Bloomberg (December 4)
“Chinese scientists claim to have built a quantum computer that is able to perform certain computations nearly 100 trillion times faster than the world’s most advanced supercomputer, representing the first milestone in the country’s efforts to develop the technology.” This would be “exponentially faster than existing supercomputers.”
Tags: Advanced, China, Faster, Milestone, Quantum, Scientists, Supercomputer, Technology
San Francisco Chronicle (December 1)
“California reported a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, reaching a somber milestone that shows the virus is more widespread than ever…. Hospitalizations in California have more than doubled in two weeks” and fears are mounting that “facilities could be overwhelmed.”
Tags: California, COVID-19, Facilities, Fears, Hospitalizations, Milestone, Overwhelmed, Somber, Virus
Sydney Morning Herald (November 9)
“The coronavirus has hit another sobering milestone: more than 50 million positive cases worldwide since the pandemic began…. The US, with around 4% of the world’s population, represents almost a fifth of all reported cases.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Milestone, Pandemic, Positive cases, Sobering, U.S., World
The Irish Times (September 7)
With nearly 50,000 new cases last week, “Spain passed a grim milestone of recording more than half a million coronavirus cases on Monday, becoming the first western European country to do so amid a steep upward trend that is mirrored in neighbouring France.” Moreover, there is “significant concern” that the UK is moving down the same path to resurgence. All this comes as wet pubs look poised to reopen in Ireland on September 21.
San Francisco Chronicle (July 27)
Half a year into the pandemic, a “role reversal of sorts” took places for the giants of the east and west coasts. “California passed New York with the most coronavirus cases in the United States. That grim convergence occurred as the nation reached its own dark milestone: 4 million reported cases. California, as of Sunday, has about 452,000 cases, to New York’s 412,000.” With about 425,000 cases, Florida has also passed the Big Apple.
Tags: California, Coasts, Coronavirus, Grim, Milestone, New York, Pandemic, Reversal, U.S.
USA Today (July 9)
The U.S. passed another “grim milestone” on Wednesday, racking up 3 million COVID-19 cases, which “represents roughly a quarter of the world’s cases and the same percentage of its deaths.” The U.S. now strongly “leads an unenviable group. Its 3 million cases for a nation of 330 million beats out Brazil’s 1.7 million cases (210 million population), India’s 742,000 cases (1.4 billion) and Russia’s 699,000 cases (145 million).”
New York Times (June 25)
“On Wednesday it was as if the country had found itself back in March — at the start of the pandemic, in the early days of the lockdown, when masks were in short supply and when the death toll was skyrocketing.” The U.S. “reached another grim milestone on Wednesday as it reported 36,880 new cases,” breaking the previous high set on April 24. Instead of containment, new cases “have roared back in recent weeks.”
Tags: Containment, Death toll, Grim, Lockdown, March, Masks, Milestone, New cases, Pandemic, Skyrocketing, Supply, U.S.
Jerusalem Post (February 9)
A newly signed bilateral investment treaty marks “another milestone in Israel’s newly blossoming relationship with” Japan. “While celebrations are indeed in order, it is apparent that Israel is only scratching the surface of the potential relationship with Japan, and unless it negotiates the obstacles along the way, will never realize the full potential of trade with the world’s third-largest economy.”
Tags: Bilateral, Investment treaty, Israel, Japan, Milestone, Relationship, Trade
New York Times (January 15, 2014)
After three years without a case, India “can now be declared polio-free.” This “victory is an important milestone in the global effort to eliminate polio,” but much remains to be done to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of eradicating the disease by 2015, which would mean the world could be declared polio–free in 2018. Unfortunately, 2012 brought backtracking. There were 350 new cases of polio, up from 213 in 2012, and these occurred in 8 countries, up from 4.
Tags: 2012, 2015, 2018, Disease, India, Milestone, Millennium Development Goal, Polio, Polio-free, U.N., Victory
Financial Times (October 10)
“The world has just passed a historic milestone: China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s largest oil importer…. The implications for international relations and global security are profound.” Cinching the global “gas guzzler” title has as much to do with the dramatic increase in domestic U.S. production through fracking as rising living standards in China. While China is now the biggest oil importer, the U.S. remains the biggest consumer. Per capita, the U.S. consumes over seven times more oil than China or 21.5 barrels annually per person.
Tags: China, Consumer, Fracking, Global security, International relations, Living standards, Milestone, Oil imports, U.S.