Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Saturday 7 August 2021 14:37:39
Biggest Ever Rocket Is Assembled Briefly in Texas
The American SpaceX company has stacked the biggest rocket ever constructed.
The vehicle's two segments - an upper-stage called Starship and a booster called Super Heavy - were connected together at the firm's Starbase R&D facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
Standing roughly 120m (400ft) in height, the SpaceX rocket dwarfs any previous launch system.
When it eventually lifts off, it will produce about twice the thrust of the vehicles that sent men to the Moon.
The main engines on Apollo's famous Saturn V rockets delivered some 35 meganewtons (nearly 8 million pounds of force) off the pad. The new SpaceX Super Heavy booster should achieve around 70 meganewtons.
A massive crane was needed to join the two segments together. They were held in position for an hour before then being separated again.
SpaceX still has weeks to months of testing ahead of it to prepare for the inaugural flight.
This will see the booster hurl the Starship into space for a once-around-the-Earth trip, which will end with a disposal "landing" in waters off the Hawaiian islands in the Pacific. The Super Heavy will be ditched in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ultimately, though, SpaceX wants both segments of future vehicles to make controlled touchdowns, on land or on sea platforms, so they can be re-used.
Company CEO, Elon Musk, says the Starship system, once fully developed, will be more than capable of taking humans to the Moon and Mars.
It could also ferry people quickly around the globe. Putting satellites in orbit is another obvious application.
The American space agency, Nasa, has already contracted SpaceX to produce a version of the Starship upper-stage that can land astronauts near the lunar south pole this decade.Friday's milestone follows months of breathtaking activity in Boca Chica.
Engineers have built a succession of prototypes at Starbase. These have helped the design team understand the best way to manufacture the huge stainless steel craft. And by launching some of the Starship iterations on high-altitude hops, SpaceX technicians have also gained invaluable flight experience.
The segments mated briefly on Friday are codenamed BN4 (the Super Heavy booster) and Ship 20 (the Starship upper-stage). The pair won't launch until they have a licence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The government agency is currently conducting an environmental review that will invite at some point a 30-day public consultation. So, the maiden orbital outing is still some way off. But Mr Musk is very keen that it should happen well before the end of the year.
He described seeing the brief mating of the segments on Friday as a "dream come true".
The most powerful rocket currently in operation is the Falcon Heavy, also built by SpaceX. This produces 23 meganewtons of thrust at launch.
