Pilatus-made Australian PC-21 completes first flight
Stans, Switzerland (UPI) Jul 21, 2016 -
The first of Pilatus Aircraft's 49 PC-21s for Australia's military completed its initial production test flight out of the company's Stans, Switzerland, factory, the company announced Thursday.
The flight took place seven months after the contract signing, Pilatus said in a statement.
Under a deal signed in December 2015, Pilatus will deliver the aircraft as part of an effort to ...
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Tensions as tens of thousands rally for Erdogan in Germany
Cologne, Germany (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied in the German city of Cologne on Sunday as tensions over Turkey's failed coup put authorities on edge.
Waving the Turkish flag and chanting "Turkey", the demonstrators turned the rally site next to the River Rhine into a sea of red as they began the demonstration by singing the Turkish and German national anthe ...
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China confirms probing Japanese for 'endangering security'
Beijing (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
Beijing has confirmed it is investigating a Japanese suspected of "endangering China's national security", following Japanese reports that he had been detained, the latest irritant in relations between the two nations.
The foreign ministry gave the confirmation in a statement quoted by China's Global Times newspaper late Saturday, but did not specifically state that he had been detained. ...
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Thales' Scorpion HMSD selected for South Korea's light armed helicopter
Farnborough, England (UPI) Jul 14, 2016 -
Thales will equip South Korea's light attack helicopter with the Scorpion helmet-mounted sight and display monocular system, the company announced Wednesday.
Thales will provide 400 Scorpion systems which will be installed on the helicopters in the early 2020s, Thales said in a statement.
Prime contractor Korea Aerospace Industries selected Thales at the end of an open competitio ...
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US-backed forces advance in IS Syria stronghold: monitor
Beirut (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
Advancing Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by US-led air strikes now control 40 percent of the Islamic State stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, a monitor said Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had pushed deeper into the town near the border with Turkey, with air cover from the US-led coalition against the jihadists.
Around 2,300 ...
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Iraq PM talks Mosul plans with top US officer
Baghdad (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi held talks in Baghdad with America's top military officer Sunday, discussing plans to oust the Islamic State group from second city Mosul, his office said.
Washington is leading an international coalition that is carrying out air strikes against IS as well as providing training, advice and other support to Iraqi forces.
Abadi and General Joseph Dunfor ...
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Yemen government accepts UN peace deal
Kuwait City (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
The Yemeni government said Sunday it has accepted a UN-proposed peace agreement to end more than a year of armed conflict, but there has been no word from the rebels.
The announcement by the Saudi-backed government came after a high-level meeting in Riyadh chaired by Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
"The meeting approved the draft agreement presented by the United Nations callin ...
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Turkey jails journalists after coup as Erdogan slams West
Ankara (AFP) July 30, 2016 -
Turkey was on Saturday holding 17 journalists on charges of "terror group" membership as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Western critics to "mind your own business" over a relentless crackdown following a failed coup.
But in a goodwill gesture two weeks after the July 15 coup bid, Erdogan also announced he was withdrawing thousands of lawsuits against individuals accused of insulting him ...
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HawkEye 360 brings space-based radio frequency mapping and analytics to new applications
Denver CO (SPX) Jul 28, 2016 -
HawkEye 360 and Lockheed Martin are collaborating to apply HawkEye 360's radio frequency (RF) detection and mapping technology in new markets. HawkEye 360 plans to deploy a constellation of small satellites in low-Earth orbit at less than 600 km (383 miles) from the Earth's surface, to identify, locate and analyze RF signals globally.
Pending various regulatory approvals of this system and ...
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Erdogan says wants Turkey spy agency, chief of staff under his control
Ankara (AFP) July 30, 2016 -
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he wanted to introduce constitutional changes to bring the Turkish spy agency and military chief of staff directly under his control after the failed coup.
"We are going to introduce a small constitutional package (to parliament) which, if approved, will bring the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and chief of staff under the control of ...
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Eni retools organizational structure amid loss
Milan, Italy (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
While swinging to a loss in its quarterly report, Italian energy company Eni said it was moving more controls to its chief executive to retool risk structures.
The company reported its second quarter loss widened to $494 million in part because energy prices remain under pressure from a market characterized by a higher level of supplies.
CEO Claudio Descalzi said in a statement c ...
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Attacks on Iraq gas facility, oil field kill five
Kirkuk, Iraq (AFP) July 31, 2016 -
Militants assaulted a gas facility and a nearby oil field in north Iraq on Sunday, killing five people in rare attacks inside Kurdish-controlled areas of Kirkuk province, officials said.
Gunmen travelling on motorbikes opened fire on the gas facility's guards, then killed four of its employees and planted multiple bombs before escaping, officials from Iraq's North Oil Company and the Kurdish ...
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DNO makes offer for Kurdish rival, Gulf Keystone
Oslo, Norway (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
DNO, a Norwegian oil and gas company with strong Iraqi assets, said Friday it made a $300 million bid for Gulf Keystone Petroleum, which is restructuring debt.
