Love him or hate him, the Republican Party candidate Donald J. Trump is to be the new 45th President of the USA. In a stunning upset, The Donald has beaten Hillary Clinton, from the Democratic Party, to the White House.
The result has shocked many in the USA and around the world. It sent convulsions throughout the USA and the world. Many world leaders and celebrities are now back-tracking fast on any derogatory statements and speeches they previously made.
The result was a devastating blow to Hillary Clinton, 69, who many pundits thought would easily win the presidency. Mike Pence will be the new Vice President of the USA.
Today, let’s talk about the tension that is rising, right across Europe, regarding immigration. Well, let’s face it, it is. What’s more, week by week, it’s getting worse, thanks to the EU, and Mrs Merkel, the German Chancellor.
Western governments are only too happy to hand out benefits to anyone, who makes it to these countries. Top of the immigrant’s list is the UK, closely followed by Germany, Sweden and Holland.
Why don’t these economic migrants go and live in Saudi Arabia, or other Middle Eastern countries, or African countries that were once their neighbours?
Why not go to Eastern Europe? Because no one there wants any migrants. There are no benefits paid, worth taking about, in Eastern Europe. Mr Orbán built a fence. Austria is doing likewise. Why not France?
The world is on the verge of the first ‘mass extinction’ since the age of dinosaurs. Species under threat include: elephants, tigers, gorillas and giant pandas.
The reasons for the decline include: poaching, habitat destruction, and egg stealing. The shocking findings, have been published by the WWF and the Zoological Society of London.
By the end of the decade (2020), seven out of ten of the world’s mammals, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles will have been wiped out according to the biggest ever report on the subject. The study assessed 14,152 populations of vertebrates. Numbers fell by 58%, between 1970 and 2012.
Recently, a survey conducted by UK store Poundland, uncovered the fact that many young people, under 35, don’t have key life skills. For example, a third of young adults, don’t know how to change a lightbulb.
A quarter, admitted that they would have to ask, to know how to boil an egg. They said it’s tricky to get it right, as ‘you can’t see if it’s cooked, or not, inside the shell’. Some, even tried cooking a boiled egg in a microwave, with explosive consequences. Another 13%, tried to boil an egg, in a kettle.
Today, let’s talk about Halloween. It occurs once a year on the night of the 31st October. It’s the most likely time you’ll see people dressed up as witches, ghosts, skeletons, monsters, devils, or other weird, supernatural, creatures.
Halloween parties are popular among both children and adults, and dressing up in costume is all part of the fun! Watch out for many a pumpkin with spooky eyes and teeth lit by a candle. Halloween colours are black and orange. Watch out for the spooky masks!
Something very strange and disturbing is happening right now, around the world. We are suddenly seeing people dressed up as killer clowns. They are appearing in strange places. It’s scary and weird. The question is, why? Are these people attention seekers? Or, just nutters? What is making people want to dress up in a killer clown outfit, and go round scaring people? Worse, is that some of them are attacking innocent people; hence the term ‘Killer Clowns’.
The craze may have begun in South Carolina, USA, in August, when some clowns tried to entice children into a wood, with large sums of money. The US born craze, has seen clowns chasing children, with weapons, such as knives and baseball bats. In some instances, they specifically targeted schools.
For the second year running, Singapore has been voted the top place for expats’ to live and work in 2016. The country topped the list of countries, in HSBC’s ninth annual Expat Explorer survey.
More than 60% of expats earnt more in Singapore, than they did in their own country. Nearly half, felt they were healthier living in Singapore. 84% of expats said the island was safer than their own country. 75% said the level of education was better than their original country. 58% of expats felt Singapore is a good place to start a business.
Switzerland offers the best wages, with annual incomes around US$188,000. In Singapore, the average expat salary is US$139,000. This is significantly higher than the global average of US$97,000.
Today, we are going to look at some of the 1,000 or so new words that have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in their September quarterly update for 2016.
Ones to watch out for are ‘moobs’, ‘gender-fluid’ and ‘yolo’. ‘Scrumdiddlyumptious’ and other colourful Roald Dahl words like ‘Oompa Loompa’ and ‘human bean’ are included in the latest edition to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Another of Dahl’s words includes ‘splendiferous’, which means full or abounding in splendour.
‘Moobs’ are a term used for unusually prominent breasts on a man. ‘Gender-fluid’ describes a person who does not identify with a single fixed gender. ‘Yolo’ is the acronym for the term “You only live once”.
Today, let’s talk about the iPhone 7 and the Samsung Note 7. Both have hit the headlines recently, ironically, for different reasons.
Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 7. It’s a waterproof smartphone, with a longer battery life than its predecessor. It has a faster processor, and improved cameras.
The most talked about feature must be the new wireless headphones. These are an expensive optional extra. They are dubbed AirPods and come with a charging case. Apple has removed the 3.5mm headphone jack, by replacing it with an adaptor to their ‘lightening’ connector.
Today, let’s talk about the terrible shootings that took place recently at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. More than 50 innocent people were killed with 53 others wounded.
The terrorist attack was carried out by Omar Mateen. Most of the victims were men in their 20s and 30s. The 29-year-old gunman was killed after taking hostages at the Pulse club. The attack is the worst mass shooting in recent US history.
Omar Mateen was an American who declared allegiance to the Islamic State. He was the son of an immigrant from Afghanistan.
