Iraq wins pledge of military support against IS
Paris (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
The world's top diplomats pledged Monday to support Iraq in its fight against Islamic State militants by "any means necessary", including "appropriate military assistance", as leaders stressed the urgency of the crisis.
Representatives from around 30 countries and international organisations, including the United States, Russia and China, gathered in Paris as the savage beheading at the week ...
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Iran rejects US-led coalition against jihadists
Tehran (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
Iran said Monday it rejected a US request for its cooperation against the jihadist Islamic State as part of an international coalition whose true aim Tehran sees as regime change in Syria.
Seen from Tehran, which has helped both Damascus and Baghdad to confront IS advances, the coalition lacks credibility because some of its members had financed and armed the group as part of their campaign ...
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Israeli arms sale to Ukraine blocked: report
Jerusalem (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
A proposed sale of Israeli weapons including drones to Ukraine has been blocked for fear of antagonising Russia, Channel Two television reported on Monday.
The broadcaster said a Ukrainian delegation had visited Israel with a view to acquiring military hardware including drones to use against pro-Russian separatists.
It was not reported when the visit took place or when the decision to t ...
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Exelis receives new order for night vision goggles
Roanoke, Va. (UPI) Sep 14, 2014 -
More Generation 3 night vision equipment has been ordered from Exelis, with deliveries to occur from late this year and early into 2015.
The order, under a 2011 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity OMNI VIII contract, carries a value of $8 million, the technology company said.
"As a cost-effective manufacturer of high-reliability night vision goggles, Exelis continues to provi ...
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US rejects military cooperation with Iran in Iraq, open to talks
Paris (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday ruled out military cooperation with Iran but said Washington remained open to talks with Tehran about the threat posed by Islamic State militants.
"We will not be coordinating with Iran" on military action, "but as I said, we are open to have a conversation," Kerry told reporters in Paris after an international conference on Iraq.
"On Syria stri ...
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Renegade claims jet raid on Libya militia position
Tripoli (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
A warplane carried out an air raid Monday on a military base in western Libya held by anti-government militias, in an attack claimed by renegade former general Khalifa Haftar.
State news agency LANA said 15 people were lightly wounded as the raid hit a munitions depot in the town of Gharyan, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the capital.
The militias in Gharyan form part of Fajr Lib ...
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Work starts on new patrol vessel for Singapore
Singapore (UPI) Sep 15, 2014 -
Singapore Technologies Marine has held a keel-laying ceremony for the Republic of Singapore Navy's first of eight Littoral Mission Vessels.
The LMVs being built by ST Marine will replace the navy's existing Fearless-class patrol vessels, which have been in service for nearly 20 years.
"The LMVs, to be equipped with advanced combat systems, will be highly versatile and capable of ...
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Lockheed Martin partners with Saudi firm for Sniper ATP support facility
Orlando, Fla. (UPI) Sep 15, 2014 -
The first overseas support facility for Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods is being opened in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by Lockheed Martin.
The repair-capable facility, designed to support ATPs used by the Royal Saudi Air Force, is being established in partnership with AEC, a local company focused on electronics manufacturing, system integration, and repair and maintenance services.
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Raytheon announces full-rate production of Talon rocket
Tucson (UPI) Sep 15, 2014 -
Raytheon's Talon laser-guided rocket has entered full-rate production for the United Arab Emirates under a 2013 order.
Talon is a digital, semi-active laser guidance-and-control kit co-developed with the United Arab Emirates. It fits directly to the front of the legacy 2.75-inch Hydra-70 unguided rocket for use in urban environments and for counter-insurgency and swarming boat defense m ...
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Australia facility to tackle chem-bio threats
Canberra, Australia (UPI) Sep 15, 2014 -
Australia's Defense Science and Technology Organization has broken ground for an upgraded defense science research facility in the State of Victoria.
The purpose-built facility in Melbourne will be pivotal in "achieving an enhanced protective capability against life-threatening diseases and toxic materials," according to Assistant Minister for Defense Stuart Robert at a ground-breaking ...
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Submarine work contract awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat
Groton, Conn. (UPI) Sep 14, 2014 -
Planning yard work, engineering and technical support for U.S. Navy nuclear submarines is to be conducted by General Dynamics Electric boat.
The company said the Navy contract it received for the work is worth $234 million. However, if all options are exercised over the five-year life of the award, the potential total value would be $1.5 billion.
The work to be provided includes ...
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UN nuclear watchdog head ups pressure on Iran
Vienna (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
The head of the UN atomic watchdog hit out Monday at Iran over its lack of cooperation with a probe into its nuclear programme, three weeks after Tehran missed a deadline to provide important information.
"In order to resolve all outstanding issues, it is very important that Iran continues to implement, in a timely manner, all practical measures agreed" to improve transparency, International ...
