US F-35 fighter will not fly at UK air show
Washington (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
The US military said Tuesday it will not send F-35 fighter jets to Britain's Farnborough air show because of safety precautions, in another embarrassing setback for the most expensive program in Pentagon history.
US officials saw the prestigious show as a chance to stage the plane's international debut in front of potential foreign customers, but instead the cancelled appearance raised yet m ...
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Air Force contracts Boeing for continued warhead system work.
Heath, Ohio (UPI) Jul 15, 2013 -
Warhead arming devices for air-launched cruise missiles will continue to be remanufactured by Boeing under a U.S. Air Force contract.
Boeing said the new award is for a period of two years and carries a value of $7.3 million. If contract options are exercised for an additional six years, the total value will rise to an estimated $50 million.
"Providing these production systems to ...
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India PM, China's Xi pledge stronger ties in first meeting
New Delhi (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on the need to resolve a decades-old border dispute during talks before the BRICS summit in Brazil, a statement said Tuesday.
The leaders also pledged to strengthen trade and diplomatic ties during the 80-minute meeting in Fortaleza, their first since nationalist hardliner Modi won landslide elections in May.
"B ...
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Colombia rebels, government resume Havana peace talks
Havana (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
Marxist FARC rebels and representatives from Colombia's government sat down together on Tuesday for the first time in more than a month, tying up loose ends as they embark on a new round of peace talks.
The meeting is the first between the two sides since the re-election last month of President Juan Manuel Santos, which gave a big push to the negotiations.
Officials told AFP that a few u ...
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US, Iran lay ground for nuclear talks extension
Vienna (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart laid the groundwork Tuesday for an extension of a Sunday deadline to strike a historic nuclear deal after intense talks in Vienna.
A Western diplomat went as far as to say that it was now "highly probable" Iran and world powers would agree to such a move, and that the extension would be months not weeks.
"As it's highly improba ...
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Iraq parliament elects speaker as Tikrit push falters
Baghdad (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
Iraq's sharply divided parliament elected a speaker Tuesday in a step forward in the delayed government formation process, as a renewed bid to recapture Tikrit from militants ended in retreat.
World powers and Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have piled pressure on MPs to set aside their differences in the face of a jihadist-led offensive that has overrun swathes of ...
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S. Korea warns North over missile tests
Seoul (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
South Korea on Tuesday warned North korea it was playing a dangerous game with a series of missile, rocket and artillery tests that appear to be inching ever closer to their joint border.
In the latest incident on Monday, the North fired 100 shells into the sea from multiple rocket launchers in a live-fire drill close to the eastern maritime boundary.
"Some civilian tourists at the east ...
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Obama and China's Xi discuss Iran, North Korea: White House
Washington (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
US President Barack Obama told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday he was determined to constructively manage growing differences between their two nations, at a time of high tensions in the Pacific region.
In a telephone call, Obama and Xi also discussed the international effort to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna and the need to ensure North Korea complies with dem ...
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Qatar to buy Patriot missiles in $11 bln arms deal: US
Washington (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
Qatar will buy US Patriot missiles for the first time in a major arms deal worth $11 billion, officials said Monday, as Washington awaits a decision by the Gulf state on a lucrative fighter jet contract.
The sale will provide Qatar with roughly 10 batteries for Patriot systems designed to knock out incoming missiles, as well as 24 Apache helicopters and 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles, the US ...
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US lawmakers boost funding for Israel's Iron Dome
Washington July 15, 2014 -
With US ally Israel facing a barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza, a Senate panel on Tuesday approved a 50 percent funding boost for the Jewish State's Iron Dome anti-missile system.
The measure, if it becomes law, would provide $621.6 million for Israeli missile defense programs for the 2015 fiscal year starting in October, including $351 million for the short-range Iron Dome system that has ...
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U.S., Norwegian companies partner for missile project
London (UPI) Jul 15, 2013 -
A joint strike missile for anti-surface warfare use is to be jointly developed by Raytheon and the Kongsberg Gruppen of Norway.
The missile project for the Royal Norwegian Air Force has already been funded and coincides with the U.S. Navy's consideration of a cost-effective next-generation Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare system, or OASuW.
"The U.S. and its allies gain new and inno ...
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AgustaWestland's remotely controlled UAV put through paces
Rome (UPI) Jul 15, 2013 -
Demonstration of an optionally piloted helicopter system has been completed for the Italian Defense Ministry by AgustaWestland.
The Rotorcraft Unmanned Aerial System/Optionally Piloted Helicopter, or RUAS/OPH, was based on the SW-4 and developed by the company and its Polish subsidiary, PSL-Swidnik.
The demonstration of capabilities came under a national military research plan be ...
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New Fury precision glide bomb introduced
Farnborough, England (UPI) Jul 15, 2013 -
A new precision-guided glide weapon for use from a variety of aerial platforms has been introduced by Textron Systems' Weapon & Sensor Systems.
