The World Health Organization declares H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu", as a global pandemic. Due to it's highly contagious nature spreading from human to human. Most people infected suffer a mild symtons, but the small minority who suffer more severe symptons (less than 0.04% )are hospitalized and end up in an intensive-care unit suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome, which kills in half of all cases. Specific vaccines are developed and released in North America in late October.

A new form of transport which is a cross between an aircraft, a boat and a land vehicle, propelled on a cushion of air created by its own fan power the "Hovercraft", has it's official launch at the Solent on the South Coast of England. The Hovercraft ( SRN-1 ) which is still at the experimental level is just 29ft long, but developers believe the technology will allow the production of full scale Hovercraft capable of speeds 50 knots and up to 300 ft long. The SR-N1 Hovercraft was designed by Sir Christopher Cockerell.