Chris Swanepoel

A number of seemingly coordinated explosions across Thailand have killed at least four people and wounded about 20 more, says the Watertown Public Opinion. Among the injured are 10 foreigners hailing from Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands among others. All the explosions occurred to the South of Bangkok, and several appeared to be aimed […]

Two chefs in Rio have continued an initiative started at the Milan World Expo in 2015 by Bottura’s Refetterio Ambrosiano, where 65 international chefs prepared meals with food that would have been disposed of and served them to the underprivileged. Now, at the Rio 2016 Olympics, along with the Olympic Village chefs, they are doing […]

Texas will allow concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons into public university buildings, classrooms, and dorms as of Monday, reports Associated Press. This law, endorsed by Governor Greg Abbot along with the Republican legislative majority will guarantee the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. According to the Texas Penal Code (Tex. Penal […]

South Africa, once a leading economic and agricultural power in Africa is once again falling to the scourge of violence that has become part of the daily life of its residents. This time it seems focused on the upcoming Municipal Elections. Bongani Skhosana, local businessman and African National Congress (ANC) candidate for the Umuziwabantu Municipality, […]

The Mirror reports that just days after an IS bombing in Kabul, in which 80 people were killed, key ISIS leader and founder member of the terrorist group’s Afghanistan-Pakistan branch, Saad Emerati, has been killed in a firefight in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, according to the Afghan army. A spokesman for Nangarhar’s governor, Attahullah Khogyani, said that […]

French authorities have detained two more people for questioning in connection with the truck attack in Nice that killed at least 84 people, when 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove his truck through the crowds at a Bastille Day celebration, according to The Guardian. He managed to penetrate more than a mile into the masses […]

According to a study published on Thursday, around 58 percent of the land on earth has declined to below the biodiversity safe limit, says The Christian Science Monitor. This decline is attributed mainly to human land practices. A diminishing biodiversity makes the ecosystem vulnerable to factors such as the extinction or migration of a species […]

Is it possible for a supernova explosion hundreds of light-years away to cause mass extinctions on our planet? This may well be the case, as a new study suggests this is what happened roughly 2.59 million years ago, says Tech Times. One of these explosions may have been a contributor to a minor mass extinction. […]

The fighting that started in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city, has come to a halt after South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, and his vice president, Riek Machar, called for a cease-fire, as reported by the NY Times. Civilians who had fled to the large Catholic Church Building in the town ventured out onto the lawn, […]

After a black man was shot and killed by a police officer on Wednesday, gun control advocates found an unexpected “ally” in their battle against the NRA in the form of some of its members who believe the group did not do enough to defend gun owners by speaking out on behalf of the deceased, […]

Arsene Wenger says he won’t rule out becoming the England Football team’s manager, but it will have to wait until the end of his contract at Arsenal, reports The Telegraph. He has managed the English club for nearly 20 years and will honor his contract with them till it runs out in 12 months time. […]

Two Russian Servicemen were killed when their Mi-25 chopper was shot down by ISIS forces during a calibration flight east of Palmyra, Syria. The two pilots, Ryafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin, were conducting a calibration flight in the Homs province when they received an appeal from the Syrian command group for assistance, reports News.com. “Having […]

Russia will approve President Bashar al-Assa leaving office in Syria, but only once it’s convinced the Syrian government will not collapse when Assad steps down, reports Reuters. It could be a long process, but for the duration, Russia will keep offering support to Assad despite international pressure, say sources close to the Kremlin. This support […]

The Taliban has a new leader, and his message is clear. According to the Hindustan Times, Haibatullah Akhundzada said on Saturday in his first speech since being appointed leader after his predecessor Akhtar Mansour was killed during an American drone strike in Pakistan in May, that the U.S. needs to end its occupation of Afghanistan. […]

Al Jazeera reports that weapons supplied by the CIA and Saudi Arabia for distribution among Syrian rebels have been steadily stolen by Jordanian Intelligence operatives and been made available on the black market. FBI officials believe that these weapons were used in the attack on a police training facility in Amman in November, when five […]

