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Sports |
John Beeden, a self-described “Scrawny Old
Yorkshireman” from Burlington, Ont., has become the first person to row
solo across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in the eastern Australian city
of Cairns after 209 days alone at sea.
2014 - 2015 Winners: NFL New England Patriots,
NBA Golden State Warriors, NHL Chicago Blackhawks, MLB The Kansas City
Royals, CFL Edmonton Eskimos,
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Space |
Scientists announced that a new dwarf planet
has been discovered. It's called V774104,
and is about 15.4 billion kilometers from
the Sun.
Scientists say that there is water under the
surface of Mars.
A Canadian firm has been granted a US patent
to build the world's first-ever space 20 km
elevator - 20 times the height of the
world's tallest building Burj Khalifa - that
will also have a tower assisting spacecraft
to land and take off
The world gets its first
up close pictures of Pluto as the New
Horizons satellite passes within 7800 miles
from Pluto's surface.
NASA is funding a
US-based company that aims to produce
breathable oxygen on Mars using organisms
such as bacteria or algae to pave the way
for manned colonies on the red planet.
NASA has announced
evidence that Jupiter's largest moon,
Ganymede, has a saltwater ocean under its
icy surface. The ocean seems to have more
water than all the water on Earth's surface.
March - NASA spacecraft
Dawn arrives near Ceres to explore this
dwarf planet.
History books will
need to be rewritten after scientists
announces that Beagle 2 has been
finally been found on Mars,
12 years after it vanished without trace.
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Health |
Calgary researchers find link between energy drinks and diabetes.
People who report drinking three to five cups of coffee per day are
less likely to die prematurely from heart disease, suicide, diabetes or
Parkinson's disease, U.S. researchers said.
More than half of EU officially bans genetically modified crops.
In Montreal they performed the sucessful
injection transplant of insulin (islet transplant) producing cells allowing the Type 1
Diabetic patient to be free of using insulin injections to sustain her
life.
Mid January, Mali's health minister declared the West African nation
free of Ebola following a 42-day period
without a new case of the deadly virus...
A University of Calgary study has found that a common ingredient in
consumer products can cause hyperactivity in zebrafish.Bisphenol A, a
chemical used to make household plastics and epoxy resins, is produced
in large quantities around the world.
In response to public concerns, many manufacturers have replaced BPA
with a chemical called bisphenol S (BPS), which is often labelled as
"BPA-free" and presumed to be safer. But the
study's findings suggest that both BPA and BPS can cause alterations in
brain development that can lead to hyperactivity in zebrafish.
The first new antibiotic to be discovered in nearly 30 years has been
hailed as a "paradigm shift" in the fight against the growing resistance
to such drugs.Teixobactin has been found to be effective against many common
bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, septicemia and Clostridium
difficile, and could be available to patients within five years.
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| Environment |
Beijing issues first ever "Red
Alert" because of the high air pollution in their city.
Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global
pact to fight climate change at the Paris climate conference, calling on
the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas
pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don't.
The ozone hole over Antarctica expanded again
this year, reaching its fourth-largest extent on record, but scientists
say there is no cause for "undue alarm" even though more harmful
ultraviolet rays will reach the Earth than in recent years.
Hurricane Patricia strikes the west coast of Mexico with sustained winds
of + 200 mph and gusting winds of 245 mph.
in late October. It
is the strongest recorded hurricane ever. Patricia luckly diminished
suddenly as it hit the shore of Mexico and there were no deaths
resulting from the storm. 7.5
mag earthquake stirkes Nepal killing approximately 8000 people in late
April.
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| Peace |
The United Nations Security Council in late
December unanimously approved a resolution endorsing an international
road map for a Syria peace process, a rare show of unity among major
powers on a conflict that has claimed more than a quarter million lives.
The resolution gives a U.N. blessing to a plan negotiated previously
in Vienna that calls for a ceasefire, talks between the Syrian
government and opposition, and a roughly two-year timeline to create a
unity government and hold elections.
