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World nations struck a landmark deal Wednesday on using satellites to track flights, which could prove key to preventing a repeat of the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370 in March 2014. Countries reached an accord at a conference hosted by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that aimed to improve on the current civilian flight-tracking system which relies on ground-based radars.
"In reaching this agreement... ITU has responded in record time to the expectations of the global community on the major issue concerning global flight tracking," the organisation's secretary general, Houlin Zhao, said in a statement.
The ITU statement made clear the deal was driven by the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which was lost en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard. That tragedy "spurred worldwide discussions on global flight tracking and the need for coordinated action," the organisation said. Representatives of more than 160 nations attended the talks, known as the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC).
http://phys.org/news/2015-11-world-nations-landmark-satellites-track.html
[Also Covered By]: Daily Mail
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday November 12 2015, @06:36PM
why don't we just reach a 'landmark deal' to stop creating and selling/trading weapons and try to just GET THE FECK ALONG?!?!
Oh, if wishes were horses, i'd have what Scotty said.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Tork on Thursday November 12 2015, @06:56PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @07:06PM
because not everyone will respect that deal.
as an example, I'm confident there is gun crime in the UK, even though "there is a deal" that civilians and the police should not be armed.
as a sidenote, if I were in control (i.e. god-like power) I would provide everyone with a ridiculously powerful and fast robot that would respect Asimov's laws (or a very similar set of laws), except that they couldn't take any orders from people. that would basically mean violence between humans would be de facto impossible (since I would also make the robots smart enough to detect when someone is building a weapon that can destroy them).
but I'm not in control.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 13 2015, @09:29AM
What would the robot do when it recognized that having a robot guard (because that's what your robots would be) around you all the time harms you mentally?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday November 12 2015, @07:39PM
Suppose an aircraft went down over the ocean, deviating from its flight path, for reasons not related to hijacking or other sabotage. Sensors or instruments can go wonky, autopilot can go wonky, or generators and power systems could fail.
Knowing where aircraft are is and being able to quickly hone in on the wreckage will be reassuring to those seeking closure and bolstering confidence that any survivors will be promptly rescued. It's more reassuring to those who may fly as well as those who do fly and those whose family flies.
In short, I think this is a good idea. But yeah, those two Malaysia wrecks smell funnier than RMS' tasty, tasty toejam.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday November 13 2015, @12:41AM
What about AF447?
MH17 was shot down. By Ukriane, Russia, rebels, terrorists, counterterrorists, the US, Israel, Martians, whoever.
MH370 was no more related to MH17 than AF447 was, or Helios Airways 522.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @07:50PM
It isn't about getting along. It is about those who want to remain in control (and want more control) and those who are controlled.
International elements benefit greatly from wars and conflict. Healthy populations with enough to eat and and maintain a decent living are hard to control. A population that gets just enough to eat to stay alive and barely gets by is less of a threat.
Wars and conflict are too important an opportunity to waste. If two peoples want to kill each other and become sacrificial lambs, give them the opportunity; no need to invade them in order to subjugate them.
If you are not an internationalist, then you are a victim of the parasitic internationalists.
(Score: 2) by K_benzoate on Thursday November 12 2015, @10:59PM
What do you do with people who unilaterally defect from that deal? Remember, you don't have any weapons now--and they do.
Climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:56PM
Eat them before they can use them.
Eat them and blame it on those fine young cannibals... yes...
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---