in the face of warLausanne (AFP) Mar 9, 2026 Four years after world sport rushed to ban Russia for invading Ukraine, the leading governing bodies are reacting guardedly to the US-led attack on Iran, raising accusations of double standards. ... more
  
Air strike hits Iraq base housing pro-Iran group: faction sourcesBaghdad (AFP) Mar 3, 2026 An air strike hit a military base in southern Iraq housing the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group on Tuesday, two sources from the armed faction said. ... more 
Over 2,200 IS detainees transferred to Iraq from Syria: Iraqi officialBaghdad (AFP) Feb 7, 2026 Iraq has so far received 2,225 Islamic State group detainees, whom the US military began transferring from Syria last month, an Iraqi official told AFP on Saturday. ... more 
Iraq starts investigations into IS detainees moved from SyriaBaghdad (AFP) Feb 2, 2026 Iraq's judiciary announced on Monday it has begun its investigations into more than 1,300 Islamic State group detainees who were transferred from Syria as part of a US operation. ... more
  
Kurdish rebels say ready to resist Iran, await uprisingPenjwen, Iraq (AFP) Mar 9, 2026 From their hideouts in the Iraqi mountains near Iran, leftist Kurdish rebels say they are ready to fight the Islamic republic, but hope for an uprising before they intervene, with or without US support. ... more
Strikes on Iranian opposition groups in Iraq's KurdistanErbil, Iraq (AFP) Mar 7, 2026 Several strikes hit Kurdish Iranian militants in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday, officials from the exiled groups told AFP. ... more
As Iran conflict spills over, Iraq's Kurds say 'this war is not mine'Soran, Iraq (AFP) Mar 7, 2026 On a deserted road not too far from the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan, Satar Barsirini looked up at the sky, now streaked with jets and drones. ... more |
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