Kurds kill 24 jihadists in Syria's Kobane: monitor
Beirut (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
At least 24 Islamic State jihadists were killed in clashes with Kurdish fighters Tuesday in the Syrian town of Kobane, where a battle has raged for almost four months, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS militants died in firefights and ambushes by People's Protection Units (YPG) in eastern sectors of Kobane.
Seven YPG fighters were also killed as ...
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Iraq army being rebuilt to address weaknesses: minister
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
Iraq is rebuilding its army to address weaknesses including poor leadership and training that led to Baghdad's forces being swept aside by militants, the defence minister said Tuesday.
The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group spearheaded a major offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June, during which multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed.
In remarks broadcast on the ...
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Iran, top general saved Baghdad from falling to IS: Iraq MP
Tehran (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
An Iraqi Shiite militia leader and lawmaker has credited Tehran and a powerful Iranian general with saving the Baghdad government during last summer's offensive by Islamic State group militants.
Hadi al-Ameri, a former minister who commands the Badr militia, said support from Iran and General Qassem Suleimani had been crucial after Iraqi government forces collapsed in the face of the IS assa ...
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France to deploy aircraft carrier to Gulf in IS fight: report
Paris (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its fleet will be deployed to the Gulf to support operations against the Islamic State group, a military news site reported on Tuesday.
The deployment of the marine battle group is due to be announced by President Francois Hollande when he gives his annual new year's speech to the armed forces onboard the Charles de Gaulle on January 14, acco ...
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Australia yet to decide on submarine fleet plan: ministry
Sydney (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
Australia is in talks with Japan and others on the design and production of its new submarines, the defence department said Tuesday, but did not confirm reports the two nations would jointly build the fleet.
Australia is seeking to replace its fleet of diesel and electric-powered submarines that date from the 1990s, but has not yet said if it will build the vessels locally or buy them off-th ...
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Navy orders rail gun battery system fron K2 Energy Solutions
Henderson, Nev. (UPI) Jan 6, 2015 -
An intermediate energy storage battery system for the U.S. Navy's electromagnetic rail gun is to be designed and engineered by K2 Energy Solutions Inc.
The energy storage system is a major component in the electromagnetic rail gun system, powering capacitor bank modules that are used to launch a projectile at a very high rate of speed.
"The K2 Energy team is excited to have been ...
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Taser International touts LA Police orders for weapons, body cameras
Scottsdale, Ariz. (UPI) Jan 6, 2015 -
The Los Angeles Police Department is receiving body cameras and new Taser weapons as part of its new Officer Safety Plan.
A total of 3,130 of the non-lethal weapons have been ordered by the department from Taser International as well as an initial 860 of the company's Axon body cameras, the company reported on Tuesday.
"The Los Angeles Police Department is committed to implementi ...
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US anger at raising of Taiwan flag in Washington
Washington (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
The United States on Tuesday denounced a flag-raising ceremony at Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington, saying it violated a long-standing pact on US-Taiwan ties.
"We're disappointed with the action," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said when asked about the hoisting of the Taiwanese flag at the compound on New Year's Day.
The United States has long held a one-China policy, and ...
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Iran's Zarif backed in snap vote over nuclear talks
Tehran (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was backed in a hastily convened vote Tuesday over his handling of long-running nuclear talks, after he was heavily criticised in a stormy parliamentary session.
Zarif, who is leading Iran's negotiations with world powers aimed at ending international concern over Tehran's nuclear programme, was answering questions from lawmakers when he came unde ...
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N. Korea has 'significant' tech to build mini nuclear device: South
Seoul (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
South Korea's defence ministry said Tuesday that North Korea appeared to have achieved a "significant" level of technology to miniaturise a nuclear device to be fitted on the tip of a missile.
The ministry made the warning in a white paper due to be released later Tuesday, although defence officials said the nuclear-armed North has yet to demonstrate its miniaturisation capacity.
"North ...
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New research dishes the dirt on the demise of a civilization
Cincinnati OH (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
Two researchers are taking a new twist on long-published research about what an ancient civilization did for a living. W. Flint Dibble, a University of Cincinnati doctoral student in the Department of Classics, and Daniel J. Fallu, a doctoral student in archaeology at Boston University, will present their new discoveries surrounding a key site from the Greek Dark Age at the joint annual meeting ...
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The bowhead whale lives over 200 years. Can its genes tell us why?
Liverpool, UK (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
A whale that can live over 200 years with little evidence of age-related disease may provide untapped insights into how to live a long and healthy life. In the Cell Press journal Cell Reports, researchers present the complete bowhead whale genome and identify key differences compared to other mammals. Alterations in bowhead genes related to cell division, DNA repair, cancer, and aging may have h ...
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Hong Kong leader warns against protests ahead of reform talks
Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
Hong Kong's leader warned Tuesday against fresh pro-democracy protests before the next step in the city's contentious political reform process, as a new official report on the mass rallies sparked widespread anger.
