Lockheed Martin UK opens F-35 software simulation facility
Ampthill, England (UPI) Nov 24, 2014 -
Lockheed Martin UK has opened a simulation facility for pilots and engineers of F-35 Lightning II fighters assess the aircraft's mission system and software.
"By simulating battle scenarios, users are able to get a realistic understanding of how the F-35B will operate," the company said. "The virtual cockpits, networked together to emulate multi aircraft operations, allow military perso ...
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Hybrid Ferry MF Finnoy Completes Three-Month Trial
Richmond, Canada (SPX) Nov 20, 2014 -
Corvus Energy has announced the completion of the three month trial of the hybrid ferry MF Finnoy. The refit vessel used a 960V, 260kWh Energy Storage System (ESS) consisting of 40 Corvus Energy AT6500 advanced lithium polymer batteries. The ESS was integrated with the existing drive systems provided by Siemens AS, and powered by two 650kW diesel generators.
MF Finnoy, built in 1999, has a ...
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Mutualink and C2UK Partner to Deliver Interoperable Comms
Wallingford CT (SPX) Nov 20, 2014 -
C2UK and Mutualink have announced a partnership to jointly develop the UK and Middle East markets for the Mutualink product portfolio. Mutualink offers state-of-the-art, secure, interoperable communications and information sharing solutions for U.S. and coalition defence partners, including all aspects of military and homeland defence.
C2UK is able to leverage both its domestic and interna ...
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Iran's Rouhani squeezed over nuclear talks extension
Tehran (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani faced thinly veiled pressure Tuesday over a missed nuclear deal deadline and an unexpected seven-month extension of talks, with hardliners denouncing the diplomatic deadlock.
The failure to clinch a final agreement with world powers dominated newspaper front pages, with many editorials viewing further dialogue as pointless because the talks have not yet yielde ...
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What hope for Iran nuclear deal?
Vienna (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
Iran and world powers have given themselves seven more months to reach a nuclear deal, but a heightened risk of hardliners wrecking the process means they may have missed their best chance ever, analysts say.
It also remains far from certain that putting yet more time on the clock will help, when after 10 rounds of talks the two sides still remain poles apart on the fundamental issues.
U ...
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France delays warship delivery to Russia 'until further notice'
Paris (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
France on Tuesday pushed back "until further notice" the delivery of a controversial warship to Russia because of the Ukraine crisis, sparking a measured initial response from Moscow.
President Francois Hollande said in a statement that the "current situation in eastern Ukraine still does not allow for the delivery of the first" of two Mistral-class vessels France has built for Russia.
" ...
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Iran won't be brought to knees on nuclear issue: Khamenei
Tehran (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that Iran would not sink "to its knees" over its disputed nuclear programme, his first comment since a missed deadline for a deal.
"In the # nuclear issue, arrogants have made their best to bring # Iran to its knees but they were not able and will not be able to do so," a tweet on his @khamenei_ir account said.
Iranian officials often re ...
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Ukraine's NATO hopes still a long way off
Kiev (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
For the first time, a majority of Ukrainians support the idea of joining NATO and the president this week spoke of putting the idea to a popular vote, but experts say it still remains a distant dream.
President Petro Poroshenko, who a decade ago described the promise of eventual NATO membership as "the light at the end of the tunnel", said Monday it would take several years of reforms before ...
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China Military Advance in South China Sea to Test US Outreach
Moscow, Russia (Sputnik) Nov 25, 2014 -
China has allegedly boosted its military presence in the disputed area of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea by building an artificial island spacious enough to host an airstrip, thus raising security concerns of a key US ally in the region, the Philippines, as well as several other nations, including Republic of China in Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
Several recent satellite i ...
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Stealthy spy software snooping for years: Symantec
San Francisco (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
Computer security firm Symantec on Monday said it uncovered stealthy software wielded as part of a years-long spying campaign, most likely by a nation state.
The malicious software, dubbed Regin, has a rare level of sophistication and has been targeting government agencies, telecoms, utilities, airlines, research facilities, private individuals and others since at least 2008, according to Sy ...
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Russia studies construction of its own orbital station
Moscow (XNA) Nov 20, 2014 -
Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos is studying several options of creating a brand-new Russian orbital station, which could replace the International Space Station (ISS), deputy chief of Roscosmos Denis Lyskov said Monday.
"We are looking into various options, while building an orbital station as a substitute for ISS is one of them," Lyskov said without giving any further details.
...
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China ships pay first post-Japan summit visit to disputed isles
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 25, 2014 -
Chinese ships returned to territorial waters around islands at the centre of a dispute with Japan on Tuesday, the coastguard said, the first incursion since a Sino-Japanese summit aimed at reducing tensions.
Three Chinese coastguard vessels sailed into the 12-nautical-mile zone around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China claims and calls the Diaoyus, shortly after 10:00 am (0 ...
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Apple teams with (RED) to fight AIDS
San Francisco (AFP) Nov 24, 2014 -
Apple on Monday teamed with the (RED) campaign founded by U2 singer Bono to raise money to fight AIDS.
The move came as the California-based maker of iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macintosh computers shows deeper support for social and environmental causes under the leadership of chief executive Tim Cook.
