Israel, Hamas face off in new Gaza conflict
Jerusalem (AFP) July 09, 2014 -
Israeli warplanes pounded targets in the Gaza Strip Wednesday as a major campaign to stop volleys of Palestinian rocket fire entered its second day, leaving 28 people dead and more than 100 wounded.
A strike on a home in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, claimed the lives of a commander of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, his parents, a woman and two children, emergency se ...
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Syrian Kurds demobilise 149 child soldiers: rights group
Geneva (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Syrian Kurdish forces have demobilised scores of child soldiers from their ranks over the past month, a Swiss group that works to save under-age fighters said Tuesday.
The main Kurdish militia in Syria made a public promise in June to stop using child soldiers and halt their recruitment.
A total of 149 militia members under the age of 18 have since been demobilised, according to Elisab ...
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Saab, Swedish military complete pre-deployment tests of Meteor missile
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) Jul 8, 2013 -
Pre-deployment trials of MBDA's Meteor missile integrated onto a Gripen fighter have been completed by Saab and the Sweden's Defense Materiel Administration.
The tests, which verified successful integration and validated seeker performance and missile range, were the last hurdle before operational deployment and testing of the Meteor BVRAAM - beyond visual-range air-to-air missile. ...
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'Terrorist groups' seize former chemical weapons site: Iraq
United Nations, United States (AFP) July 09, 2014 -
The Iraqi government has told the United Nations that militants have seized one of Saddam Hussein's former chemical weapons factories, confirming an earlier claim by Washington.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dated July 1 and made public Tuesday, Baghdad's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said "armed terrorist groups" entered the Muthanna project site on the night of June 1 ...
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New armored vehicle on way for Ukraine
Kiev, Ukraine (UPI) Jul 7, 2013 -
Ukraine's Kharkiv Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau has completed production of a prototype up-armored BTR-4E armored personnel carrier.
According to Ukroboronprom, military units to receive the APC are now being trained on operation of the eight-wheeled vehicle.
Ukroboronprom, the state-owed company Kharkiv Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau has integrated with, said KM ...
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China probes another official linked to powerful ex-security chief
Beijing (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Chinese authorities are probing another senior figure for graft, officials said Tuesday, the latest politician with links to the country's former security chief to face investigation.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the ruling Communist Party's much-feared internal watchdog, said on its website it is investigating Tan Li, the vice governor of the southern province of ...
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Leidos says new anti-submarine intel vessel heading for sea trials next year
Reston, Va. (UPI) Jul 8, 2013 -
An autonomous unmanned vessel for long-duration trail of quiet, diesel-electric submarines is to undergo sea testing next year.
Leidos, a security and engineering solutions company, said the ACTUV, or autonomous continuous trail unmanned vessel, is being developed for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.
"ACTUV's advanced sensor technology should allow for continuou ...
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New premises inaugurated for Saudi naval maintenance contracts
Toulon, France (UPI) Jul 8, 2013 -
DCNS, the French shipbuilding and naval defense company, has inaugurated a facility in the country dedicated to meeting the military needs of Saudi Arabia.
Modernization and maintenance programs at the facility in Toulon will correspond to different service contracts DCNS now has with Saudi Arabia, including LEX, or life extension, which was initiated last year.
"The Saudi Arabi ...
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Hague pushes Eurofighter on India visit
New Delhi (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday he had raised a $12-billion fighter jet deal being negotiated by French company Dassault with India's government during talks with his counterpart in New Delhi, suggesting London has not given up all hope on the giant contract.
Hague said he had spoken to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj about the contract in which the British-backed ...
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US F-35's debut at British air show in doubt
Washington (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
US military officers are still unsure if the F-35 fighter will be cleared to make its debut at a British air show next week, a potentially damaging setback for the costly program.
The Joint Strike Fighter has been touted as a technical marvel but the fleet remains grounded as authorities investigate what caused an engine fire last month for one of the aircraft, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. ...
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Verizon data queries nearly 150,000 in 2014
Washington (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
US telecom giant Verizon said Tuesday it received nearly 150,000 requests for customer data from US law enforcement agencies in the first half of 2014.
The total including subpoenas, warrants and other orders was 148,903, roughly in line with the full-year total from 2013 of 321,545, Verizon said in its "transparency report."
Verizon has joined other tech and Internet firms in releasing ...
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Iraq MPs bow to pressure over government delays
Baghdad (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Iraqi deputies agreed to meet on Sunday after delays to the formation of a new government outraged people tired of political polarisation and fearful of a brutal Sunni militant offensive.
It was unclear what prompted the about-turn after lawmakers initially said they would postpone a crucial parliamentary session for a month, but the delay was met with widespread criticism both from their co ...
