AFP - Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said Wednesday it will spend 50 billion yen (458 million dollars) to boost solar power cell production four-fold by early 2012 amid growing interest in renewable energies.

AFP - A giant panda cub has been born at a Japanese zoo, the first to be successfully bred in Japan through artificial insemination in two decades, officials said Wednesday.

AFP - A new space telescope revealed the glowing gas of the Milky Way, pulsating stars and a flaring faraway galaxy as it began its mission to unveil the mysteries of cosmic gamma rays, NASA said.

AP - Tropical Storm Gustav was losing steam early Wednesday as it moved through the Caribbean a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

AFP - Indian state-run oil giant ONGC announced a 2.6-billion-dollar deal Tuesday to buy Russia-focused Imperial Energy as it seeks new fuel sources to power the country's fast-growing economy.

Reuters - A Sudanese passenger plane was hijacked on Tuesday after leaving war-torn Darfur and has been forced to land in Libya, Arab media and Libyan authorities said.

AP - Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti on Tuesday and sent global oil prices soaring on fears it could become "extremely dangerous" even before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

AFP - European scientists who studied satellite images of cows and deer around the world have discovered that these animals tend to align themselves with Earth's north-south magnetic fields while they graze or rest.