Jan 6-12
The world witnessed alarming signs of climate change as Earth recorded its hottest year ever, exceeding the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C threshold. Natural disasters continued with a 7.1-magnitude earthquake near Mount Everest killing 95 in Tibet, and wildfires erupting in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.
Technological advancements made headlines as Nvidia unveiled Project Digits, a $3,000 personal AI supercomputer, and Microsoft released its 14B-parameter Phi-4 AI model as open source. Toyota launched Woven City in Japan and invested $45 million in rocket development, while Tesla announced plans to mass-produce Optimus robots by 2027.
In political developments, Austria's president tasked far-right leader Herbert Kickl with forming a government, marking a post-WWII first. In the U.S., President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act to boost benefits, and the House passed an act sanctioning the ICC over an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Health concerns rose as Louisiana reported the first U.S. H5N1 bird flu death. In business, MANTRA and DAMAC Group announced plans to tokenize $1 billion in UAE real estate and data centers.
