SpaceX to reattempt landing rocket on ocean barge

Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX is to attempt to land its next Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Pacific Ocean, seeking another milestone a month after landing a booster on the ground in a spaceflight first, the company said on Friday.

The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a NASA ocean-monitoring satellite, is slated to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday next week.

About two minutes after liftoff, the first stage of the rocket is expected to separate, flip around, fire engines to slow its fall, deploy landing legs and attempt to touch down on a floating landing pad in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX has tried ocean landings twice without success, but officials are optimistic after the company last month safely returned a Falcon 9 booster to a landing pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Accomplishing an ocean landing would give the California-based SpaceX flexibility to recover its boosters from a wider variety of space missions.

The firm, owned and operated by Musk, wants to refurbish and refly its rockets, potentially slashing launch costs.

Similar efforts are underway by fellow technology titan Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, as well as industry stalwart United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

For now, SpaceX is focusing on reusing just the first stage of its Falcon rockets, which sell for about US$61 million, the company’s Web site shows.

Of that, only about US$200,000 is for fuel, Musk said at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco last month.

“With reusable rockets, we can reduce the cost of access to space by probably two orders of magnitude,” or a factor of 100, Musk said at the conference.

The company eventually wants to return the rocket’s second stage for reuse in future launches as well.

The rocket slated to launch NASA’s Jason-3 satellite is an older version of the rocket that flew last month and does not have the power to attempt a touchdown on land, SpaceX said.

The booster that landed on Dec. 21 is to be test-fired in Florida, but probably not reflown, Musk told reporters after the landing. He said the company likely would attempt relaunch of another recovered rocket this year.

SpaceX has more than 60 missions on its schedule, worth about US$8 billion.

 

Who: technology entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX

What: They attempt to land its next rocket on a barge in the Pacific Ocean.

When: 1, Jan, 2016

 

1.      entrepreneur:企業家

2.      barge:大型平底船

3.      satellite:衛星

4.      refurbish:翻新

5.      liftoff:發射

High-level climate talks have begun in Paris, aimed at signing a long-term deal to reduce global carbon emissions.

More than 150 world leaders have converged to launch the two-week talks, known as COP21.

The last major meeting in 2009 ended in failure. But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is chairing the meeting, said a deal was within reach.

Most of the discussions are expected to centre on an agreement to limit global warming to 2C (3.6F).

Assessments of the more than 180 national plans that have been submitted by countries suggest that if they were implemented the world would see a rise of nearer to 3C.

Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal declared this year's meeting open on Monday.

Strong action on carbon emissions is essential for multiple reasons, said Mr. Vidal, who hosted last year's UN climate conference in Lima.

Mr. Vidal said a deal would show the world that countries can work together to fight global warming as well as terrorism.

 

Who: more than 150 world leaders

What: sign a long-term deal

Why: climate change

When: 30, Nov, 2015

Where: Paris

 

1.      emission:排放

2.      converge:聚集

3.      chair:主持

4.      Peruvian:祕魯的

Leonardo DiCaprio wins best actor Oscar for ’The Revenant’

 

Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar on Sunday, taking home the best actor statuette for his role in revenge movie "The Revenant".

DiCaprio, 41, had been nominated four times previously for an acting Oscar over a career spanning 25 years. He was the favorite to clinch the Academy Award this year for his grueling portrayal of a fur trapper left for dead in an icy wilderness after being mauled by a bear.

In a fight for survival, his "Revenant" character Hugh Glass treks through snow-covered forests, gets swept away in a waterfall, sleeps inside the carcass of a disemboweled horse and hungrily eats raw bison liver before making it back to his camp.

DiCaprio, a bachelor with a string of supermodel girlfriends, has matured into one of the world’s most admired and popular actors, as well as a champion of environmental causes ranging from marine reserves to the rights of indigenous people.

In his acceptance speech, DiCaprio, who received a standing ovation, said："Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted."

 

Who: Leonardo DiCaprio

What: He won an Oscar.

Why: He took home the best actor statuette for his role in revenge movie "The Revenant".

When: 13,Mar,2016

 

1.    clinch:贏得

2.      grueling:令人精疲力竭的

3.      portrayal:演出

4.      disembowel:去除…的內臟

5.      indigenous:本地的

Europe to return refugees to Afghanistan, where war awaits them

The EU and Afghanistan on Wednesday announced a deal that would send tens of thousands of Afghan refugees who had reached Europe back home to an increasingly hazardous war zone.

The agreement is the most specific effort yet by Europe to divert or reverse a wave of hundreds of thousands of refugees from war-torn countries, including Afghanistan and Syria.

However, unlike a major agreement with Turkey this year to have that country host more Syrian refugees, the new deal as worded would forcibly send Afghans whose asylum applications were rejected directly back to an intensifying war that has taken a severe toll on civilian life — seemingly at odds with international conventions on refugees.

“The EU and the government of Afghanistan intend to cooperate closely in order to organize the dignified, safe and orderly return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan who do not fulfill the conditions to stay in the EU,” the agreement read.

The repatriation deal was announced alongside an international conference in which governments pledged US$3.75 billion in annual development aid to Afghanistan over the next four years.

However, few of the keynote speakers even hinted at the worsening security in the country in recent weeks, and none publicly discussed the repatriation deal, which was reportedly signed on Sunday last week.

As speakers at the conference praised improvements in Afghanistan, the very idea that even important Afghan cities could be secured was under direct assault.

Taliban fighters on Wednesday attacked Afghan security forces who were fighting for a third day to maintain control of the main government buildings in Kunduz, a vital provincial capital that briefly fell to insurgents last year.

In southern Afghanistan, another of the few remaining government-held districts in Helmand province has been seized by the insurgents this week. At no time since before the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan have the Taliban controlled more territory in the country.