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Bangladesh meet begins to save endangered tigers
Dhaka (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
Some 140 tiger experts and government officials from 20 countries met in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Sunday to review progress towards an ambitious goal of doubling their number in the wild by 2022.
The nations, including the 13 where tigers are still found in the wild, had vowed at a landmark meeting in 2010 in the Russian city of St Petersburg to double the population of critically endan ...
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Proposed trash plant sparks protests in southern China
Shanghai (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
Thousands of people gathered Sunday in southern China to protest against a proposed trash incinerator, protesters said, as the government sought to allay anger by saying the location was not finalised.
In the latest in a series of protests in China over the feared health impact from development projects, thousands of people marched in Boluo county in Guangdong province against plans for an ...
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Fresh rain hampers rescue bid in flood-ravaged Kashmir
Srinagar, India (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
Fresh rain hampered rescue operations in Indian Kashmir Sunday a week after deadly floods swamped the Himalayan region, with medics and survivors describing nightmarish conditions in the devastated city of Srinagar.
The floods and landslides have now claimed at least 490 lives in India and neighbouring Pakistan, and rescuers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster.
After a ...
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Indian Ocean expedition pioneers citizen oceanography
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
Recreational sailors who become "citizen oceanographers" could help provide vital scientific knowledge about the world's oceans by sampling and testing remote waters from their yachts, according to a UNSW Australia-led team of researchers.
In 2013, Dr Federico Lauro, a UNSW microbiologist and national sailing champion, led an international scientific expedition across the Indian Ocean aboa ...
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The ozone hole has stabilized - some questions remain
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
The production and consumption of chemical substances threatening the ozone layer has been regulated since 1987 in the Montreal Protocol. Eight international expert reports have since been published, which examine the current situation and the future of the threat to the ozone layer.
Empa scientists made a decisive contribution to the latest report - presented on 10 September at the United ...
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Ocean Warming Affecting Florida Reefs
St. Petersburg, FL (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
Late-summer water temperatures near the Florida Keys were warmer by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last several decades compared to a century earlier, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Researchers indicate that the warmer water temperatures are stressing corals and increasing the number of bleaching events, where corals become white resulting from a loss of their ...
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At least 17 dead as flood rescue boat capsizes in Pakistan
Multan, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
At least 17 people including a bridegroom and two children drowned Sunday when a rescue boat carrying a wedding party capsized in flood-hit central Pakistan, officials said.
The boat, which was carrying at least 40 people, went down as it attempted to cross a swollen river in the Muzaffargarh district of central Punjab province, they said.
"We have recovered more dead bodies. The death t ...
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Slow-down in global warming enhanced by an unusual climate anomaly
Brussels, Belgium (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
A hiatus in global warming ongoing since 2001 is due to a combination of a natural cooling phase, known as multidecadal variability (MDV) and a downturn of the secular warming trend.
The exact causes of the latter, unique in the entire observational record going back to 1850, are still to be identified, according to a JRC article which analysed the phenomena.
The earth hasn't warmed ...
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Winter is coming: British weather set to become more unsettled
Sheffield, UK (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
British winters are becoming increasingly volatile due to extreme variations in pressure over the North Atlantic according to scientists from the University of Sheffield.
The new research, published in the International Journal of Climatology, shows that weather patterns over the UK have become distinctly more unstable, resulting in contrasting conditions from very mild, wet and stormy to ...
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Environmentalists criticise Australia reef protection plan
Sydney (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
Environmentalists criticised a new Australian government plan released Monday to protect the Great Barrier Reef in the face of UN concerns, saying it will not do enough to halt the marine park's decline.
The draft plan, now open for consultation, comes after UNESCO threatened to put the reef on its World Heritage "in danger" list. It gave Canberra until February 1, 2015 to submit a report on ...
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Singapore air pollution soars due to Indonesian forest fires
Singapore (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
Air pollution in Singapore rose to unhealthy levels Monday, blanketing the city-state's skyline with clouds of smog from fires raging across giant rainforests in the neighbouring Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials said.
Singapore's National Environment Agency said the pollutant standards index (PSI) reached a high of 111 at 7:00 am (2300 GMT) before easing to 80 a few hours later.
A ...
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Black-clad democracy activists stage sombre Hong Kong rally
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
More than 1,000 activists paraded through Hong Kong's streets on Sunday carrying huge lengths of black cloth, in a sombre protest against a recent decision by Beijing that crushed the city's hopes for full democracy.
Democracy activists in the former British colony had expectations Hong Kongers would be able to vote for their leader cut short in August when China announced plans for a highly ...
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Food safety fears see farming return to high-rise Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
It's a rural tradition that faded out decades ago as Hong Kong turned into a neon-lit megacity: rice seedlings being dropped into watery paddy fields with gentle plops.
But now a new wave of farmers are growing the staple again in sleepy Long Valley in the city's northern New Territories, where buzzing insects and flocking birds offer a rich contrast to the high rise blocks in the distance. ...
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