SPOC DAILY

Ballistic missiles

Fire and fury like the world has never seen

In a statement following North Korea's threat to fire missiles at Guam, Trump, on August 8, stated that should North Korea make any more threats to the United States, "They will be met with fire and firy like the world has never seen." It however remains to be seen if either North Korea or Trump will make good their threats. Tensions between the two countries have not been higher since the Korean war in 1950.

Click hereto watch CNNs video of Trump's statement.

plastic

Plastic bags soon to be gone

After previous failed attempts, the Kenyan government finally passed a ban on all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging. The ban which will come into effect on August 28 is expected to end the menace of plastic litter in the country. NEMA has stated that no businesses will be exempt from the ban except for duty free shops which are considered to be outsside the Kenyan territoty. In addition, travellers entering the country will be expected to leave them at entry points.

Click here for more information.

tesla

Electric and self-driving cars

Since the turn of the 21st century, automobile innovation has advanced in leaps and bounds. The past ten years have seen the most development in the automobile space, with electric car production going through a renaisance. However, this is not the first time that electricity is been used to power cars. The first electric car was produced in the 1880s. In the late 19th and early 20th century, electric cars were quite popular. Their popularity however declined following advances in the internal combustion engine and mass production of cheap gasoline cars.

Concerns over climate change, increasing oil prices and adavances in battery technology have driven the rebirth of the electric car. At the end of 2015, there were over 30 models of all electric cars available. As of 2016, sales of electric cars surpassed one million units globally. With improving charging infrustructure and declining purchase prices, demand for electric cars is set to grow exponentially.

Besides electric powered cars, self-driving cars are now a reality. The first autonomous car (self-driving) called NavLab 5 was developed by Carnegie Mellon University. Beginning in the 21st century, mmany companies and research institutes have developed prototype autonomous cars. Google also developed its own self-driving car project which was renamed Waymo in 2016. Unlike most manufacturers, Waymo's cars do not even have a steering wheel.