The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has today announced that the international total of fossil fuel divestment funds has doubled in a year and now totals more than $5 trillion.
Foreign buyers have moved on from South Africa
2016 saw the most expensive sale of a house in South Africa to a foreigner in the country’s history. This house overlooks the beautiful Bantry Bay in Cape Town and went for US$19 million to a German billionaire, smashing the previous record by approximately US$6.5 million.
3D printed houses
The idea behind 3D printing a house is very simple – you plot out a Cartesian coordinate version of a house, programme that route map into a printing machine, fill the machine with printing material, and watch it go. We already 3D print homes for bees, so why not ones for humans as well?
African markets could be affected by giraffe decline
Numbers have declined by 40% since the 1980s in a "silent extinction" driven by illegal hunting and an expansion in farmland in Africa, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said. It added that drought and climate change are aggravating factors.
Google—leading the charge in the renewable energy market
Excessive consumption of fossil fuels has been much maligned in recent years, especially with conversation surrounding the perils of global warming and carbon emissions truly hotting up.
Making the most of London’s limited space
Space is at a premium in one of the world’s most densely populated cities. For a long time developers have struggled to make the most of London’s compacted infrastructure. Creating space for accommodation is hard enough, but when demand for outdoor sport space is also at an all-time high how do you fit a 43-metre football pitch into a city centre?
China launches the new Titanic
China is increasingly becoming a popular tourist destination. With more and more international visitors expected over the next decade the pressure is on to build attractions that will inspire return visits.
Football legends offer to play for tragic Brazilian club
After the terrible tragedy this week that left 71 people dead after a plane carrying a football team crashed, Brazilian legends Ronaldhino and Riquelme have offered to play for the club in order to help it recover.
The UK's Autumn Statement
Last week saw the first Autumn Statement with new Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond at the helm, and as usual there was one main talking point: This year’s was the Chancellor’s decision to regulate fees charged to tenants renting privately in the UK.
Tianyan radio telescope begins testing
China have started to test the recently completed Tianyan radio telescope in hopes it can come into service ahead of schedule. Located in the Dawodang depression, this marvel of construction takes advantage of the natural basin in Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, southwest China.
London's new 73-storey skyscraper
Planning approval has just been granted by the planning and transport committee of the City of London Corporation to construct 73-storey tower in central London. The building will rival the current record height holder (The Shard) when it reaches completion at some point in the 2020s, and will stand as the second-tallest building in western Europe.
Football rocked by abuse allegations
English football is reeling after a string of child abuse allegations have come to light in recent days. The scandal is centred around former youth coach and scout Barry Bennell, who was jailed on three separate occasions for abusing young boys.
1% own quarter of the country’s wealth
A new study has revealed that the UK's richest 1% of the population own almost a quarter of the country’s wealth, according to Credit Suisse. This statistic goes much deeper—further research shows that the richest 5% of the UK populace own a massive 44% of all wealth in the country. While this means that the elite are incredibly rich, this means that the remaining 56% of the UK's wealth is left to be distributed to the remaining 95% of the population.
Coal beginning to be phased out
Coal is one of the most widely distributed energy sources in the world. As opposed to oil, for instance, major coal deposits can be found in as many as 70 countries. Unfortunately, coal is very dirty, responsible for 44% of global CO2 emissions despite providing only 29.7% of the world’s energy. Any attempt to switch the nations of earth onto a renewable, environmentally friendly power grid must involve coal being renounced permanently.
An ageing garden ornament
There have been many great technological advancements signalling a change in mankind’s imagination and direction. The internet revolutionised the shopping industry allowing anyone with a computer to open a shop. The invention of the light bulb initiated the introduction of mass electrical connectivity, enabling a whole host of new electrical devices in the home. With air travel a global mainstream, the introduction of SST’s (supersonic transport aircraft) was hoped to be a similar catalyst.
Australia has officially moved
Australia is officially being moved. Due to the natural movements of tectonic plates, Australia has shifted over 1.5 metres north in the last 22 years and is now out of synch with the worldwide Global Positioning System – more commonly known as GPS.
Terminally ill girl wins the right to be frozen.
A terminally ill teenager who wanted her body to be cryogenically frozen in the hope she could "live longer" won a landmark legal battle shortly before she died. The 14-year-old's divorced parents had become involved in a long running dispute about whether her remains should be taken to a specialist facility in the US and cryogenically preserved.
Investment in Hong Kong begins to slow
Investment from mainland China has begun to slow down, as interest in luxury residential property in Hong Kong starts to slow. It is estimated that a staggering 15.8 per cent of the money currently changing hands in the sector comes from just over the border. Although, an increasing number of local Hong Kong buyers had been buying up luxury homes, diluting the market share of mainland buyers in sales and value.
Dubai builds another record breaker
Dubai, who currently boast the tallest building in the world have begun construction of yet another record-breaking building. The first brick was laid out by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at Dubai Creek Harbour earlier in the year. The plan is to have the project complete in time for the Dubai Expo in 2020.
Hong Kong independence movement suffering
The High Court of Hong Kong has disqualified two pro-independence lawmakers from taking their seats in parliament and, in the process, thrown Hong Kong’s politics into disarray. Baggio ‘Sixtus’ Leung and Yau Wai-ching were elected on behalf of the pro-independence party Youngspiration in September but altered their parliamentary oaths to insult the Chinese government and are now barred from holding legislative positions in Hong Kong.