Sunday, 24 August 2014

USAF selects GenDyn to study ICBM guidance system

NUKEWARS
USAF selects GenDyn to study ICBM guidance system
Fairfax, Va. (UPI) Aug 20, 2014 - Modernization of guidance systems for next-gen U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles is to be conducted by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. The work, under a $6.4 million contract from the U.S. Air Force, will involve performance analyses, development of test strategies and lifecycle support plans for the next-generation missile guidance set architecture. Results ... more


'Reasonable chance' of finding MH370 in new search: Australia PM

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
'Reasonable chance' of finding MH370 in new search: Australia PM
Sydney (AFP) Aug 20, 2014 - A new underwater hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had a "reasonable chance" of finding the plane, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday, adding that searchers would not give up easily. Flight MH370 vanished inexplicably en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, and there has been no sign since of the aircraft or the 239 people onboard. It is believed ... more


Tourists, hikers evacuated near rumbling Iceland volcano

SHAKE AND BLOW
Tourists, hikers evacuated near rumbling Iceland volcano
Reykjavik (AFP) Aug 20, 2014 - Tourists and hikers were evacuated Wednesday near a massive rumbling volcano in Iceland as the threat of eruption raised fears of a replay of the air traffic chaos caused when another peak blew four years ago. Iceland's Civil Protection Authority told public broadcaster RUV that it had finished the evacuation from around the Bardarbunga volcano but that further air patrols would be carried o ... more


Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA

OZONE NEWS
Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA
Washington (AFP) Aug 20, 2014 - A chemical used in dry cleaning and fire extinguishers may have been phased out in recent years but NASA said Wednesday that carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is still being spewed into the atmosphere from an unknown source. The world agreed to stop using CC14 as part of the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, which attained universal ratification in 2009. ... more


Japanese 111-year-old becomes oldest man

ABOUT US
Japanese 111-year-old becomes oldest man
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 20, 2014 - A Japanese man born months before the Wright brothers carried out the first human flight was recognised Wednesday as the world's oldest male at the age of 111. Sakari Momoi, a former high school principal who was born on February 5, 1903, received a certificate from Guinness World Records confirming the achievement. Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and silver tie, Momoi told assemble ... more


Tide turns for shark fin in China

FARM NEWS
Tide turns for shark fin in China
Guangzhou (AFP) Aug 20, 2014 - A sprawling market floor in Guangzhou was once a prime location for shark fin, one of China's most expensive delicacies. But now it lies deserted, thanks to a ban from official banquet tables and a celebrity-driven ad campaign. One shopkeeper at the Shanhaicheng centre quietly ate his lunch at a desk, flanked by four glum-looking colleagues and giant white sacks overflowing with thousands of ... more


Seals, sea lions help bring tuberculosis from Africa to Americas

EPIDEMICS
Seals, sea lions help bring tuberculosis from Africa to Americas
Washington (UPI) Aug 20, 2014 - It's widely agreed that seals and sea lions are adorable. But they're also deadly - sort of. Tuberculosis is not adorable; it kills between one and two million people every year. And new research suggests that the furry sea mammals known for balancing beach balls on their nose likely played a key role in transporting tuberculosis from Africa to the Americas. In fairness, humans in Afri ... more