State media urges China to say if Iceland envoy was spy
Beijing (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
A Chinese state-run newspaper Thursday urged Beijing to say whether its ambassador to Iceland was a spy following reports he had been held for leaking intelligence to Japan, while authorities said they had "no information" on the matter.
The editorial by the Global Times newspaper, which is run by the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece the People's Daily, throws a rare official spotlight on ...
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India says Modi raised China border incursions with Xi
New Delhi (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of incursions by Chinese troops on the disputed border during talks with visiting President Xi Jinping, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told AFP the issue was discussed on Wednesday evening during Xi's rare visit to India amid reports of a stand-off involving hundreds of troops from both sides ...
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China says US hacking charges 'fabricated out of thin air'
Beijing (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Beijing on Thursday strongly denied a US congressional panel's claim that Chinese government-linked hackers had launched dozens of cyberattacks on American defence contractors, saying the charges were "fabricated out of thin air".
The denial came a day after a Senate panel released a study finding that hackers had gained access to systems run by companies doing contract work for the US Trans ...
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Israeli navy fire wounds Gaza fisherman: medics
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Israeli naval gunfire wounded a fisherman off the coast of Gaza on Thursday, a medical official said, in a sign of ongoing tension around the battered Palestinian territory.
The man was moderately wounded in the incident, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP, without providing further details.
Israel's military had no immediate confirmation of the incident.
Shortly a ...
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Australia foils Islamic State 'demonstration killings' plot
Sydney (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Australia's largest ever counter-terrorism raids on Thursday detained 15 people and foiled an alleged plot by Islamic State jihadists to conduct "demonstration killings", including beheading a random member of the public.
A major pre-dawn operation was carried out across Sydney and Brisbane by more than 800 officers acting on some 25 search warrants. One person has so far been charged with s ...
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Upgrade for F-35's Autonomic Logistics Information System
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (UPI) Sep 18, 2014 -
An enhanced logistics system for F-35 Lightning II has been delivered by Lockheed Martin to flight test sites for validation.
The software system - the Autonomic Logistics Information System - is described as the information technology backbone of the aircraft, integrating preventative maintenance, flight scheduling and the mission-planning system for aircraft sustainment.
"The ...
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IS 'mafia' cash flow poses difficult target for West
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Western governments are facing an uphill battle trying to squeeze the finances of Islamic State jihadists, as the extremists operate like a "mafia" in territory under their control in Syria and Iraq, experts said Wednesday.
Unlike the Al-Qaeda network, which has relied almost exclusively on private donations, the IS group holds a large area in Syria and Iraq that allows it to generate cash ...
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Hollande goes on offensive with Iraq air strike decision
Paris (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
President Francois Hollande kicked off a rare news conference Thursday with the dramatic announcement that France would conduct air strikes in Iraq, as he sought to wrest back the initiative after a catastrophic few weeks at home.
A party rebellion, an emergency cabinet reshuffle, record high unemployment, zero-growth and record low popularity: Hollande has endured punch after punch in recen ...
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Uighur scholar defiant as China separatism trial ends
Beijing (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
A prominent scholar from China's mostly-Muslim Uighur minority strongly rejected charges of separatism and said he loved his country as his trial ended on Thursday, his lawyer said, in a prosecution critics warned could worsen tensions in the unstable Xinjiang region.
Ilham Tohti, a former University professor and outspoken critic of China's policies in the vast western region, told the cour ...
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Apple's new encryption to lock out government
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Apple is rolling out new privacy protections for iPhones and iPads, with a new system that makes it impossible for the company to unlock a device even with a warrant.
Apple's privacy terms updated late Wednesday indicate that under its new mobile operating system, iOS 8, the company will not have access to customer passwords.
"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attach ...
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For first time, US targets IS training camp in Iraq: Centcom
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
US aircraft have targeted a training camp for Islamic State jihadists in northern Iraq, bombing buildings, fighters and vehicles in the first such air strike, military officers said Thursday.
"In total, one air strike near an ISIL (Islamic State group) training camp southeast of Mosul destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle, two ISIL-occupied buildings and a large ISIL ground unit," the US Central ...
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Keep all options open against IS militants, US lawmakers told
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Veteran military and diplomatic officials urged the US administration Thursday to keep all options on the table to fight Islamic militants, warning it would be a long, hard battle.
"I think we're up against in ISIL a very formidable and yet vulnerable enemy," former top military commander General James Mattis said, referring to the Islamic State group which is terrorizing parts of Iraq and ...
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Obama and US lawmakers turn up heat on IS
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Barack Obama and US lawmakers ratcheted up the pressure on the Islamic State Wednesday, with the president declaring there was no hiding place for the jihadists and warning: "Our reach is long."
