US Elections Sway World
Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States on November 8. The results of the election shocked the world as all opinion polls earlier projected Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as a clear favorite. The 2016 American Presidential Elections have been the most acrimonious and controversial in modern political history.
Trump a billionaire businessman and reality TV star with no political experience led an explosive, mud-slinging campaign for the White House. “It was Donald Trump versus almost all the experts … it looks like Donald Trump was right,” Jake Tapper said on CNN.
Brexit: What Next?
On June 23, in a referendum vote England and Wales voted to leave the European Union (EU). Although Scotland and Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU, 52 per cent of votes were cast in favour of leaving the EU. This is now popularly known as Brexit. Britain’s decision to leave the EU surprised the rest of the world with experts skeptical on Britain’s economic growth, trade and relations with other European countries. Immediately after the results were declared the British pound lost its shine. After British Prime Minister Theresa May’s address that UK would begin the formal exit from EU by March 2017 the pound declined to a three year low against the Euro. Now a lower pound means costly imports and likely return of inflation. Prices had been stable in UK for the past few years.
But five months hence Brexit vote, the predictions made by many experts and economists having an immediate impact on UK economy have not hold true. According to latest figures the British economy grew by 0.5 percent since the referendum voting. This optimism has made the Bank of England has raised its forecast for economic growth next year to 1.4% from 0.8%.
Turkish Coup d’état Attempt
On July 15, a coup d’état was attempted in Turkey against state institutions, the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organised themselves as the Peace at Home Council. They attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them. The Council cited an alleged erosion of secularism and a disregard for human rights as reasons for the coup. Over 300 people were killed and more than 2,100 were injured during the coup. Many government buildings, including the Turkish Parliament and the Presidential Palace, were damaged. Mass arrests followed, with at least 40,000 detained, including at least 10,000 soldiers.
Earthquakes Rock Italy, Japan
An earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the magnitude scale, hit Central Italy on August 24 killing around 300. The initial earthquake was followed by at least 2,500 after-shocks across the whole of central Italy, from Naples to Rome, Florence to Bologna. Another series of major earthquakes struck Central Italy in October. It was the largest in Italy in 36 years. Fukushima, Japan, was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1. The earthquake was reportedly felt as far away as Tokyo, 140 miles southwest of the epicenter.
Queen of England Turns 90
The longest-reigning British monarch Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday on April 21. Her Majesty’s 90th birthday party was a celebration of the Queen’s life, her love of horses, her dedication to the Commonwealth and international affairs and her deep involvement with the armed forces. Over 90 minutes, 900 horses and more than 1,500 participants from around the UK and the world created a joyful event for the Queen. The 90-year journey portrayed her birth, marriage, the coronation and a reign of more than 60 years.
Tiger Tales
Conservation successes in India, Russia and Nepal means there has been a significant increase in tiger numbers for the first time in a century. A new survey by WWF shows there are now 3,890 wild tigers, up from 3,200 in 2010, when countries announced a historic commitment to double the population by 2022. It now looks like we may actually hit that target!
North Korea’s H Bomb
North Korea says it has successfully carried out its first underground test of a hydrogen bomb. It is said to be a more powerful weapon than an atomic bomb. If true it would be its fourth nuclear test since 2006 and mark a huge advance in its nuclear capabilities.
HOTTEST YEAR
2016 is likely to be the Earth’s warmest year on record, fueled by El Niño conditions early in the year, and long-term warming from climate change. This is likely to be the third consecutive record-warm year in a row for the globe.
India’s Glory at Rio Olympics
For over two weeks, Rio, Brazil, became the home the Summer Olympics – the first South American city to host the games. And India had its moment of glory with a Silver and a Bronze won by PV Sindhu for Badminton and Sakshi Malik for Wresting respectively. More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees took part. With 306 sets of medals, the games featured 28 Olympic sports. The Indian Olympic Association sent the nation’s largest ever delegation (a total of 117 athletes) in Olympic history. The United States topped the medal table for the fifth time in the past six Olympics, winning the most Golds (46). Great Britain and China took the second and third position respectively in the medal tally. Host country Brazil won seven gold medals. Twenty-seven world records – in archery, athletics, canoeing, cycling track, modern pentathlon, rowing, shooting, swimming and weightlifting were set during this year’s Olympics.
Virat Steals the Show
The sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20, the world championship of Twenty20 International cricket was held in India for the first time from March 8 to April 3. Seven cities that hosted matches were Bangalore, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. West Indies won the final, played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, by defeating England by four wickets. Indian batsman Virat Kohli was named the player of the tournament, while Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi led the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.
Portugal Lifts Euro Cup
Portugal won the Euro 2016 which was held in July in France. Spain were the two-time defending champions, having won the 2008 and 2012 tournaments, but were eliminated by Italy. Portugal won the tournament for the first time, following a 1-0 victory after extra time over the host team, France, in the final.
SUPER MOON
The last time the moon was this close to the Earth was in 1948. The reason the distance varies is the moon’s slightly elliptical orbit. On average, it is 238,900 miles from the Earth, but at the perigee it is about five per cent closer.
Tech Turkeys
Falling Drones
GoPro’s Karma drone was welcomed by all as the new step in drone technology. For $1,100, you got a new camera, a grip stabilizer to bring drone-camera- like fluidity to land shots and a backpack. The video images were stellar and the ease of use of the drone controller was simple. But then consumers started showing videos of Karma drones losing power mid-air, and GoPro announced a recall just two weeks after the initial release.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
What’s worse than a phone that explodes in your face? The Samsung Note 7 received rave reviews for wireless charging, water resistant design and the ability to unlock the phone with your iris. But weeks after the first shipments, consumers started reporting phones that were erupting in flames, causing damage to houses and cars. Samsung announced a recall and replacement but the new phone started blowing up. Samsung could face a loss of around $10 billion in sales and recall charges. The Note 7 has been pulled off market altogether.
Self-driven Cars
Autonomous automobile could very much be termed as a damp squib of the year Tesla and Google’s self driven cars came under scrutiny after accidents. The question is whether this is the kind of technology should be on the road at all. Tesla automobile was involved in a fatal traffic accident while operating in its headline-grabbing autopilot mode. A Google self-driving Lexus RX 450h was involved in a crash with a van in the US. Self-driven cars were looked up to as a quantum leap in car technology, but the fact is that technology is yet to develop age-old human instinct like fear!
Total Delight
Launched in selected countries in July, Pokemon Go, quickly became a global phenomenon and was one of the most used and profitable mobile apps in 2016, having been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide. Pokemon Go is a free-toplay, location-based augmented reality game. In the game, players use a mobile device’s GPS capability to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokemon, who appear on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as the player. However, it also attracted controversy for contributing to various accidents, as well as becoming a public nuisance at some locations.