Taiwan says Chinese patrol aircraft entered its airspace
Taipei (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Taiwan's air force scrambled fighter jets to track two Chinese Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft which intruded into the island's airspace, a senior air force officer said Tuesday.
One plane entered Taiwan's ADIZ (air defence identification zone) at 8:33 am Monday and another at 2:31 pm, en route to a disputed area in the South China Sea.
The planes had taken off from the mainland's southeast ...
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New Zealand receives first Beechcraft trainers
Wellington, New Zealand (UPI) Aug 25, 2014 -
Two Beechcraft T-6C trainer aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force have arrived in the country and will be delivered to the service in October.
The Ministry of Defense said the two planes are the first two of 11 aircraft ordered and the remainder will be arrive in the country by mid-2015.
"It is great to see the first T-6C aircraft arrive in New Zealand just seven months af ...
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Australia tycoon apologises for calling Chinese govt 'mongrels'
Sydney (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Australian tycoon Clive Palmer on Tuesday apologised for calling the Chinese government "mongrels" who "shoot their own people" after a fierce backlash from Beijing and politicians in Canberra.
The billionaire coal baron, who was elected to parliament last year as head of the Palmer United Party, had also called the Chinese "bastards" who "want to take over this country" in a televised tirad ...
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US rules out coordination with Syria as it spies on jihadists
Damascus (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
The United States has begun reconnaissance flights over Syria to track Islamic State jihadists but insisted Tuesday it has "no plans" to coordinate with Syria on targeting the militants.
Numerous sources said foreign drones have been seen over Syria, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that "non-Syrian spy planes" had on Monday carried out surveillance of IS positions in t ...
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Iraqi strikes target militants besieging Shiite town
Kirkuk, Iraq (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Iraq carried out air strikes Tuesday against jihadists who have for months besieged the town of Amerli, where residents are short on food and water and face a "possible massacre."
The nine strikes by Iraqi warplanes targeted forces from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Colonel Mustafa al-Bayati said.
IS spearheaded a major offensive in June that overran large areas of Iraq and cut ...
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India says no to new deals with Finmeccanica
New Delhi (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
India will not sign any new contracts with Italian aerospace giant Finmeccanica but will honour existing ones, a defence ministry source said Tuesday, after a chopper deal was scrapped over a bribery scandal.
India cancelled a 556-million-euro ($753-million) deal in January to buy 12 luxury helicopters from AgustaWestland, which is owned by Finmeccanica, after Italian investigators began loo ...
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Israel hits Gaza highrises as sides weigh truce deal
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Israel upped the pressure on Hamas Tuesday, with warplanes hitting two Gaza City highrises on day 50 of their conflict as the warring parties mulled a new Egyptian truce proposal.
There appeared to be little outward sign, however, of interest in the Egyptian proposal which seeks to broker a more permanent end to seven weeks of fighting in Gaza which has so far killed 2,137 Palestinians and ...
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Indonesia's president satisfied on leaving office
Sydney (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Indonesia's outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday he leaves office with a sense of satisfaction after strengthening democracy and the economy during a decade in power.
The former general stands down in October when Joko Widodo, the reform-minded governor of Jakarta who won July's presidential polls, takes the reins of Southeast Asia's top economy.
In an interview with ...
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Top Iran official, Saudi FM discuss 'terrorism'
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed Tuesday regional developments and the fight against Islamic State jihadists with a senior Iranian official visiting his country's longtime regional rival, an Iranian diplomat said.
The visit by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to the city of Jeddah was the first by a high-level official from Shiite Iran to Sunni Sa ...
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US says UAE bombed Libya Islamists as turmoil deepens
Tripoli (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
UAE warplanes secretly bombed Islamist militia targets in Libya, apparently catching Washington off guard, as turmoil in the North African country deepened with the Islamists naming a rival premier.
US officials said on Monday that the United Arab Emirates jets launched two attacks in seven days on the Islamists in Tripoli using bases in Egypt.
An Emirati official told AFP only that his ...
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Iran provided weapons to Iraq's Kurds: Barzani
Arbil, Iraq (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Iran was the first country to provide Iraq's embattled autonomous Kurdish region with weapons to fight off jihadist-led militants, president Massud Barzani said on Tuesday.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first state to help us... and it provided us with weapons and equipment," Barzani said at a joint news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Militants led ...
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Hungarian T-72 tanks on way to Czech Republic
Budapest, Hungary (UPI) Aug 26, 2014 -
More than four dozen T-72 tanks are on their way to the Czech military from Hungarian Army depots.
The Hungarian Ministry of Defense said the transport of 58 surplus tanks began on Monday to an undisclosed point in the Czech Republic but offered no other details.
The Soviet-made T-72 came into production in the early 1970s. It weighs about 45 tons, has a speed of about 37 miles p ...
