NASA's DISCOVER-AQ air quality field campaign takes to the skies over the Baltimore-Washington traffic corridor and northeast Maryland on Tuesday, July 5, from 5:30 am to 1:30 pm local time.

The flight is part of a mission to enhance the capability of satellites to measure ground-level air quality from space.

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) is to begin a new expansion program that is expected to increase the airport's capacity by 50 per cent.

"The plans we are initiating for an expanded international airport are essential to Bahrain's continued development, not only in providing businesses in Bahrain with the access they demand for the future, but also in bolstering the growing aviation and logistics industry in the kingdom," said Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) in an interview with Arabian Business News.

To keep up with South Africa’s rapidly growing demand for electricity, and a distribution system in need of modernisation, state-owned utility company Eskom is undertaking a massive construction and development programme.

As the US celebrates 235 years of independence today, there is some cause, if not to celebrate, at least to be a little less anxious about the state of the economy.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 23rd consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 25th consecutive month, according to supply executives polled in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has secured a £600 million bond issue to help finance the city’s Crossrail project.

The bonds will be issued in association with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets—the first time for 17 years that a local authority has gone to the capital markets for finance in this way.

The planned Crossrail rail route, the newest rail line in the country and the biggest single extension to the south-east network in half a century, will connect Maidenhead in Berkshire with Shenfield in Essex, passing through the West End and Canary Wharf.

A consortium of six global technology heavyweights has emerged as the winning bidder for the remaining patents belonging to the once-great Nortel Networks Corporation.

After an extensive auction, the consortium comprising Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony outbid the likes of Google and Intel with a winning bid of US$4.5 billion.

UK telecommunications giant Vodafone has agreed to sell its 24.4 per cent interest in Polish telecoms operator Polkomtel for approximately €920 million.

Vodafone is selling its stake to investment vehicle Spartan Capital Holdings, which is controlled by Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Zak.

The Newbury, Berkshire-based company said the sale underpinned its strategy to realise value from its non-controlled assets, adding that proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce its net debt.

Mars Chocolate North America has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kansas.

The new facility will be the first Mars Chocolate site built in the US in 35 years.

Australia’s Equatorial Resources Limited has acquired a 19.9 per cent interest in African Iron Limited, it has been announced.

African Iron owns an 80 per cent stake in the Mayoko-Lekoumou iron project, which is situated next to Equatorial’s 100 per cent owned Mayoko-Moussondji iron project in the Republic of Congo.

President Obama highlighted the role of advanced manufacturing to the US economy yesterday with a visit to Alcoa’s aerospace component plant in Davenport, Iowa.

Davenport is the manufacturing hub of Alcoa's $3 billion aerospace business, producing high-tech products for all major aircraft, including the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, and Boeing's 747-8 and 777.