Unmanned vehicles tested in Arctic
Ottawa (UPI) Sep 5, 2014 -
The use of unmanned ground and aerial vehicles in Artic conditions has been studied by scientists and technicians of Canada's Department of National Defense.
The department said this week that 34 tests in all were conducted last month by the Canadian Armed Forces Joint Arctic Experiment Scientific Team at Canadian Forces Station Alert.
Experiments covered issues such as the deplo ...
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Top Obama aide in Beijing to highlight vital China ties
Washington (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
President Barack Obama's top White House national security aide lands in Beijing on Sunday, signaling that ties with China remain a priority despite turmoil and tensions tearing at US foreign policy.
National Security Advisor Susan Rice is expected to meet President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials in talks which come two weeks after Washington accused a Chinese fighter jet of b ...
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China reveals two aircraft carrier test pilots killed
Beijing (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
Two pilots in a squadron conducting fighter jet take-off and landing tests for China's lone aircraft carrier were killed during trials, state media reported, offering a rare glimpse into the secretive project.
The revelation of the deaths came in a report last week on the signing of an order of commendation for the crew of China's first carrier-based jet fighter, the J-15.
"Two test pilo ...
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Ukraine crisis accelerates Russia-China energy cooperation
Moscow (AFP) Sept 07, 2014 -
Russia aims to boost its economic ties with China, particularly in the energy sector, in the face of Western sanctions over Ukraine but this could prove a high-risk strategy.
On Monday, far from the fighting in Ukraine and the threat of fresh Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin launched what is hailed as "the biggest construction project in the world" in Eastern Siberia.
The 4,00 ...
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US expands air strikes to Iraq Sunni Arab heartland
Baghdad (AFP) Sept 07, 2014 -
Washington said Sunday it had carried out air strikes against jihadists in Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, expanding its month-long air campaign and its involvement in the conflict.
It was a significant escalation for President Barack Obama, who made his political career opposing the war in Iraq and pulled out US troops in 2011.
Previous strikes since Obama launched the US air campaign on A ...
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Laser weapon engages targets despite adverse weather conditions
Huntsville, Ala. (UPI) Sep 5, 2014 -
A high-energy laser demonstrator from Boeing has successfully engaged numerous aerial targets in adverse weather conditions.
The tests of the laser system, which was mounted on a truck, were recently conducted by Boeing and the U.S. Army at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
More than 150 targets were involved. They included unmanned aerial vehicles and 60mm mortars, Boeing said. / ...
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Iran failing to provide answers in nuke probe: UN
Vienna (AFP) Sept 05, 2014 -
Iran failed to meet a deadline to provide answers about its controversial nuclear programme, a UN atomic watchdog report showed Friday, throwing into doubt prospects for a deal with world powers.
Tehran had agreed to provide information to allay concerns it was developing nuclear weapons, something it denies, including explosives tests that could potentially be used in a bomb.
Not answer ...
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US 'not serious' in fight against IS: Iran
Tehran (AFP) Sept 07, 2014 -
Iran accused the United States Sunday of not taking the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria seriously, and charged that US aid had previously helped the jihadists.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif levelled the accusations despite an expanding US air campaign in Iraq since August 8 that provided key support in relieving a jihadist siege of a Shiite Turkmen town north of ...
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Rheinmetall in Australia sets vehicle project team
Deakin West, Australia (UPI) Sep 4, 2014 -
The Australian subsidiary of Rheinmetall Man Military Vehicles has awarded major sub-contracts related to production of logistics trucks.
"Each of the successful companies has demonstrated expertise and many years of experience supplying premium products for the Australian military or the Australian civilian market," Rheinmetall Man Military Vehicles Australia said.
The Varley Gr ...
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Singapore has full fleet of Alenia Aermacchi trainer planes
Cazaux, France (UPI) Sep 5, 2014 -
Singapore has inaugurated its fleet of Alenia Aermacchi M-346 trainer jets used by its Air Force training squadron at a base in France.
The aircraft replaces the A-4SE Super Skyhawk previously used by Singapore's 150 Squadron at Cazaux Air Base.
"It (the new aircraft) allows our trainee pilots to be able to be exposed to air combat environments within the cockpit - they can be s ...
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Italian shipbuilder hands over new vessel to Algerian Navy
Trieste, Italy (UPI) Sep 5, 2014 -
Italy's Orizzonte Sistemi Navali has delivered a landing platform dock ship to the Navy of Algeria.
The Kalaat Beni-Abbes, which will serve as the Algerian navy's flagship, was turned over to Algerian authorities on Thursday at the company shipyard in La Spezia.
The ship is a derivative of the Italian navy's San Giusto-class of LPDs. It is about 460 feet long and displaces about ...
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Obama calls on allies to defeat Islamic State
Newport, United Kingdom (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
US President Barack Obama outlined plans on Friday for a broad international coalition to defeat Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria, but they received a cautious response from European allies.