“While donors are preoccupied with deterring refugee flight, they should focus instead on security force and Taliban abuses and children’s lack of access to education, and address the reasons people are so desperate to leave,” said Brad Adams, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Last year alone, 213,000 Afghans arrived in Europe, with 176,900 claiming asylum that year, according to EU data. Fifty to 60 percent of such Afghan requests have been denied so far, meaning that tens of thousands of people could be returned to Afghanistan under the deal.

European officials denied that the repatriation deal was a condition for aid to Afghanistan.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini told reporters: “There is never, never a link between our development aid and whatever we do on migration.”

However, Ekram Afzali, head of Integrity Watch Afghanistan and part of the Afghan delegation meeting with the Europeans in Brussels, said delegates were told by both Afghan and international officials that the repatriation deal was a quid pro quo for European aid.

A leaked EU memo dated March 3 discussed openly making pledges of aid at this week’s conference conditional on Afghanistan’s agreement with the repatriation deal.

At the conference on Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that US funding of civilian programs would continue “at or near current levels, on average, all the way through 2020.”

Who: The EU and Afghanistan

Why: the deal

 

Keywords

1.      hazardous:危險的

2.      zone:地區

3.      divert:轉移

4.      forcibly:強制地

5.      repatriation:遣送回國

6.      insurgent:叛亂者

PARIS ATTACKS: Government condemns ‘terrorism’

The government yesterday condemned the series of attacks in Paris on Friday and expressed condolences, with President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） saying that Taiwan stands side-by-side with the people of France.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun （孫立群） said Premier Mao Chi-kuo （毛治國） has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to locate Taiwanese living, studying or traveling in France, as well as to provide assistance to Taiwanese tour groups if needed.

According to the Tourism Bureau, 145 tourists from five Taiwanese tour groups in France were all safe, adding that no Taiwanese travel agencies had reported being affected by the attacks.

The foreign ministry said it would not raise the travel alert level for France, but called for people to be alert to security problems and refrain from unnecessary travel to Paris.

The foreign ministry and its representative office in France are to continue observing developments after the attacks, which have claimed at least 128 lives.

Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） also expressed her sympathy for the French.

“The terrorist attacks in Paris are not only attacks on France, but also on the values of freedom and democracy shared by the international community,” Tsai said in a press release. “At a troubling time like this, we would like to extend our support to France and the French people to overcome the difficulties.”

She condemned the attacks, while extending sympathy to the people affected, adding that she gives her best wishes to the people of France that they might return to a normal, peaceful life as soon as possible.

“Acts of terror and violence that destroy people’s lives and threatens freedom are to be condemned by all,” Tsai said. “It’s something intolerable in a civilized society.”

Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Chairman Eric Chu （朱立倫）, who is in the US, expressed his “gravest protest” against the attacks.

The whole world is now on high alert over national security and public safety, which are every nation’s greatest concern, Chu said.

Chu said he hopes policies drawn up would aim for “better harmony” and “not allow terror attacks to happen in Taiwan.”

Security is the most vital aspect of a nation, he said, adding that every crisis would be costly for society.

The Taipei 101 skyscraper joined New York in putting on red, white and blue lighting displays to show solidarity with people affected by the attacks.

The lighting — turned on at 5:30pm — symbolized the French national flag, while elsewhere six games of baseball’s Premier 12 competition across the nation observed minutes of silence to honor those who lost their lives.

 

Why: Paris attack

What: Paris attack

When: 14, Nov, 2015

Where: Paris

 

Keywords

1.      condolence: 慰問

2.      ministry: 部 ( 政府的 )

3.      solidarity: 團結

4.      premier: 總理

5.      silence: 默哀

Malala thanks supporters around the world

Malala Yousufzai, the teenager being treated in Britain for gunshot wounds inflicted by the Taliban in Pakistan, yesterday thanked her global supporters, one month on from the brutal attack.

“She wants me to tell everyone how grateful she is and is amazed that men, women and children from across the world are interested in her well-being,” her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said on behalf of the 15-year-old.

“We deeply feel the heart-touching good wishes of the people across the world of all caste, color and creed,” he said in a statement issued by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where Malala is being treated.

“I am awfully thankful to all the peace-loving well-wishers who strongly condemn the assassination attempt on Malala, who pray for her health and support the grand cause of peace, education, freedom of thought and freedom of expression,” he said.

The hospital yesterday published photographs of Malala sitting and reading a book, while others showed her poring over get-well cards.

Armed men in Mingora, the main town in the Swat valley, shot Malala in the head and shoulder on Oct. 9 after stopping the school bus on which she was traveling. The attack was claimed by the insurgent Taliban Movement of Pakistan.

They claimed to have targeted Malala because of her “pioneering role” in calling for girls’ education and because of her general criticism of the Taliban.

The teenager was transferred to the British hospital on Oct.15.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Britons yesterday called on the government to nominate Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A campaign led by a Pakistani-British woman urged British Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior government officials to nominate the teen for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Malala doesn’t just represent one young woman, she speaks out for all those who are denied an education purely on the basis of their gender,” campaign leader Shahida Choudhary said in a statement issued by global petition platform Change.org.

More than 30,000 people have signed the petition in Britain as part of a global push by women’s rights advocates to nominate her for the prize. Similar campaigns have sprung up in Canada, France and Spain.

Under the Nobel Committee’s rules, only prominent figures such as members of national assemblies and governments are able to make nominations.

Who: Malala Yousufzai

Why: Gunshot

When: 9, Nov, 2012

Where: Britain

 
Keywords

1.      inflict:遭受

2.      brutal:殘忍的

3.      condemn:譴責

4.      assassination:暗殺

5.      pioneering:先驅的