AFP - World oil prices fell in Asian trade Tuesday amid signs that OPEC will maintain production levels when it meets later in the day, analysts said.

AFP - The US shuttle Atlantis faces nearly twice the risk of being struck by debris on a mission next month to the Hubble telescope, due to the high levels of space litter floating at the altitude of Hubble's orbit, NASA said Monday.

AP - Nine people died in shelters in this marooned city desperate for relief supplies, even as waters from Hurricane Ike receded and a U.S. Navy ship dispatched amphibious boats to deliver food.

AP - Next month's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope faces an increased risk of a destructive hit by space junk because it will be in a higher, more littered orbit than usual, NASA said Monday. Managers at NASA's highest levels will need to sign off on the mission because of the increased risk.

AFP - Iran led calls on Monday for OPEC to cut output ahead of a meeting of the oil producer group, with analysts expecting the cartel to begin scaling back production to help support prices.

AFP - The launch of a satellite to monitor Earth's gravitational field, scheduled for Wednesday from a base in northern Russia, has been postponed to October 5 because of technical problems, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Monday.

Time.com - The next big hurricane could leave the state not merely damaged but in financial ruin

AP - It has been called an Alice in Wonderland investigation into the makeup of the universe — or dangerous tampering with nature that could spell doomsday.

AP - Next month's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope faces an increased risk of getting hit by space junk because it will be in a higher, more littered orbit than usual, NASA said Monday.

AFP - US oil giant ConocoPhillips will pay up to 9.6 billion dollars (8.0 billion US dollars) for a half share of a coal seam gas (CSG) venture with Australia's Origin Energy in a deal that could thwart a hostile bid by Britain's BG Group.

Reuters - Hurricane Ike pounded northeastern Cuba with 120 mile per hour (195 kph) winds, torrential rains and massive waves that rolled through coastal towns on Monday on a path toward the Gulf of Mexico oil fields and possibly New Orleans.