France wins bid to build Australia’s new Submarines
AFP, Sydney
French naval contractor DCNS Tuesday won a Aus$50 billion (US$39 billion) contract to design and build Australia’s next generation of submarines, beating competition from Germany and Japan in the country’s biggest ever defence procurement programme.
The announcement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull culminates years of planning to replace Australia’s ageing diesel and electric-powered Collins Class submarines, which are due to leave service from around 2026.
Nato force to close migrant route to Europe
AFP, Rome
Nato is ten weeks away from launching a naval mission off Libya as part of a controversial US-backed plan to close the Western Mediterranean migrant route to Europe, officials said on Monday.
The advanced state of preparations for the operation was revealed by Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti as leaders of the US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy met in Germany.
Massive fire guts Delhi Museum
AP, New Delhi
A massive fire on Tuesday gutted the National Museum of Natural History in India’s capital, one of the country’s top museums, an official said.
Firefighters took more than four hours to douse the blaze, which started on the top floor of the six-story museum, New Delhi fire official Harinder Singh said. Thirty-five fire engines were called. Singh said the entire building was gutted by the blaze.
Two soldiers killed in Azerbaijan fire
BBC Online
Soldiers shot and killed in fire from Azerbaijan early on Tuesday, Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry says.
Two soldiers from the Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh were killed by gunfire from Azerbaijan in the early hours of Tuesday, the defence ministry of the breakaway region said.
There was no immediate response from Azerbaijani authorities.