After Obama spoke at MacDill Air Force Base, the House of Representatives voted 273 to 156 to approve his plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, a key part of his strategy to destroy the IS ...
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Twin crises could shape Obama's twilight years in office
Tampa (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
With voters souring on his statesmanship as never before, President Barack Obama has a sudden chance to use two sudden world crises to recast his final two years in office.
Obama is making a show of assuming command of the confrontation with the Islamic State group and the right against Ebola, both of which will shape final judgments of his White House years.
Both dramas highlight the vi ...
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Founding Day of Air and Missile Defense Command of Aerospace Defense Forces
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Sep 18, 2014 -
A number of events are scheduled in Moscow on Friday, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Moscow Air Defense District, established on August 20, 1954, which had evolved by now into the Order of Lenin Air and Missile Defense Command of the Aerospace Defense Forces (ADF).
The history of Moscow's air defense began much earlier, though. It is believed to have been born on April 25, 1918, when ...
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Russian Aerospace Defense Forces Again Dismiss Satellite Explosion Rumors
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Sep 18, 2014 -
The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces again dismissed US media rumors of a Russian military satellite allegedly exploding above the United States.
"These statements are yet another attempt to find out the location of the space object after the United States has lost track of it," Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said.
He reiterated that all Russian spacecraft ...
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Space control Airmen ensure constant communication
Peterson AFB CO (SPX) Sep 18, 2014 -
Air Force Space Command's 16th Space Control Squadron in partnership with the Air Force Reserve Command's 380th SPCS is responsible for ensuring the Defense Department has uninterrupted global satellite communications.
Located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., two squadrons are responsible for operating space control capabilities to rapidly achieve flexible and versatile space superiority ...
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Ukraine says Russia masses troops on Ukraine border
Simferopol (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
The Ukrainian government accused Russia on Thursday of massing around 4,000 troops on the border of Russian-annexed Crimea and Ukraine, as multiple Crimean residents also reported seeing troop movements.
"According to our information, almost all military units of the Russian Federation stationed in the north of occupied Crimea... were pushed to the administrative border with Ukraine along wi ...
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Iran slams US as 'obsessed' with sanctions as talks resume
New York (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday accused Washington of being "obsessed" with sanctions as a new round of high-stakes bilateral nuclear negotiations opened in New York.
"We are committed to resolving this issue," Zarif told a US think-tank, as a State Department official confirmed to AFP that the two sides had resumed talks here late Wednesday.
But Zarif argued p ...
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Last month was hottest August since 1880: US
Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Last month was the hottest August on record for global average temperatures over land and ocean surfaces, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
If the trend continues, 2014 could set records for planet-wide heat, raising fresh alarm at the pace of global warming and the burning of fossil fuels.
The month's temperature was 1.35 degrees Fahrenheit above the ...
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Hurricane Polo surges off Mexico's Pacific coast
Mexico City (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Hurricane Polo formed off Mexico's southwestern coast late Wednesday, threatening to spark floods and mudslides days after another storm wreaked havoc in popular resorts further north.
Polo was cruising parallel to the coast but was expected to bring tropical storm conditions over some Pacific states, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Its maximum sustained winds reached 120 ...
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Whaling meeting heaps pressure on Japan
Portoroz, Slovenia (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
The world's whaling watchdog agreed Thursday to toughen scrutiny of Antarctic hunts which Japan conducts in the name of science, but rejected a bid to expand protection in the South Atlantic.
The issues were put to a vote on the closing day of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) 65th meeting - its controversy-laden agenda seeking to balance traditional hunting rights with conservat ...
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Five die as flash flood sweeps through French camping site
Lamalou-Les-Bains, France (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Five people died when storms turned a peaceful river that bordered their camping site in southern France into a raging torrent that swept them away, rescue workers said Thursday.
The site in Lamalou-les-Bains was devastated by the flood overnight as storms that had already killed an elderly lady in the nearby region of Aveyron also left a person missing in another neighbouring department. ...
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Coercion could worsen Ebola epidemic, say experts
Paris (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Coercive measures to stem the deadly Ebola epidemic in West Africa, such as confining people to their homes, could backfire badly, experts say.
The Sierra Leone government has told the entire population of six million to stay at home, except for essential business, for 72 hours from Friday.
The plan, unveiled on September 10, aims to break the chain of transmission.
It will ostensibl ...
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Ocean-threatened Marshall's leader posts climate video plea
Majuro (AFP) Marshall Islands (AFP) Sept 18, 2014 -
Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak was forced to heightened the seawall protecting his home last year but says the year-old defences are now barely enough to protect his family from a "climate emergency".
"Out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, climate change has arrived," Loeak said in the video to be released globally Friday, ahead of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's clim ...
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