The government will Wednesday launch a second round of public consultation on the process for electing the city's next chief executive in 2017.
Beijing has promised Hong Kong ...
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Bushfires follow Australia's third-hottest year
Sydney (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
Australia experienced its third-hottest year on record in 2014, paving the way for an early start to the bushfire season, scientists said Tuesday as hundreds of firefighters battled blazes in three states.
The biggest concern is a huge blaze in South Australia's Adelaide Hills, with firefighters racing to contain the inferno which has already destroyed up to 38 homes ahead of worsening weath ...
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War-weary Burundians fear fresh violence as polls approach
Rwesero, Burundi (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
People in Burundi's hilltop village of Rwesero know well the impact of war after decades of conflict, but fear of fresh violence is growing after rebel battles ahead of elections this year.
In the hills around Rwesero last week, Burundi's army clashed with well equipped rebel fighters, with soldiers claiming some 100 insurgents were killed.
The army has said the rebels had planned a majo ...
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Harpoonless Japanese whalers heading for Antarctic: govt
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
Japanese whalers will set out for the Antarctic this week, but will leave their harpoons at home after the United Nations' top court last year ruled their annual hunt was illegal, the government said Tuesday.
The Japanese Fisheries Agency said the Institute of Cetacean Research plans to conduct non-lethal research on whales until March 28.
As the research does not involve catching whales ...
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Kansas monarch expert questions butterfly's potential endangered species listing
Lawrence, Kan. (UPI) Jan 6, 2015 -
While beefier federal protections would likely be welcomed by most conservationists looking to save the monarch butterfly, one entomologist and monarch expert says the involvement of the federal government would be a step in the wrong direction.
In response to a petition encouraging stronger protections for the monarch butterfly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last week th ...
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Shanghai stampede a 'bloody lesson' for city: mayor
Shanghai (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 -
The New Year's Eve crush that killed 36 people in Shanghai was a "bloody lesson" for the city, the mayor of China's commercial hub said Tuesday according to official media.
The comments by mayor Yang Xiong are an implicit acknowledgement that the events of December 31 should have been handled differently.
New Year revellers had flocked to the Bund, Shanghai's historic waterfront, but mas ...
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Protesting Brazilian fishermen block cruise ship
BrasÃlia (AFP) Jan 6, 2015 -
A cruise ship carrying 1,800 passengers was blocked from leaving a Brazilian port Tuesday by fishermen protesting a government ban on catches of protected species, a spokesman for their union said.
The cruise liner Empress, run by Pullmantur and bound for Montevideo, was forced to remain in port at Itajai in the southern state of Santa Catarina during the 30 hour standoff, which began on Mon ...
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Grain market mystery solved
Urbana IL (SPX) Jan 07, 2015 -
Something extraordinary happened in the futures grain market beginning in 2005. The cash price and futures price, which normally converge by the time a grain contract matures, weren't coming together. Instead, they were moving farther apart--and not by just a little. By September 2008, the wheat futures price was an unprecedented $2 higher per bushel than the spot price in Toledo at delivery. ...
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Seeds out of season
Durham NC (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
Researchers have created a model that considers how different stages of a plant's life cycle interact with each other. Whereas previous studies have examined the seed, vegetative, and reproductive phases individually, scientists in a working group funded by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) sought to understand the relationship between the stages in reaction to environmental a ...
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Fructose more toxic than table sugar in mice
Salt Lake City UT (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
When University of Utah biologists fed mice sugar in doses proportional to what many people eat, the fructose-glucose mixture found in high-fructose corn syrup was more toxic than sucrose or table sugar, reducing both the reproduction and lifespan of female rodents.
"This is the most robust study showing there is a difference between high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar at human-releva ...
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New hope for Borneo's orangutans
Kent, UK (SPX) Jan 07, 2015 -
New conservation research has discovered that up to 74% of current orang-utan habitat in Borneo could become unsuitable for this endangered species due to 21st century climate or land-cover changes.
However, the research has also identified up to 42,000km2 of land that could serve as potential orang-utan refuges on the island, and could be relatively safe new habitats for the great ape to ...
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Peat fires - a legacy of carbon up in smoke
Leicester, UK (SPX) Jan 07, 2015 -
It reads like a movie script - ash falling from the sky, thick smoke shutting down airports and businesses, road closures trapping remote northern villages. But this is not from a script; rather, it is a University of Guelph-led study of what could happen through peat burning.
In an international paper released in the January edition of the journal Nature Geoscience, the researchers, led b ...
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Study puts new perspective on snake evolution
Lincoln NE (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
Snakes may not have shoulders, but their bodies aren't as simple as commonly thought, according to a new study that could change how scientists think snakes evolved.
Paleobiologists Jason Head of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and P. David Polly of Indiana University Bloomington found distinctions among snakes' vertebral bones that matched those found in the backbones of four-legged li ...
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