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Architect of N. Korea nuclear weapons programme dies
Seoul (AFP) July 09, 2014 -
North Korea announced Wednesday the death of retired General Jon Pyong-Ho, a chief architect of Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes and an individually named target of international sanctions.
Jon, who retired from public life in 2011, died of a heart attack on Tuesday, the official KCNA news agency reported. He was 88.
He will be given a state funeral, with Nort ...
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Australia. Japan sign defense technology agreement
Canberra, Australia (UPI) Jul 8, 2013 -
Australia and Japan are strengthening cooperation in the areas of defense science and technology under a new bilateral agreement.
The accord - formally named the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Japan concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology - was signed Tuesday in Canberra by the prime ministers of the two countries.
Austr ...
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Iran's supreme leader reveals demands in nuclear talks
Tehran (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Iran's supreme leader revealed Tuesday his country's demands for a massive long-term increase in its nuclear enrichment capability, laying bare huge gaps between Tehran and world powers negotiating a deal.
The comments, published on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's website, represent a dramatic intervention in the talks currently taking place in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, Chi ...
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N. Korea fires two more missiles into the sea
Seoul (AFP) July 09, 2014 -
North Korea on Wednesday fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles into the sea in the latest in a series of launches interspersed with spurned peace overtures to South Korea.
A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the two missiles were fired from the western province of Hwanghae into the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
"We suspect they were short-range ballistic missi ...
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NATO chief warns Afghanistan must sign security pact by early September
Washington (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
NATO's chief warned Tuesday that, despite a disputed election, Afghanistan must sign a security pact on a post-combat international training mission by September, or there will be "severe" problems for the Western alliance.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting President Barack Obama that allegations of poll fraud were a "grave concern" and he hoped an audit could produce a credible outco ...
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Japan PM says door always open for China talks
Sydney (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday played down recent tensions with neighbour China, saying the countries were "inextricably linked" and his door was always open for dialogue.
Tokyo and Beijing have long been at odds over islands in the East China Sea, with simmering distrust flaring last week after Japan relaxed restrictions on the use of its armed forces in a controversial change i ...
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Japan's Abe declares peace goals in historic Australia visit
Sydney (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday declared his determination to pursue peace in Asia, as he strengthened defence ties with Australia and signed an ambitious free-trade agreement.
Abe used an historic address to a joint sitting of Australia's parliament to say that Japan "is now determined to do more to enhance peace in the region and peace in the world".
"It is to put that deter ...
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China, US vow to end old rivalries
Beijing (AFP) July 08, 2014 -
China and the US geared early Wednesday for high-stakes talks on a slew of thorny issues, as American officials warned against rising tensions caused by Beijing's "problematic" claim to swathes of the South China Sea.
The maritime disputes, as well as US fears over cybersecurity and Chinese hacking, were raised Tuesday in preparatory talks involving civilian diplomats as well as top military ...
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The JBEI GT Collection: A New Resource for Advanced Biofuels Research
Emeryville CA (SPX) Jul 05, 2014 -
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have unveiled the first glycosyltransferase clone collection specifically targeted for the study of the biosynthesis of plant cell walls. The idea behind what is being called "the JBEI GT Collection" is to provide a functional genomic resource for researchers seeking to extract the sugars in plant biomass and s ...
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Solar panels light the way from carbon dioxide to fuel
Princeton NJ (SPX) Jul 05, 2014 -
Research to curb global warming caused by rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, usually involves three areas: Developing alternative energy sources, capturing and storing greenhouse gases, and repurposing excess greenhouse gases.
Drawing on two of these approaches, researchers in the laboratory of Andrew Bocarsly, a Princeton professor of chemistry, collabo ...
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Switzerland gets the edge on EU with China trade deal
Basel, Switzerland (AFP) July 06, 2014 -
Switzerland has one-upped its European Union neighbours with a free trade deal with China that its politicians and business sector say is crucial to boosting ties with the world's second-largest economy.
The free trade agreement (FTA), in force since Tuesday, is China's first with a mainland European country and was sealed in 2013 after two years of talks.
"We look to the huge Chinese ma ...
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Etiquette gets reboot for digital age
Washington (AFP) July 05, 2014 -
The digital age has created a host of new etiquette dilemmas.
What should you do when your boss sends a Facebook friend request? Is it OK to take and share smartphone pictures at a friend's wedding? When should you take off Google Glass, rather than just turn it off?
Etiquette mavens say the book on manners must be rewritten, literally, to take into account new technologies and social me ...
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China president heading to South America for BRICS summit
Beijing (AFP) July 07, 2014 -
China's President Xi Jinping will visit South American nations including Brazil next week, where he will meet India's new prime minister for the first time before heading to Communist ally Cuba.
Xi will co-chair the BRICS meeting of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa which begins in Brazil on July 15, Chinese vice foreign minister Li Baodong told reporters.
He will ...
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