SpaceX mission: now for the really tricky part

Tuesday's successful launch into orbit of private company SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule may have marked 'a new era in space exploration', according to chief executive Elon Musk, but some of the mission's most difficult challenges lie ahead. The next big step takes place today with testing of the Dragon's sensors and flight systems to determine if it is ready to dock with the International Space Station. The complicated procedures will bring it to within 2.4 kilometres of the ISS. If all goes well, the ISS crew will try to pull the capsule in tomorrow with a robotic arm.

Law Society AGM installs new president

The Law Society holds its annual general meeting, at which its leadership will be reshuffled, with Dieter Yih Lai-tak, a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, expected to take over as president from Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, a senior partner at K.C. Ho & Fong. Under reforms introduced in 2010, solicitors will by the end of the year be allowed to apply to represent their clients in the higher courts, a privilege long the preserve of barristers.

Battered Fifa convenes, and worst is over, says Blatter

Soccer's ruling body, Fifa, starts its two-day annual congress in Budapest after bruising corruption claims against some of its top officials. At a briefing in the Hungarian capital on Tuesday, president Sepp Blatter said the worst was over. Appointments to the executive committee are expected to include Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein; the committee's first woman in Fifa's 108 years, Lydia Nsereka of Burundi; Jeff Webb of the Cayman Islands and Zhang Jilong of China (left).

Ministerial jump-start for electric cars

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and acting Secretary for the Environment Dr Kitty Poon Kit launch a publicity campaign aimed at encouraging drivers to switch to electric vehicles. The briefing takes place at the Star Ferry terminal in Central, where a charging point came into service almost two years ago. The government says it will continue trying to encourage power companies, property developers, property management companies and car park operators to install charging facilities.

Beijing forum focuses on civil aviation development

The Civil Aviation Administration of China is hosting some of the world's top aviation officials in Beijing at the two-day China Civil Aviation Development Forum. Tony Tyler (left), head of the International Air Transport Association and until March last year chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, told the opening day yesterday that air transport would play an important role in China's economic development, and that 'aviation connectivity' would be critical to achieving its goal of boosting its share of world trade from 10.4 per cent to 15 per cent.