Tag: Asutralia

Australia developing satellite to predict bushfire danger zones

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian scientists are developing the country’s first satellite designed to predict where bushfires are likely to start, following months of devastating fires. The Australian National University said Wednesday a team is creating a “shoebox-sized” satellite that will measure forest ground cover and moisture levels using infrared detectors. It is hoped the data will help determine where bushfires are likely to start and where they may be difficult to contain. The technology […]

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Wife voices ‘concern’ for Australian missing in N. Korea

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The wife of an Australian man who has gone missing and is feared detained in North Korea said she had no hint that anything was wrong before his disappearance. Japanese Yuka Morinaga, 26, told Australia’s News Corp that Alek Sigley’s disappearance in Pyongyang was “very concerning” and there was not “anything weird” last time they spoke on Monday. Sigley, who speaks fluent Korean and is one of only a handful of Western […]

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Aussie scientists find antidote for deadly box jellyfish sting

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian researchers believe they have found an antidote to a sting from the world’s most venomous creature, the much-feared box jellyfish. Researchers at the University of Sydney had been investigating how the venom is so deadly that one box jellyfish can kill 60 people. The team noticed the venom needs cholesterol to kill human cells and decided to test whether existing drugs could stop it. “Since there are lots of drugs […]

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PNG quake toll rises above 100 as PM warns of long recovery

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The death toll from an earthquake that hit Papua New Guinea last month has topped 100 with thousands injured, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said Friday, warning it will take years for the region to recover. The Pacific nation’s mountainous interior was struck by a 7.5-magnitude tremor on February 26, triggering landslides that blocked roads, caused power outages and cut off villages. Communities have also been rattled by strong aftershocks, sparking fears […]

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Australia holds rates as inflation remains soft

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s central bank on Tuesday kept interest rates at a record low in its first meeting of the year, with inflation still soft and the outlook for household spending uncertain. The Reserve Bank of Australia has not adjusted rates since August 2016, following a series of cuts from November 2011 that took it to 1.50 percent in a bid to boost non-mining sectors of the economy. Governor Philip Lowe said in […]

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