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Libya air strikes show UAE willing to 'go it alone'
Dubai (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
UAE air strikes on Libya aim to prevent Islamists from controlling the violence-stricken country and sends a message to Washington that it is capable of protecting its own interests, experts say.
United States officials said that United Arab Emirates warplanes secretly bombed Islamist militia targets in Libya from bases in Egypt last week, but Abu Dhabi has not publicly acknowledged involvem ...
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British police urge public to inform on 'aspiring terrorists'
London (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
British police Tuesday urged people to identify "aspiring terrorists" among their family members, friends and neighbours after the killing of US journalist James Foley, apparently by a man with an English accent.
The appeal also comes amid growing government concern that British passport holders who travel to fight in Iraq and Syria could return to carry out attacks on home soil.
Jihadis ...
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GenDyn providing support services for Littoral Combat Ships
Bath, Maine (UPI) Aug 26, 2014 -
All variants of the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ships are to receive maintenance and modernization support by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.
The support work includes advanced planning, ship alteration design, logistics support, material support, ship planned maintenance, class services, onboard maintenance, and planning of all maintenance availabilities in the U.S. and abroad.
...
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Researchers find security flaws in backscatter X-ray scanners
San Diego CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2014 -
A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University have discovered several security vulnerabilities in full-body backscatter X-ray scanners deployed to U.S. airports between 2009 and 2013.
In laboratory tests, the team was able to successfully conceal firearms and plastic explosive simulants from the Rapiscan Secure ...
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Engineers and Technicians Install Protective Shell on NASA's Orion Spacecraft
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 22, 2014 -
The heat shield on NASA's Orion spacecraft gets all the glory when it comes to protecting the spacecraft from the intense temperature of reentry. Although the blunt, ablative shield will see the highest temperatures - up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit on its first flight this December - the rest of the spacecraft is hardly left in the cold.
Engineers and technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Ce ...
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Delivery by drone
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 27, 2014 -
In the near future, the package that you ordered online may be deposited at your doorstep by a drone: Last December, online retailer Amazon announced plans to explore drone-based delivery, suggesting that fleets of flying robots might serve as autonomous messengers that shuttle packages to customers within 30 minutes of an order.
To ensure safe, timely, and accurate delivery, drones would ...
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R-7 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 27, 2014 -
On August 21, 1957, the USSR successfully launched the R-7/SS-6 Sapwood intercontinental ballistic missile, which was developed by experts from Special Design Bureau (OKB) No. 1, under the supervision of Chief Designer Sergei Korolev.
The two-stage R-7 ICBM could deliver one thermonuclear warhead to just about any region of a theoretical enemy's territory. This new formidable weapons syste ...
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Japan mulls enhancing missile detecting capability
Tokyo, Japan (XNA) Aug 26, 2014 -
Japan is mulling to further and effectively use space to detect early signs of ballistic missile so as to boost its defense capabilities, local media reported on Saturday.
The Japanese Defense Ministry hopes to promote empirical research with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and also considered to set up a special force for space surveillance within the Self-Defense Forces, Ja ...
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UK top judge warns Hong Kong of 'vigilance' to protect rights
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Britain's top judge Tuesday warned Hong Kong of the need for "eternal vigilance" to safeguard its liberties as China looks set to take a hardline stance at discussions this week on election reforms in the city.
David Neuberger's comments come as China's legislature meets to decide how Hong Kong's next leader will be chosen, with public discontent in the former British colony at its highest f ...
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GenDyn building next-gen 911 call service for Massachusetts
Fairfax, Va. (UPI) Aug 26, 2014 -
General Dynamics Information and Technology is to design, build and operate a new IP-based emergency communications system for Massachusetts.
The future system NG9-1-1 system, which will comply with the National Emergency Number Association's architecture standards, will accept requests for service from existing public networks through new and emerging modes of communication and devices ...
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Hurricane churns towards Bermuda, to impact US
Miami (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
A strengthening Hurricane Cristobal had Bermuda in its sights Tuesday, US meteorologists said, warning of heavy rain, high winds and life-threatening rip currents in Florida and beyond.
The storm, which has dumped rain on the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, killing one person, was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurric ...
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Expectant newly-weds among Japan landslide missing
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Details emerged Tuesday of a newly-wed couple who had been expecting their first baby when huge mudslides engulfed their home in western Japan, as the number of confirmed deaths from the disaster hit 63.
Desperate family members were praying for the almost impossible rescue of 28-year-old Minami Yuasa, who was expecting a baby boy in November, and her husband, Yasuhiro.
The couple, who w ...
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EU urged to act over surge in migrant deaths in Med
Rome (AFP) Aug 26, 2014 -
Italy's navy said Tuesday that 24 corpses had been recovered from the latest capsize of a boat carrying migrants from Africa, as EU officials debated how to stem a surge in the numbers dying in perilous efforts to reach European shores.
More than 300 would-be immigrants have been killed and another 4,000 rescued at sea since Friday, according to navy figures. The death toll since the start o ...
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