Stratobus: The Spy Blimp-Satellite of the Future Used for Snooping
Moscow (Sputnik) May 20, 2016 -
If you thought surveillance drones were unnerving, a French-Italian aerospace company is now producing an unmanned blimp to monitor the ground from space. One good thing can be said for government-operated spy UAVs: they have to land occasionally. But Thales Alenia Space, an aerospace manufacturer, is hoping to take the utility of a Predator drone and apply it to a long-lasting dirigible.
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China rejects US claim of 'unsafe' spy plane intercept
Beijing (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
Beijing on Thursday rejected Pentagon accusations that a Chinese aircraft made an "unsafe" intercept of a spy plane in international air space, as tensions rise in the strategically vital South China Sea.
Rivalry between China and the United States is mounting in the disputed waterway, an important shipping route thought to be home to vast energy deposits, and which Beijing claims almost in ...
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Saab rolls out its Gripen E 'Smart Fighter'
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) May 19, 2016 -
Saab introduced its new Gripen E "Smart Fighter" during a ceremony Wednesday at the company's headquarters in Sweden.
"Gripen is a unique fighter concept, bringing a perfect balance between excellent operational performance, high-tech solutions, cost-efficiency and industrial partnership into one smart fighter system," the company said in a release.
The jet performs a wide range ...
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Top China official promises to 'listen' to Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) May 17, 2016 -
One of China's most powerful officials said he would listen to political demands from Hongkongers in a conciliatory start to a visit Tuesday that has stirred anger in a city resentful of Beijing's tightening grip.
The three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official in four years and comes as concerns grow in semi-au ...
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US, Britain, France, Germany back business with Iran
Brussels (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
Foreign banks and businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, Western powers said Friday.
In a joint statement released after talks in Brussels, the United States, the European Union, France, Britain and Germany sought to reassure companies that, after the Iran nuclear deal, certain forms of trade are permitted.
"We will not stand in the way of permitted bus ...
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Iraq reaches deal with IMF for $5.4-billion loan
Baghdad (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
Crisis-hit Iraq reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund Thursday for a $5.4 billion loan that could give donors enough confidence to unlock further financing, a statement said.
The three-year stand-by arrangement was reached by the Iraqi government and IMF in Jordan after a week of talks, the monetary institution said.
"Under the arrangement, and subject to the approval of th ...
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EU increases sanctions on NKorea
Brussels (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
The European Union on Thursday beefed up sanctions against North Korea over nuclear and ballistic missile tests carried out in defiance of United Nations resolutions.
The 28-nation bloc said it was adding 18 persons and one entity to its asset freeze and travel ban blacklist, complementing measures adopted by the UN against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the north's official name ...
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US calls for 'robust' NATO posture on eastern flank
Brussels (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that NATO was building a "robust" defensive posture on its eastern flank, as the alliance faces an increasingly aggressive Russia.
Speaking after the first day of ministerial talks at the Alantic alliance's Brussels headquarters, Kerry urged member states to meet pledges to increase defence spending.
"A key aspect of our response to Russi ...
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NASA mini-balloon mission maps migratory magnetic boundary
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 20, 2016 -
During the Antarctic summer of 2013-2014, a team of researchers released a series of translucent scientific balloons, one by one. The miniature membranous balloons - part of the Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses, or BARREL, campaign - floated above the icy terrain for several weeks each, diligently documenting the rain of electrons falling into the atmosphere from Ear ...
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New data on the variability of the Earth's reflectance over the last 16 years
Madrid, Spain (SPX) May 20, 2016 -
The Earth's albedo, or reflectance, is a fundamental atmospheric parameter having deep implications for temperature and climate change. For that reason, experiments have been performed to monitor it over the past two decades to reveal how it evolves. One of these, in which the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias is a participant, has brought up to date the observations made since 2007 and adds ...
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Van Allen Probes Reveal Long-Term Behavior of Earth's Ring Current
Laurel MD (SPX) May 20, 2016 -
New findings based on a year's worth of observations from NASA's Van Allen Probes have revealed that the ring current - an electrical current carried by energetic ions that encircles our planet - behaves in a much different way than previously understood. The ring current has long been thought to wax and wane over time, but the new observations show that this is true of only some of the particle ...
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How plants conquered the land
Leeds UK (SPX) May 20, 2016 -
Research at the University of Leeds has identified a key gene that assisted the transition of plants from water to the land around 500 million years ago. The ANR gene is required to tolerate 'extreme dehydration' in the moss Physcomitrella patens, a land plant that is used as an experimental model.
Researchers at the Centre for Plant Sciences at the University found that the ANR gene - pre ...
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Atmospheric aerosols can significantly cool down climate
Joensuu, Finland (SPX) May 20, 2016 -
It is possible to significantly slow down and even temporarily stop the progression of global warming by increasing the atmospheric aerosol concentration, shows a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. However, climate engineering does not remove the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The study used global climate models to analyse the ability of atmospheric aerosols to co ...