U.K. votes to launch airstrikes against ISIS in
Syria....
ISIS claims responsibility for terriorist attacks
killing 14 people in San Beradino California.
At least 27 people were reported dead in Bamako Mali
after Malian commandos stormed a hotel seized by Islamist gunmen to
rescue 170 people, many of them foreigners, trapped in the building. The
jihadist group Al Mourabitoun, allied to al-Qaida claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Six simutaneous ISIS terrorist attacks in Paris
France killing approximately 128 people and injuring 352 people on
November 13 sends the world against ISIS after France declares war on
ISIS.
A pair of suicide bombings struck southern Beirut on
Thursday, killing 43 people and leaving shattered glass and blood on the
streets, Lebanese authorities said. At least 239 others were wounded,
according to state-run National News Agency.
ISIS downs a Russian airliner by implanting a bomb in
the plane killing in excess of 200 people
Approximately 1,000,000 people
left Syria, Iraq and other
middle east countries to excape the wrath of ISIS. They are heading for
mainly Germany and some other European countries which are having a
terrible time trying to slow down and shut down the pathways for the
refugees to their countries. Present reports have reported that
3,695 people died iin their attempts to escape.
Almost 60 million people worldwide were forcibly
uprooted by conflict and persecution at the end of last year, the
highest ever recorded number, the U.N. refugee agency said, warning that
the situation could deteriorate further.
In late March, the Nigerian army rescued 200 girls
and 93 women who had been captured by terror group Boko Haram.
The Nigerian government says 36 towns have been
recaptured from the Boko Haram terrorist group since the start of the
Nigerian, Nigerien, Chadian and Cameroonian offensive against the
terrorist group.
In Paris 12 people including 2 policemen and
editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo a French satirical magazine based in
Paris were shot by terrorists sending Paris
on high security alerts. Democratic countries responded by
condemning terrorists who attacked the freedom of speech and a 3 1/2
million demonstration in Paris supporting the government was held in
Paris. |
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Religion |
Pope Francis made an impressive visit to the USA
during the fall of 2015. |
| Internet |
In just a year's time, the average American has cut traditional
-TV
viewing by more than six hours per month
U.S. agency votes to treat internet like a public utility, in line with
Canadian rules.
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Communications |
Six new civic sites in Vancouver are offering
free public Wi-Fi as part of a plan to have 43 wireless hot spots at no
cost to the city.
According to some communications experts, telephone
land line conversation has decreased in favour of texting. |
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Living |
Walmart will test drones for
home delivery and pickup. The move comes as
Amazon.com Inc, Google and other companies test drones in the
expectation that the FAA will soon establish rules for their widespread
commercial use.
Beijing is awarded the 2022
Winter Olympic Games with assurances that they will have snow.
Ireland is the first country in the world to
enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular
vote.
Google’s purpose-built driverless cars have
been given the green light to drive on public roads for the first time.
A German Airbus 380-211 in March crashes into the Alps killing
150 on board and the co pilot is blamed for deliberately crashing the
airplane while locking the pilot out of the cockpit.
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Agriculture |
Advanced genomic tools being developed at the
University of British Columbia will enable beekeepers to breed a
made-for-Canada honeybee better able to resist pests and disease,
according to molecular biologist Leonard Foster.
The drought in the western United States continued
causing high consumer prices for food prices.
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Entertainment |
Hollywood launches its new movie 'Star Wars: The
Force Awakens' in late December and breaks attendance revenue records.
Academy award for best
picture went to "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
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Biggest Achievements
of the Year |
The sending and publishing
by NASA of images of the planet Pluto back to earth completing man-made
satellites to visit all the planets in the Solar System.
The
signing of an anti nuclear proliferation agreement with Iran which
should keep the world safe from a nuclear war with the Middle east for
at least 10 years.
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