The most advanced aircraft ever built by British engineers made its maiden flight at an undisclosed test range on August 2013 under the command of BAE Systems test pilot Bob Fraser. According to the Ministry of Defense (MOD) the demonstrator Taranis aircraft made a perfect take-off, rotation, ‘climb-out’ and landing on its 15-minute first flight.
Aquaculture, or fish farming, will provide close to two thirds of global food fish consumption by 2030 as catches from wild capture fisheries level off and demand from an emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases.
The year 2013 was among the top ten warmest years since modern records began in 1850, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It tied with 2007 as the sixth warmest year, with a global land and ocean surface temperature that was 0.50°C (0.90°F) above the 1961–1990 average and 0.03°C (0.05°F) higher than the most recent 2001–2010 decadal average.
German health authorities have picked up a rare atypical case of BSE in an aged cow, as part of routine screening work. A single animal from a group of 80 was found to have atypical BSE (L-type) after laboratory testing. Seven cohorts were destroyed as part of the examination, all found to be negative for BSE, following an epidemiological investigation.
The Queen of England will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican in April during a visit to Italy. Queen Elizabeth II, the formal head of the Church of England, will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 3 during the one-day visit to Italy.
A dispute over a 1.6 billion dollar cost overrun in the Panama Canal's expansion took a new twist Wednesday after a Spanish company leading the project denied it halted work over the spat.
The Paris Club is open to talks with Argentina on repaying its debt, the group of creditor nations said on Wednesday, moving closer towards launching formal negotiations with Buenos Aires.
Spain has no intention of interfering in Scotland’s push for independence and is willing to consider an eventual Scottish application to join the EU as a separate state, foreign minister García Margallo said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The United States government has approved at least four licenses to export crude oil to Europe, for the first time in years, showing how companies are breaking through the limits of the export ban established in the 1970s, according to Reuters which learned about the fact from a Freedom of Information Act request.
Obesity costs the United Kingdom National Health Service, NHS £5.1 billion per year, according to latest estimates. But National Audit Office (NAO) figures suggest obesity is not solely a burden on the NHS.