Energy |
The Canadian government
announces its plan to virtually eliminate the use of traditional
coal-fired electricity by 2030, but will offer some flexibility to the
provinces. US scientists say they
have stumbled upon an economically practical and highly efficient way of
converting a greenhouse gas largely blamed for global warming into an
environmentally friendly fuel - a development that could boost the
renewable energy industry. The world's first solar
powered airport no longer pays for electricity at Cochin International
Airport in southern India. Chile now has so much solar energy it’s giving it
away some of it for free. Solar capacity from the country’s central grid
has increased four fold to 770 megawatts since 2013. Another 1.4
gigawatts will be added this year with many solar power projects under
development. New solar, wind and
hydropower sources were added in 2015 at the fastest rate the world has
yet seen. The average price of
solar photovoltaic cells has plummeted 60 percent since 2010, thanks to
lower production costs and more-efficient designs. Solar’s share of
global energy production is climbing steadily, and a study by
researchers from Cambridge University concluded that photovoltaics will
soon be able to out-compete fossil fuels, even if oil prices drop to as
low as $10 a barrel. |
Sports |
Olympic leaders stopped short of imposing a complete
ban on Russia from the Rio de Janeiro Games, leaving individual global
sports federations to decide which athletes should be cleared to
compete.
Russian track and field athletes have been banned from
participating in the Olympics held in Brazil because they have been
caught using performance enhancing drugs and passing drug tests in
Russia.
Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl .... Novak
Djokovic and Angelique Kerber win the singles tennis titles at the
Australian Open... California Journey, CJ for short, a German
shorthaired pointer was winner of the Best in Show award at the
Westminister Dog Show .... March Madness Basketball - North Carolina Tar
Heels, Masters Golf Men's - Danny Willett... Kevin Koe, Men's
Worlds Curling Champion... Canadian Brooke Henderson LPGA Champion...
PGA Champion Dustin Johnson... Stanley Cup - Pittsburgh Penquins... NBA
- Cleveland Cavaliers... Wimbelton Tennis - Serena Williams and Andy
Murray... Stan Wawrinka wins the US men's single tennis in US Open....and
Angela Kerber wins the women's single title at the US Tennis Open...
After 106 years. the Chicago Cubs win baseball's World Series...
|
Space |
Haifa-based scientist Jeff Steinhauer
has simulated a black hole in his
laboratory, and it might be the breakthrough
that helps celebrated physicist Stephen
Hawking win the Nobel Prize.
Scientists have discovered an
earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest
our sun. This opens up the prospect of a
habitable world that may one day be explored
by robots.
South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope
has proven its potential, releasing its
first images, which reveal some 1,300
galaxies in a far-off corner of the universe
where only 70 were known to exist before.
The Hubble Space Telescope has recorded
an image that shows the Galaxy GN-z11, 13.4
billion years away and as it was just 400
million years after the Big Bang when the
universe was only three percent of its
current age
For the first time, a Zinnia flower has
bloomed in space, aboard the International
Space Station (ISS). Successfully growing
flowers brings cosmic explorers closer to
growing flowering food crops, like tomatoes,
on longer space missions in the future.
|
Health |
The US Food and Drug Administration
approved an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda, which stimulates the
body's immune system, for the first-line treatment of patients with
metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.
The World Health Organization says the USA is now
free of measles.
Human life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg,
scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the
astonishing ‘fireworks’ on film.
The number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled worldwide in under
four decades to 422 million.
Research suggests stress and anxiety can damage areas of brain involved
in emotional responses, thinking and memory
|
Environment |
2016 is set to become the hottest year on record after 2015
Governments are beginning to write laws banning gasoline piston engines
in the future. Around 312,000
plug-in electric cars were sold during the first half of 2016, according
to analysts at EV Volumes. A nearly 50 percent
increase over the first half of 2015 The entire planet's
atmosphere is now hovering
above 400 ppm of CO2. This not only drives up
vegetation production but causes drought conditions.
In September it was announced that the Earth smashed another heat
record; 16th month in a row. China and the United
States ratified the Paris agreement to cut climate-warming emissions.
This year has already seen scorching heat around the world, with the
average global temperature peaking at 1.38C above levels experienced in
the 19th century, perilously close to the 1.5C limit agreed in the
landmark Paris climate accord. July was the warmest month since modern
record keeping began in 1880, with each month since October 2015 setting
a new high mark for heat.
Scientists say that the Antarctic ozone layer is healing.
This year the Earth
experienced the warmest April on record, keeping 2016 on track to be the
hottest year yet and by the biggest margin ever.
The North Pole suddenly changed direction and started drifting east
around the year 2000. Now scientists have uncovered the reason — and
found that humans are to blame.