The bomb, called Fury, was designed by Textron and its partner, Thales UK. It is 27 inches long, three inches in diameter, weighs 12.7 lbs. and uses a common interface for rapid integration on multiple manned and unmanned aircraft systems.
...
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US admiral in China for top-level navy talks
Beijing (AFP) July 15, 2014 -
The chief of the US Navy met his Chinese counterpart Tuesday for talks aimed at improving cooperation between their fleets following concerns over regional territorial disputes and potential armed conflict.
Admiral Wu Shengli, commander in chief of China's navy, welcomed Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the US chief of naval operations, with a red-carpet ceremony and an honour guard at his headqua ...
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Russia's Angara rocket not to be used as ICBM
Moscow (Voice of Russia) Jul 16, 2014 -
Russia's new Angara launch vehicle will not be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) First Deputy Head Alexander Ivanov said on Monday, July 14, reports ITAR-TASS. "This will not be done. This is a space vehicle only. Because of its characteristics, it cannot be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile," he said when asked whether Angara can ...
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Australia Using Paramarine Submersible Design Software
Portsmouth, UK (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
QinetiQ, in association with the Re-Engineering Australia Foundation Ltd (REA), is assisting Australian schools participating in the Future Submarine Technology Challenge (SUBS in Schools) providing its Paramarine Ship and Submersible Design Software to the participating students.
The challenge is being run in Australian schools to promote a holistic view of the role science, technology, e ...
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US military awards contracts to design reusable spaceplane
Washington (XNA) Jul 16, 2014 -
The U.S. military said Tuesday it has awarded contracts to three companies to design an experimental spaceplane conceived as a reusable, unmanned booster with costs, operation and reliability similar to modern aircraft.
The companies selected to develop the XS-1 spaceplane are Boeing, working with Blue Origin; Masten Space Systems, working with XCOR Aerospace; and Northrop Grumman, working ...
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Reducing Travel Assisted Firewood Insect Spread
Raleigh NC (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
The spread of damaging invasive forest pests is only partially powered by the insects' own wings. People moving firewood for camping can hasten and widen the insects' spread and resulting forest destruction. A new U.S. Forest Service study gives state planners a tool for anticipating the most likely route of human-assisted spread they can use to enhance survey and public education efforts.
...
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Does tissue decelerate therapeutic heavy ion beams
Brunswick, Germany (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
Irradiation with heavy ions is suitable in particular for patients suffering from cancer with tumours which are difficult to access, for example in the brain. These particles hardly damage the penetrated tissue, but can be used in such a way that they deliver their maximum energy only directly at the target: the tumour.
Research in this relatively new therapy method is focussed again and a ...
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World interest in research work on the benefits of the Okra plant
Huddersfield, UK (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
Estonian-born Katerina Alba's research at the University of Huddersfield could help to improve the quality of some of the most popular emulsion-based food products - such as butter, mayonnaise, yoghurt and fruit drinks - and she is starting to gain an international profile for her work.
Katerina gained her MSc degree in nutrition and food science at the University and now she has embarked ...
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New Feathered Predatory Fossil Sheds Light on Dinosaur Flight
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
A new raptorial dinosaur fossil with exceptionally long feathers has provided exciting insights into dinosaur flight. A paper published in Nature Communications on July 15, 2014 asserts that the fossil-discovered by an international team led by Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) paleontologist Dr. Luis Chiappe-has a long feathered tail that Chiappe and co-authors believe was inst ...
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Tailored water the latest in lawn care
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
In Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and other major cities in New Mexico, nearly every public golf course is now watered with treated municipal wastewater rather than precious potable water supplies. Across the U.S. Southwest as a whole, more than 40% of all golf courses receive treated effluent. Reusing the effluent increases the sustainability of golf courses.
Additionally, golf courses and homeow ...
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Scientists gear up to fight deadly snake fungal disease
Champaign IL (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
Researchers have developed a faster and more accurate way to test for infection with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, a fungus that is killing snakes in the Midwest and eastern United States. The test also allows scientists to monitor the progression of the infection in living snakes.
The researchers reported on the test at the 2014 Mycological Society of America Annual Meeting.
"We need p ...
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Gene discovery offers better soybean varieties for northern US
West Lafayette IN (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
Researchers from Purdue University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have discovered a soybean gene whose mutation affects plant stem growth, a finding that could lead to the development of improved soybean cultivars for the northern United States.
Purdue agronomy professor Jianxin Ma (pronounced Jen-SHIN' Ma) and collaborators identified a gene known as Dt2, which causes semidetermin ...
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Rainwater discovered at new depths
Southampton, UK (SPX) Jul 16, 2014 -
University of Southampton researchers have found that rainwater can penetrate below the Earth's fractured upper crust, which could have major implications for our understanding of earthquakes and the generation of valuable mineral deposits.
It had been thought that surface water could not penetrate the ductile crust - where temperatures of more than 300 C and high pressures cause rocks to ...
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