UNDERWATER WI-FI : "DEEP-SEA" INTERNET

It is amazing how technology is shaping our world; it makes our work faster and efficient, and also enhances commerce between to individuals, irrespective of backgrounds.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York are developing an underwater wireless network, dubbed "deep-sea" wireless.

It could be use to detect possible tsunami, offshore oil and natural gas exploration if succesful.READ MORE

EARLY FISH ANCESTOR

There have been several conceptions on the existence and evolution of man. Archaeologists gave us what to believe, the church also pointed out that man was created by God. However, a thorough study of sea is beginning to get the required attention.
The fossilized remains of 419-million-year old fish, which could be the primitive known creature was discovered in China; the fish Entelognathus primodiarlis, which means ,"the complete jaw" was a armored creature with small eyes and toothless jaws, was discovered by a team of international researchers, led by Zhu min from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Science.
The team unearthed the fossil of Entelognathus in Yunnan Province, a region submerged by the warm coastal sea during the late Silurian period.
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DEADLY CAR BOMB HIT SYRIA

More than thirty-nine people have been feared dead, and dozens injured in a powerful car bomb attack that hit the Northern Syria.

The deafening noise of explosion was heard today in the main Darkoush, a town held by rebels, in the idlib province in Syria. The car bombing reportedly came after the abduction of six staffs of the International Committee of Red Cross. Nevertheless, other members of the committee have vowed to continue amid the unrest in Syria. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the toll is expected to rise due to the large number of seriously injured people.

Syria have been under constant attacks from the rebels and use of chemical weapons; in order to put an end to these inhumane and deadly acts, the Syrian government should seek foreign help and concerted effort of the United Nations geared towards bringing peace to Syria.

STAMPEDE NEAR INDIA HINDU TEMPLE KILLS 89

Eighty-nine people were reportedly killed and a score injured on Sunday, October 13, 2013 in a stampede on a bridge leading to the Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh state.
About five hundred thousand devotees gathered to celebrate the 10-day Navaratra festival at the Ratangarh temple. Some devotees were crushed to death by other worshipers present at the festival, while others fell into the Sindh River. Efforts by the medics to get to the victims proved abortive as they struggled to reach victims amid rumors of possible collapse of the bridge.

OBAMA MEETS WITH MALALA YOUSAFZAI

U.S. President and the first lady met with Pakistani teenage activist at the white house on Friday, the same day she received her Noble prize award for peace. Malala was reportedly thanked by the president for her effort to save and promote women's education in Swat Valley, where girls' was banned in 2009, by the Taliban, a fundamentalist group that attacked Malala on the 9th October 2012.
At age eleven, Malala became an activist for women's education, self-determination and freedom at Pakistan's Swat Valley.
In an interview with the U.S Public Service, she acknowledged the gift of second life; further stressing that she had been given a second life for the cause of education.

AN ATTACK ON EDUCATION

It is a known fact that education plays a key role in a nation’s development. Education empowers the people, bridges the gap between the ‘low’ and the ‘high,’ education encourages gender and social class equality. Education gives the child of the poor an opportunity to sit in a class with the child of an aristocrat.

President Barack Obama answered two questions asked by a Nigerian during a town hall meeting in South Africa, on 29^th September, 2013.  The first question was on Human resource and the second on Terrorism. Obama answered the questions brilliantly well but the answer he gave to the second question changed my perception on how to fight terrorism. He said “Terrorism thrives in countries where the government has failed to deliver to its people”.  Countries where the government has failed to empower the youth, by sensitizing the people on the importance of education, not only that, but also providing for the people the opportunity to be literates.

However, education is yet to find its feet in some parts of the world; mostly in developing countries in Africa and, a part of the Middle East. Attacks by insurgents have been a major cause for the declining rate of education. October 9, 2013 makes it a year since Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban gunmen for been an apologist for women education. She is known for her activism for rights to education and for women, especially in the Swat valley, where the Taliban had banned girls from attending school.  

In Afghanistan, education is clearly not given a second thought by women. It is not an option for girls in Afghanistan. According to Government figures, only 26% of Afghanistan’s population is literate, and among women the rate is only 12%.

Attacks by insurgents who oppose women’s education lead to regular closures of girls’ schools. Moreover, 50% of schools do not have buildings and other necessities, and a dearth of textbooks, teaching materials and equipped laboratories, along with the large number of school closures or relocation directly affects the quality of education

In a similar development, twenty-nine students and a teacher were killed by armed gunmen in a boarding school couple of months ago, in Yobe State in Northeastern Nigeria. 

