Mission | Common News Update

Sep52019 by adminNo Comments

Canada departs U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Canada announced the conclusion of its peacekeeping mission in Mali as over 200 soldiers prepared to return home. About 1,250 Canadian Armed Forces members were deployed during the year-long mission, known as Operation Presence-Mali. Their involvement in the ongoing United Nations-led mission included medical evacuation and logistic and transport capabilities. "The professionalism of Canadian Armed Forces members was on display throughout the past year in Mali," Lt. Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander Canadian Joint Operations Command, said at departure ceremonies on Sunday. "I am beyond impressed with the work our people have done to support peace operations in Africa." Canadian forces have been in Gao, Mali, since July 2018, and delivered 370,000 pounds of cargo during 4,000 ...

Aug182019 by adminNo Comments

Houston has a problem: NASA snubs city’s bid to lead next moon mission

Technology

It may have been one of the first words ever uttered on the moon, but Houston has been snubbed by NASA as the base of operations for the development of the next lunar lander.Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, has been chosen to lead preparations for the planned expedition, beating out competition from Johnson Space Center in the Texan city. The latter managed the iconic Apollo quest 50 years ago, and state congressmen hoped that legacy would see it chosen for the next mission, which is aiming to send a woman to the moon for the first time by 2024. ...

Aug72019 by adminNo Comments

Raytheon contracted for changes to LCS escort mission module

Business

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Raytheon has been contracted by the U.S. Navy for a variety of changes on mission modules for the littoral combat ship, including testing, training and alterations to improve use. The $ 8.6 million contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, covers services and deliverables to achieve weight reduction on the Escort Mission Module towed systems. The deal also covers associated dry-end components for the LCS's Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package. The LCS, a two-variant class of ship meant to operate in near-shore areas as well as it can in open seas, is designed as a modular vessel that can be reconfigured for specific missions. This is accomplished by swapping out one of three overall mission packages designed for surface warfare, mine countermeasures or an...

Jul222019 by adminNo Comments

Britain planning maritime mission to protect Strait of Hormuz

World

July 22 (UPI) -- Britain plans to join a European-led maritime mission to protect ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz days after Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Monday. He described the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' seizure of the Stena Impero on Friday as "an act of piracy." "If Iran continues on this dangerous path, they must accept the price will be a larger Western military presence in the waters along their coastline, not because we wish to increase tensions but simply because freedom of navigation is a principle which Britain and its allies will always defend," Hunt said during a speech before Parliament. He said Britain entered discussions with representatives from multiple countries to establish the force. In the me...

Jul222019 by adminNo Comments

Britain to send 250 troops to U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali

Business

July 22 (UPI) -- Britain will deploy 250 troops to Mali to aid a United Nations peacekeeping mission protecting an unstable peace, the British government announced on Monday. The three-year deployment, to begin early in 2020, is Britain's largest since its involvement in Bosnia in the 1990s, and will aid an international force, under the United Nations, of 12,500. The British troops will deliver long-range reconnaissance capability, the government statement said, and feed on-the-ground intelligence to the mission headquarters in Gao, Mali. It is regarded as a dangerous assignment, with security in Mali's desert Sahel region deteriorating and an assortment of factions, including Islamic State in West Africa and others aligned with al-Qaeda, contesting for power. "They will do the part of ...