20 to
30 inches of blizzard snow blanketed 85 million people living on the east coast
of United States in late January. 2015 was by far the hottest year in 136 years of
record keeping.
|
Peace |
In late October, allied forces begin the fight to
take Mosul and Allepo from the control of ISIS,
A suicide bombing which killed 51 people and wounded
67 others in the Turkish city of Gaziantep was carried out by a 12 to
14-year-old.
A deadly hostage-taking at a Catholic church in
Normandy, in which a priest was killed and another person seriously
wounded, was a terror attack committed in the name of ISIS
At least 19 people were killed and 26 injured in a
stabbing spree at a facility for disabled people west of Tokyo.
Near the end of July, there was an ISIS attack in
Kabul Afganistan which killed 80 people and wounded 260 others.
Mid July, in Munich 9 people were shot and 21
were injured in a MacDonalds by a teenage gunman who later committed suicide.
German authorities said that this incident was not an ISIS terrourist
attack.
Mid July, 3 policemen were killed and 3 others
injured in Baton Rouge by a black former Marine who was associated with Islam.
Mid July, a transport truck in Nice France
plowed into a crowd of people who a celebrating Bastille Day and kills 84
and injuried over 200 persons. French authorities say it
was the work of terrorists.
In early July two incidents in which black men were
killed by police in the United States ignited protests by the Black
Lives Matter movement. Further riots were fueled by the fact that
a black man killed 5 policemen in Dallas Texas and injuring 9 others.
Early July at least 83 people have been killed and
176 wounded in two separate bomb attacks in Baghdad. Also 200 people
were killed in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood. Both attacks were
attributed to ISIS.
Early in July, 20 people were killed during a
raid in Bangladesh by terrorists who took 30 people hostage.
In late June, three ISIS members attack Turkey's
main airport in Istambul killing 41 and wounding 239 people.
Early June, a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53
others inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida,
United States.
in late March, ISIS attacks targets in Brussels
killing over 30 and wounding 270 persons.
European Union reaches deal with Turkey on
migration crisis which will allow refugees to enter Turkey where there
will be refugee camps set up and paid for by the EU where processing of
Visas will take place.
Russia who have sent in their military to assist
Syria against the rebels decided after 6 months to withdraw their
assistance.
Mid February, North Korea launches their rocket which
puts a satellite into orbit in space showing they have intercontinental
rocket ability to bomb any city in the world.
The US believes
that airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have destroyed more than $500 million
in cash that ISIS used to pay its fighters and fund its terror and
military operations.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a
resolution calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty
and allow IAEA inspectors.
Early in January, North Korea says
they have tested a hydrogen bomb but cannot prove its test.
|
Religion |
Pope Francis extends Catholic priests' power to
forgive abortion.
The Pope meets with the head of the Orthodox Church in
an attempt to mend differences. |
Internet |
The world has become fascinated by "Pokemon Go,"
which involves smartphone cameras and GPS technology that can project cute
and creepy "pocket monsters," or Pokemon, into the real world, at least as
viewed through a phone's screen.
Pizzas can now be made using a 3D Printer fully baked
in under 60 seconds..
Social media like Facebook and Twitter tools are
empowering citizen journalism as more and more
news reports are submitted using social media. .
|
Communications |
The time has come. Millennials are officially
adults, sitting in the 21–36 age range. They’re establishing families
and careers, and they’re entering leadership roles. To the surprise of
baby boomers and Gen X, these tech-savvy goofballs could soon be their
bosses, if they aren’t already. The eldest half of the millennial
generation have about a decade of work experience and are already
building their leadership experience, so there’s no better time to talk
about effective communication for this new generation of leaders. After
all, millennials will make up 75 percent of the global workforce by
2025,
|
Living |
Delphi Automotive Plc, the vehicle-electronics
supplier that last year conducted the first coast-to-coast U.S.
demonstration of a self-driving car, will begin testing autonomous autos
in Singapore this year that may lead to robot taxis by the end of the
decade.
Uber's first self-driving car pulls out onto
the streets of Pittsburgh USA
Susannah Mushatt Jones, the world's oldest
person, has died in New York, a Guinness World Records spokesman
confirmed her age in May - She was 116.
Forest fires destroy
Canadian city Fort McMurray and displaces 90,000 people.
French MPs have passed a law that makes it
illegal to pay for sex and imposes fines of up to €3,750 (£3,027,
$4,274)
for those buying sexual acts.
Denmark has been awarded the honour of being the
happiest place on earth for 2015.
It is estimated generally that the driverless car
will be in common use by the year 2020. |
Agriculture |
Hydroponic tomato growers are finding that using
LED lighting at various wavelengths have different growth and taste
effects on different varieties of tomato plants. |
Entertainment |
"Spotlight" wins the Academy Award for Best
Picture in 2015. |
Biggest Achievements
of the Year |
The recognition by the
press that the xenophobic behavior of the public is causing major
disruption of the progress of peace in the world.
Brexit and the
election of Donald Trump were the stupidist thing that the Western World
have ever done to date.
|