I believe the fight against terrorism and other social menace can only be won through the concerted effort of the citizens and the Government, and probably the intervention of foreign agencies, such as the United Nations, if need be, with a common goal of eliminating terrorism. 

ROBOTS: A SUBSTITUTE FOR HUMAN LABOUR

China may be the world's factory and the largest employer of human labour, owing to her increasing population. This has also led to a high cost for human labour. However, robots have been found to be a perfect substitute for human labour and consequently reducing the cost of human labour. Leading robotics manufacturer has come to take advantage of this expanding business in Shanghai.

GAS FLARING AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

"Safety first" is a phrase common to many industries. Is safety actually in front of all industrial activities?

It is so disheartening to find out that some oil and gas companies still engage in gas flaring. Gas flare is an open-air fire that burns the natural gas liberated during exploration of oil from the ground. This practice is accompanied with emission of greenhouse gases, thereby, endangering human health and the ecosystem in general. Most African countries are guilty of gas flaring; Nigeria is leading the act in Africa.

However, in countries that require gas to power their thermal station, energy from the gas can be harnessed effectively to power the gas stations. I hope this idea can be seen as a good source of power generation in Nigeria and also implemented

A FLOATING PLANET HAS BEEN DISCOVERED

Does the newly discovered planet support life? It is a question of time and evolution. Astronomers have discovered a floating planet with no star. READ FULL ARTICLE

AN ACT BY A LEADER

Funny, right? Pictured above is the Governor of Osun State; a state in the Southwest of Nigeria.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola wore the newly adopted secondary school uniform in Osun state to an event. He may well be an apologist of the uniform and probably leading by example, but this is also a funny picture to behold.

LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT

Every country in the seven continents that makes the world was once referred to as a developing country at the early stage of development. But the development and the progress or speed of development depends on the type of leader the country is blessed with. However, it can be established that "development" is dependent on "leadership." Leadership is a position of responsibility, a call to serve. Where there is leadership, followers must definitely be involved.

Who is a good leader? A good leader is someone that sees his position as an opportunity to serve his followers. A good leader is a selfless individual, a person who is always ready to attend to pressing issues in his contemporary society and a visionary person; irrespective of gender. Dubai was once a developing country in the early days but today Dubai is a place almost everybody wants to go for summer, relaxation, shopping, and business. Developments that took place in Dubai didn't just happen without somebody initiating the change. It was not something beyond the imagination of humans; it was not metaphysical, it started with the leadership of Dubai with the discovery of natural resources.

This discovery of crude oil and the revenue generated from the sale of it, coupled with the outstanding policies and budgets, established by the crowned princes of Dubai to develop the country made Dubai a place to be. However, recent discoveries suggest that crude oil production, their major source of revenue would depreciate to an unbearable minimum. This is sad news, I guess? What was done?

        Sheik Mohhammed Bin Rashad Al Maktoun, a visionary leader, born on July 15, 1949 became the

Prime Minister of Dubai in 2006. With his outstanding foresight, he came up with the idea of the Burl Al Arab hotel, the tallest hotel ever built. According to research  his idea was born out of declination in crude oil production. His idea was another alternative to generate revenue for the country if eventually oil wells in Dubai run dry and the revenue generated is channeled to developing other sectors of the economy. Today, Dubai is a commercial place that holds variety of opportunities.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUEL

       For centuries, a high percentage of the world’s population are dependent on fossil fuel, a non-renewable energy, as source of energy. Fossil fuels are the accumulation of remains of prehistoric plants and animals

that decompose over millions of years to form hydrocarbons. Once used, they cannot be replaced for tens of thousands of years; hence they are non-renewable energy source. These deposit maybe petroleum, gas, coal, etc. which are used to fuel automobiles and also generate electricity. Rising populations and discoveries of oil deposits in developing countries have led to an increase in the rate of fossil fuel consumption and negative environmental impact, such as Global Warming. Global warming is the rise in average temperature of both the earth and oceans, primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, etc. produced by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. However, it seems we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel with the discovery of a safer approach to produce hydrogen fuel by a team of Virginia tech researchers.

Y.H Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems of engineering and his team have succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen. This new environmentally friendly method of producing hydrogen utilizes renewable natural resources, releases almost zero greenhouse gasses, and does not require costly or heavy metals.

The U.S. Department of Energy states that hydrogen fuel has the potential to dramatically reduce over dependence on fossil fuels and automobile manufacturers are working tirelessly to develop vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells. Unlike gas-powered engines that release environmentally harmful pollutants, the only by-product of hydrogen fuel is water. Zhang's discovery opens the door to an inexpensive, renewable source of hydrogen. Read Full Article HERE