MY BLOG(18)

S paceX is still reeling from its September 1 launch pad explosion, which irretrievably damaged a Falcon 9 rocket and consumed a very important Facebook-sponsored satellite — all because of what was likely an issue in loading cryogenic helium into the booster’s upper stage liquid oxygen tank. The company is determined to launch rockets again before the end of the year, but there hasn’t been much clue as to whether it was making any real progress. Well, we finally have some encouraging news. On Sunday, someone posted to reddit a slew of images and a short video of a Falcon 9 rocket on Interstate 10 in Arizona, presumably en route from SpaceX’s testing grounds in McGregor, Texas, to Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California. This is almost certainly the booster that will be used to launch 10 satellites owned and operated by Virginia-based communications company Iridium. Later that same day, Iridium’s chief executive, Matt Desch, added some confirmation...

Tensions over how developed countries will help finance the transition to a lower-carbon energy system threaten to undermine implementation      By   BILL SPINDLE  and   AMY HARDER      Nov. 7, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET A year after nearly 200 nations agreed to a  global pact in Paris to combat climate change , a United Nations conference this week ushers in the hard work of turning the plan into action. The conference, known as COP22, which kicks off Monday in Marrakesh, Morocco, benefits from the unexpectedly quick adoption of the Paris agreement. It entered into force Friday after at least 55 signatories representing more than 55% of global emissions previously ratified it, including the U.S., China, the European Union and India. “The politically difficult step was Paris,” said Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard Universit...

Leonardo DiCaprio has told Newsbeat he thinks climate change is the biggest issue facing young people today. He was speaking at the premiere of his documentary about environmental issues, Before The Flood, at the London Film Festival. The film sees the Oscar-winning actor travel the world to see the impact of global warming first hand. He says there are many things young people can do, but the most important is to use their vote. Warning: Third party content may contain adverts "I think this is the issue of [young people's] generation and there has been a huge movement out there from the youth," he told Newsbeat. "The main thing is to try to vote for political leaders that are going to do something about climate change, because it affects them directly. "It really boils down to their vote, if we have political leaders in office that do not want to take fundamental steps to combat this issue we are ultimately doomed. "And the best way you ca...

Thousands online have shared an image of a Syrian child with her hands raised in surrender - but what is the story behind it? Those sharing it were moved by the fear in the child's eyes, as she seems to staring into the barrel of a gun. It wasn't a gun, of course, but a camera, and the moment was captured for all to see. But who took the picture and what is the story behind it? BBC Trending have tracked down the original photographer - Osman Sağırlı - and asked him how the image came to be. It began to go viral Tuesday last week, when  it was tweeted  by Nadia Abu Shaban, a photojournalist based in Gaza. The image quickly spread across the social network. "I'm actually weeping", "unbelievably sad", and "humanity failed", the comments read. The original post has been retweeted more than 11,000 times. On Friday the image was shared on Reddit, prompting another outpouring of emotion. It's received more than 5,000 upvotes, and 1,600 comm...

Terror returned to Paris for the  second time in a year  Friday night when at least 127  people  died in a series of brutal terrorist attacks at various locations around the city. The militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks early Saturday, praising them as “miracles.” French President François Hollande also blamed ISIS, calling the attacks “an act of war” and vowing to retaliate against the group. Here’s what we know so far. How did this start? At about 9:45 p.m. local time, reports surfaced of a shooting in a popular area packed with bars and restaurants. Shortly afterwards, explosions were reported outside a stadium where French President François Hollande was watching a soccer game between France and Germany. Meanwhile, shots were reported in the Bataclan concert venue where an American band was playing, and soon it was revealed that multiple attackers had taken hostages inside. Ho...