It also comes as Silicon Valley technology titans use their smarts, resources and cash ...
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Bear cub found dead in Spanish Pyrenees
Madrid (AFP) Nov 24, 2014 -
A brown bear cub that was part of an effort to reintroduce the species to the Pyrenees mountains has been found dead on the Spanish side of the mountain range, local officials said Monday.
The body of the 10-month-old cub called Auberta was found on Friday inside a 5,000 square metre (54,000 square foot) wildlife enclosure where it has lived since it was found disoriented and alone in April ...
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Morocco flash floods kill at least 32
Rabat (AFP) Nov 24, 2014 -
The death toll from three days of what residents described as the heaviest storms to hit southern Morocco in decades has climbed to at least 32, authorities said on Monday.
The storms since Saturday caused flash floods in much of the south at the foot of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, but a weather alert was finally called off on Monday afternoon.
The interior ministry gave an updated toll of ...
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Eastern hellbender salamander may warrant endangered status in New York
Albany, N.Y. (UPI) Nov 24, 2014 -
The eastern hellbender - a subspecies of the giant salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) endemic to eastern North America - may soon be listed as endangered in the state of New York. Last week, a group of scientists and environmentalists filed a petition with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation calling for greater protection of the amphibian.
In 1983, New York ...
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Wave of child deaths in Pakistan desert
Karachi (AFP) Nov 19, 2014 -
Nearly 300 children have died this year in desert communities in southern Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, as poor monsoon rains and livestock diseases have combined to worsen malnutrition.
The Thar desert, straddling the Indian border and one of Pakistan's poorest areas, has seen an alarming number of children suffering pneumonia or diarrhoea due to a dangerous mix of drought, poverty an ...
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Philippines convicts Chinese 'poachers' despite Beijing's warnings
Puerto Princesa, Philippines (AFP) Nov 24, 2014 -
A Philippine court on Monday found nine Chinese fishermen guilty of poaching and environmental crimes for fishing in disputed waters, in a case that has strained relations with China.
The nine, arrested in May, were fined $100,000 each for poaching with an additional 120,000 pesos ($2,730) fine for catching an endangered species, prosecutor Allen Ross Rodriguez said in the town of Puerto Pri ...
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Global warming could undermine poverty fight: World Bank
Washington (AFP) Nov 23, 2014 -
Climate change could undermine efforts to defeat extreme poverty around the globe, the World Bank warned Sunday.
In a new report on the impact of global warming, the bank said sharp temperature rises would cut deeply into crop yields and water supplies in many areas and possibly set back efforts to bring populations out of poverty.
"Climate change poses a substantial and escalating risk ...
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Japan's Abe vows support for victims after quake injures 41
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 24, 2014 -
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday promised "firm" support after meeting victims of a weekend earthquake, which injured 41 people and wrecked hundreds of homes in a popular ski resort.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck Saturday night at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) in Nagano prefecture northwest of Tokyo.
A total of 41 people were injured, seven seriously, but no one was k ...
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Researchers tracking tiger sharks in Hawaii after spate of attacks
Wailuku, Hawaii (UPI) Nov 24, 2014 -
In 2012, there were eight reported shark attacks off the beaches of Hawaii. In 2013, there were another eight. Two of the 16 were fatal. In the fall of 2013, scientists began tagging and tracking tiger sharks to try ascertain a change in behavior that might explain the uptick in unprovoked attacks.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii's Institute of Marine Biology tagged 24 tiger sha ...
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Time-lapse photos and weather data unlock Antarctic secrets
Providence RI (SPX) Nov 25, 2014 -
In preparation for his upcoming fieldwork, Brown University research analyst Jay Dickson took 10,000 pictures of the inside of his freezer. He wasn't investigating disappearing food or making sure the light went off when he closed the door. Dickson was making sure his new camera and timer would function properly for long periods in sub-freezing temperatures.
"Everything worked great in the ...
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Climate change in drylands
Cologne, Germany (SPX) Nov 25, 2014 -
Approximately 40 percent of the earth's surface is covered by drylands in which average annual precipitation is lower than evaporation. The changes projected to unfold in these areas in the course of climate change are alarming. Greater variations in annual and seasonal precipitation will lead to more frequent droughts and, presumably, longer drought periods.
This means that drylands are a ...
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Fountain of Youth Underlies Antarctic Mountains
New York NY (SPX) Nov 25, 2014 -
Time ravages mountains, as it does people. Sharp features soften, and bodies grow shorter and rounder. But under the right conditions, some mountains refuse to age. In a new study, scientists explain why the ice-covered Gamburtsev Mountains in the middle of Antarctica looks as young as they do.
The Gamburtsevs were discovered in the 1950s, but remained unexplored until scientists flew ice- ...
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"Green Revolution" changes breathing of the biosphere
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 25, 2014 -
The intense farming practices of the "Green Revolution" are powerful enough to alter Earth's atmosphere at an ever-increasing rate, boosting the seasonal amplitude in atmospheric carbon dioxide to about 15 percent during the last five decades.
That's the key finding of a new atmospheric model that estimates that on average, the amplitude of the seasonal oscillation of carbon dioxide in the ...
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