Speaking at a NATO summit, Obama said the United States would also try to involve Middle Eastern allies in a strategy to counter the jihadists, who have overrun large swathes of territory.
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Bush-era memos: president can wiretap Americans at all times
Washington (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
The US Justice Department has released two memos detailing the Bush administration's legal justification for monitoring the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.
The documents, released late Friday, relate to a secret program dubbed Stellar Wind that began after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It allowed the National Security Agency to obtain communications data within ...
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Chinese president's Pakistan visit postponed due to protests
Islamabad (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
Pakistan's foreign ministry Saturday said Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit scheduled for this month had been postponed due to anti-government protests in Islamabad.
Pakistani opposition groups on Wednesday resumed talks with the government in a bid to end the political crisis rocking the country, but remained in a stalemate over demands for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation ...
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NKorea nuclear reactor may be operating again: UN watchdog
Vienna (AFP) Sept 05, 2014 -
North Korea's reactor at its main nuclear site, capable of giving the isolated regime plutonium for nuclear weapons, may be operational again, the UN atomic watchdog said in a report seen by AFP Friday.
"Since late August 2013, the agency has observed, through analysis of satellite imagery, steam discharges and the outflow of cooling water" at the reactor at Yongbyon, the International Atomi ...
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Mongolia balances between the dragon and the bear
Ulan Bator (AFP) Sept 05, 2014 -
Mongolia was a Soviet satellite for decades but now fears economic domination by China, with this week's visit by Russia's Vladimir Putin, hard on the heels of Xi Jinping, highlighting its delicate balancing act, analysts say.
Although dwarfed by its massive neighbours, landlocked Mongolia is still one of the world's 20 largest - though least densely populated - countries, its three millio ...
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Six NATO countries start weapons initiative
Brussels (UPI) Sep 5, 2014 -
Six NATO countries have launched a program for greater cooperation in the procurement and fielding of air-to-ground precision-guided weapons.
The initiative was launched at the NATO Summit in Wales by Denmark - the lead actor in the initiative - the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Portugal and Spain.
NATO said the project will focus on multi-national approaches toward ...
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Japan PM travels to South Asia to offset China influence
Dhaka (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
Japan's prime minister won Dhaka's support for Tokyo's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council as he began a visit to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka aimed at offsetting China's mounting influence in South Asia.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Dhaka would withdraw its candidacy in favour of Tokyo in view of Japan's "continued and strong support in Bangladesh's developm ...
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Syria raids on jihadist bastion kill 53, mostly civilians: NGO
Beirut (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
Syrian air strikes against the northern jihadist bastion of Raqa on Saturday killed 53 people, a monitor said, updating an earlier toll and adding that at least 31 of the dead were civilians.
"We have documented the deaths of 31 civilians, among them five women and three children, in Raqa and its surroundings," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.
Another ...
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Scottish independence may force UK nuclear deterrent rethink
London (AFP) Sept 06, 2014 -
Britain's future as a nuclear-armed nation could be thrown into doubt if Scotland votes for independence on September 18, experts say, raising serious questions about its future status in the international community.
The UK's Trident nuclear submarines are currently based at Faslane naval base on a sea loch west of Glasgow surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery.
But the Scottish Nationa ...
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Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 05, 2014 -
A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 60 feet (20 meters) in size.
Asteroid 2014 RC ...
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Engineers Conduct Low Light Test On Webb Telescope Component
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
NASA engineers inspect a new piece of technology developed for the James Webb Space Telescope, the micro shutter array, with a low light test at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Developed at Goddard to allow Webb's Near Infrared Spectrograph to obtain spectra of more than 100 objects in the universe simultaneously, the micro shutter array uses thousands of tiny sh ...
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China launches two satellites via one rocket
Beijing (XNA) Sep 05, 2014 -
A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying Chuangxin-1-04 flies in the sky at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 4, 2014.
China successfully launched two satellites via one rocket at 8:15 a.m. Thursday Beijing Time (0015 GMT) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
One of the satellites is the Chuangxin-1-04, which is designed to collect and t ...
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Hawaii scientist maps, names Laniakea, our home supercluster of galaxies
Manoa HI (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
University of Hawaii at Manoa astronomer R. Brent Tully, who recently shared the 2014 Gruber Cosmology Prize and the 2014 Victor Ambartsumian International Prize, has led an international team of astronomers in defining the contours of the immense supercluster of galaxies containing our own Milky Way.
They have named the supercluster "Laniakea," meaning "immense heaven" in Hawaiian. The pa ...
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International Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Data Goes Public
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
The most accurate and comprehensive collection of rain, snowfall and other types of precipitation data ever assembled now is available to the public. This new resource for climate studies, weather forecasting, and other applications is based on observations by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), w ...
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