DNO said it was offering 40 percent of the full offer in cash, which it said would give investors in Gulf Keystone Petroleum an early out. In mid-July, Gulf Keystone's Chairman Andrew Simon stepped down, opening the door for non- ...
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Airbus DS launches satellite tasking service for oil, gas and mining users
Paris, France (SPX) Jul 28, 2016 -
Airbus Defence and Space launched its latest development in satellite imagery acquisition and distribution, One Tasking. Representing a major step change, One Tasking offers customers working in oil, gas and mining the most intuitive and cost-effective way to rapidly task an Airbus Defence and Space satellite - all from the comfort of their own desk or when out in the field.
The new One Ta ...
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Oil prices lower on U.S. GDP figures
New York (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
A low estimate of U.S. gross domestic product and steep losses from some of the world's biggest energy companies sent crude oil prices down early Friday.
U.S. supermajor Chevron Corp. reported a loss of $1.5 billion, its third quarterly loss. "The second quarter results reflected lower oil prices and our ongoing adjustment to a lower oil price world," CEO John Watson said in a statement ...
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European gas pipeline group defends record
Baar, Switzerland (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
A report calling for European scrutiny over a pipeline slated to run through southern Europe is riddled with inaccuracies, a gas pipeline consortium said.
A report this week from the non-governmental organizations Re: Common and Counter Balance called on European financial organizations to avoid writing blank checks to the companies working on the Trans-Adriatic natural gas pipeline. Th ...
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Statoil pays $2.5 billion to move deeper into Brazil
Stavanger, Norway (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
After a dismal earnings report, Norwegian energy company Statoil said it secured a stake in an oil basin off the coast of Brazil from the nation's oil company.
"Through this acquisition, we are accessing a world class asset, and we strengthen our position in Brazil, one of Statoil's core areas due to its large resource base and excellent fit with our technology and capabilities," Statoi ...
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Fire-damaged Canadian municipality lent a hand
Wood Buffalo, Alberta (UPI) Jul 29, 2016 -
The municipality of Wood Buffalo said it was getting a support package from the provincial government of Alberta two months after fires shut in oil production.
The provincial government said it was extending around $65 million to help the municipality recover from wildfires that scorched the region for most of May.
"The Alberta government has been with us every step of the way du ...
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Weatherford: The worst is over for the oil sector
Houston (UPI) Jul 28, 2016 -
Mirroring sentiments expressed by its peers, oilfield services company Weatherford said the market, particularly in North America, has bottomed out.
Weatherford, based in Switzerland with offices in Houston, reported second quarter revenue of $1.4 billion, down by almost half from last year. In North America, the company said revenue was down 26 percent year-on-year, though that was bet ...
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UK nuclear project delay is 'bonkers': trade union
London (AFP) July 29, 2016 -
British trade unions criticised the government on Friday for delaying its final decision on the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, seen by British media as backtracking on the project.
"Theresa May's decision to review the go-ahead on HPC is bewildering and bonkers," said Justin Bowden, the GMB union's national secretary for energy, about Britain's new prime minister.
"After years of pro ...
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Chinese scientists develop new metal 3D printing technology
Wuhan (XNA) Jul 26, 2016 -
Researchers with Huazhong University of Science and Technology in central China's Hubei Province have successfully manufactured metal parts and molds using new 3D printing technology, sources with the university announced on Friday.
The new metal 3D printing technology addresses existing problems in traditional metal 3D printing methods, said Zhang Hai'ou, leader of the 3D printing technol ...
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Improving safety of neutron sources
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 29, 2016 -
There is a growing interest in the scientific community in a type of high-power neutron source that is created via a process referred to as spallation. This process involves accelerating high-energy protons towards a liquid metal target made of material with a heavy nucleus.
The issue here is that scientists do not always understand the mechanism of residue nuclei production, which can onl ...
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France's EDF backs nuclear plan but UK delays
Paris (AFP) July 28, 2016 -
French energy giant EDF on Thursday approved a contested plan to build Britain's first nuclear power station in decades but the British government said it would wait before taking a final decision.
Britain's Business and Energy Minister Greg Clark said the government would review the nuclear project, shortly after EDF's board backed a project which critics fear could bankrupt the French util ...
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New nanoscale technologies could revolutionize microscopes, study of disease
Columbia MO (SPX) Jul 26, 2016 -
Research completed through a collaboration with University of Missouri engineers, biologists, and chemists could transform how scientists study molecules and cells at sub-microscopic (nanoscale) levels.
Shubra Gangopadhyay, an electrical and computer engineer and her team at MU recently published studies outlining a new, relatively inexpensive imaging platform that enables single molecule ...
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The hot attraction of gold
Sendai, Japan (SPX) Jul 29, 2016 -
Gold had long been considered a non-magnetic metal. But researchers at Tohoku University recently discovered that gold can in fact be magnetized by applying heat.
They discovered that an electron spin - the origin of magnetism - plays an important role in a material's functionality at a non-constant temperature, where the magnetization and the heat flow interact. A subsequent experiment co ...
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