McCain Blows His Top Over US Inability to Abandon Russian Rocket Engines
Washington DC (Sputnik) Jun 28, 2015 -
US Senator John McCain is blowing a gasket over America's inability to find a suitable substitution for Russia's RD-180 engines, accusing his Republican fellows of playing into Moscow's hands, US journalist Tim Mak notes.
Regardless of its widely discussed sanctions policy, the United States still cannot break its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines to get to space, US journalist Tim M ...
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Russia to loan Armenia $200 million for arms: Yerevan
Yerevan (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Moscow is to give Armenia a $200 million loan to purchase sophisticated Russian weapons at a discount, officials in Yerevan said on Thursday.
Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, has been shaken by nearly two weeks of protests over plans by a Russian-owned company to hike electricity prices in the small Caucasus country.
Armenia's deputy defence minister Ara Nazaryan told a par ...
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Beijing's South China Sea runway 'nearly complete': US think-tank
Beijing (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Beijing has nearly completed building a 3,000-metre (9,800-foot) airstrip on a reef in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where tensions are mounting with its neighbours, a US think-tank said.
A satellite picture taken on Sunday showed that China was paving and marking the runway on Fiery Cross Reef and an apron and taxiway have been added, the Center for Strategic and International Stu ...
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Iran nuclear talks set to drag into weekend -- and beyond
Vienna (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Agonising talks towards a grand bargain nuclear deal between Iran and major powers looked set Thursday to drag into the weekend and beyond, with stubborn differences still separating the two sides in Vienna.
There was little indication meanwhile whether the head of the UN atomic watchdog had made any progress in Tehran on one of the main sticking points: a probe into allegations of past nucl ...
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As nations dither, cities pick up climate slack
Lyon (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Their national governments hamstrung by domestic politics, stretched budgets and diplomatic inertia, many cities and provinces have taken a leading role - driven by necessity - in efforts to arrest galloping global warming.
It is at the sub-national level that extreme weather, which scientists say is to become more severe as the planet warms, will be most directly felt in terms of lives an ...
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Blind French hikers cross mountains with special GPS
Reipertswiller, France (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Five hikers, all blind or partially-sighted, crossed a mountain range in eastern France last week thanks to an innovative GPS system that developers hope can help millions of people with vision problems.
Armed only with their white canes and the experimental smartphone app - unaccompanied by sighted guides - the group trekked 80 kilometres (50 miles) in six days through fields and forests ...
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Eruptions subside at Guatemala's Fuego volcano
Guatemala City (AFP) July 2, 2015 -
Guatemala's Fuego volcano has subsided after eruptions that showered the area around it with ash, officials said Thursday.
"The eruption phase of the Fuego volcano has ended after 30 hours and we are now on yellow alert," David de Leon, spokesman for the state civil protection agency said.
The agency had raised the threat level to dangerous on Wednesday after eruptions spewed ash over co ...
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