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Technique improves the efficacy of fuel cells
Boston MA (SPX) May 19, 2016 -
Fuel cells, which generate electricity from chemical reactions without harmful emissions, have the potential to power everything from cars to portable electronics, and could be cleaner and more efficient than combustion engines.
Solid oxide fuel cells, which rely on low- cost ceramic materials, are among the most efficient and promising type of fuel cell. Now, researchers from the Harvard ...
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Sunrock Investments reaches milestone: over 50 Euro million of solar assets
Amsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) May 19, 2016 -
Amsterdam based Sunrock Investments has realised the acquisition of a 3.0MW portfolio of operational solar rooftop projects in Flanders, Belgium. This acquisition follows shortly on the acquisition of a 6.2MW portfolio in February this year.
The projects in the 3.0MW portfolio have an aggregated asset value of EUR 8M and were sold by the Belgian solar developer Ecorus. The projects are ope ...
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Technip, FMC to merge into $13 bln oil services firm
Paris (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
Oil and gas services companies Technip of France and the American FMC Technologies said Thursday they have agreed to merge, creating one of the world's top companies in a sector battered by low energy prices.
"The companies will combine to create a global leader that will drive change by redefining the production and transformation of oil and gas," they said.
The new company, called Tech ...
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Venezuela opposition pressures Maduro after protests
Caracas (AFP) May 19, 2016 -
Venezuela's opposition on Thursday kept pressure on beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro after protests demanding his ouster amid a mounting political and economic crisis.
The opposition-controlled congress held a session to lambaste the leftwing leader, who has introduced a state of emergency he warned could be bolstered if "violent" acts against his government occurred.
The opposition ...
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Gazprom trimming plans for eastward pipeline
Moscow (UPI) May 19, 2016 -
Russian energy company Gazprom said Thursday it was trimming its construction plans on a natural gas pipeline to the Far East in order to save capital.
With a European economy looking to break the Russian grip on the region's energy sector, the Kremlin has shifted focus on building successful trade relations with Asia-Pacific economies.
Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with ...
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Gazprom confident Nord Stream II will get built
Moscow (UPI) May 18, 2016 -
Despite regional reservations, Russia's Gazprom said expanding a Baltic Sea gas pipeline would add another layer of reliability for European energy markets.
Gazprom said it gathered the relevant parties in Moscow to review developments of the planned second phase of the twin Nord Stream natural gas pipeline running through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The company said it's already ordered ...
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Norway opens new Arctic zones to oil exploration
Oslo (AFP) May 18, 2016 -
Norway awarded Arctic drilling licences to 13 oil companies on Wednesday, including in a hitherto unexplored part of the Barents Sea, drawing condemnation from environmental groups.
It is the first time since 1994 that the country has opened a new sector to the oil industry, and comes as Norway's output has halved since 2000 and as a collapse in crude prices has slashed state revenues.
T ...
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Oil prices turn lower on growth concerns from Europe
New York (UPI) May 19, 2016 -
Crude oil prices, turning lower following comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, dropped further Thursday amid European concerns of subdued growth.
Minutes from the April meeting of the Federal Reserve Board found the U.S. economy was improving, largely along labor trends. Inflation, however, was below the Fed's long-term objective of 2 percent and, while consumer sentiment was h ...
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Saudi Arabia's economy is slowing
Washington (UPI) May 19, 2016 -
The economy of Saudi Arabia is expected to slow down noticeably as a result of lower oil prices, though the fiscal policies are adapting, the IMF said Thursday.
Moody's Investors Service this week lowered the credit rating for Saudi Arabia by one notch from Aa3 to A1. While strong when compared with other sovereigns, Moody's said the Saudi economy would not be spared from the pressure o ...
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Fires strip away shine of Canada's oil eldorado
Ottawa (AFP) May 18, 2016 -
The Western Canadian province of Alberta, in the grip of massive forest fires, was the nation's economic engine before the oil rout.
About the size of France, the province flanks the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Vast prairies stretch across its southern parts, where cattle graze on wild grasses. A thick boreal forest of conifers such as spruce and jack pine covers the north, w ...
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Texas oil company to restructure
Houston (UPI) May 19, 2016 -
A Texas oil company working in the state shale basins, as well as those in North Dakota, said it was working to eliminate its debt through a restructuring plan.
Halcon Resources Corp., which has headquarters in Texas, announced it settled on the terms to restructure its balance sheet through bankruptcy.
"The restructuring plan, if implemented, will result in the elimination of ap ...
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Rosatom Ready to Start on Iran's New Nuclear Reactors
Moscow (Sputnik) May 20, 2016 -
Engineers from Rosatom and their Iranian colleagues are planning to start the construction of a further two nuclear reactors at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant by the end of the year, a source told RIA Novosti.
The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) is planning to begin construction work on second and third nuclear reactor units at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant before the ...
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