Police are struggling to subdue violent protests that have erupted around South Africa’s capital city of Pretoria, reports BBC News. The protests are as a result of the ruling African National Congress party’s choice of candidate for mayor of the city in the upcoming elections on August 3. Similar protests were experienced in Durban, home […]

The man responsible for what is now the biggest shooting massacre in the United States, Omar Mateen, had been investigated by the FBI in recent years according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The attack on the gay club, Pulse, is a prime example of how potential threats are slipping through the FBI’s huge counter-terrorism […]

After months of debate Barack Obama has approved expanded authorities that will allow U.S. troops to accompany and conduct airstrikes and offensive operations with Afghan forces when necessary, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Friday. This according to Military.com. Officials said the decision was made as a result of the Taliban’s return to strength, especially […]

Forces allied with the Libyan government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the militant stronghold of Sirte from ISIS fighters who remain surrounded inside the city, reports Al Arabiya. This comes after brigades made up of fighters, mostly from Misrata, advanced to the edge of the city’s center earlier this week in the […]

Novac Djocovic has made history at Roland Garros. By winning his first French Open title and fourth consecutive major title, he has accomplished a feat last seen in 1969, reports Morocco World News. He is now the one of only three men to hold all four major titles at the same time, and the first […]

Los Angeles police have found a handgun and several gasoline cans in the trunk of Manainak Sardar, the UCLA gunman’s car, reports the Los Angeles Times. The car, a gray Nissan, was found parked in Culver City on Friday afternoon. It is believed Sarkar drove there from Minnesota on Wednesday and took a bus to […]

South Africa’s Parliament has approved a bill that will allow the government to make mandatory land purchases from whites and redistribute it in a way deemed fair by its representatives. This comes 20 years after the end of apartheid, reports BBC News. With elections coming up in August, the African National Congress (ANC) has promised […]

It’s been nearly four years since LinkedIn, the popular social network, was hacked, and now it seems the personal data of over a million members could be compromised as more of the stolen data is leaked. “We became aware of an additional set of data that had just been released that claims to be email […]

A Boeing 777, flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, disintegrated in the air over east Ukraine, killing all passengers and crew. Wreckage was scattered over a large area between Grabovo, Rassypnoye, and Petropavlivka, an area controlled by Russian separatist movement, the Donetsk People’s Republic. Of the 298 passengers and crew killed, 193 […]

An Airshow ended in tragedy on Saturday when an experienced stunt pilot lost his life in a ball of flames as he failed to maneuver out of a steep dive, reports the NY Daily News. Peachtree-DeKalb Airport director Mario Evans said this was the first accident in the air show’s 30-year history. https://youtu.be/pZl1F9MOJeo The stunt […]

In a number of states, the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes is well on its way, but it remains illegal on a federal level. This is causing major problems for the industry’s emerging dealers. According to The Guardian, people like Andy Williams of Colorado are faced with numerous financial complications as a result […]

Mike Patterson, owner of a Topeka Harley-Davidson dealership, plans to expand his operation to include a 16,000-square-foot area to accommodate the Evel Knievel Museum, reports the Topeka Capital Journal. According to the report, Patterson expects to draw 100,000 visitors a year to the exhibition he hopes to open this year. Patterson said after talking with […]

A new fossil trove has been discovered in southern China, reports Maine News Online. It was announced on Thursday that scientists have discovered the remains of six formerly unknown, extinct primate species that lived in trees 34 million years ago. This discovery is expected to shed more light on the evolution of primates. Four of […]

According to the journal Science, researchers from Princeton and Uppsala Universities have identified the gene that allows for the rapid evolution of Darwin’s Finches in response to their continuously changing environment on the Galapagos Islands. The gene, HMGA2, seems to be the chief factor in beak size in the finches. This gene is also present […]

Scientists believe nearly every galaxy, ours included, could have, at its center, a supermassive black hole. These black holes can be billions of times the mass of our sun, with a gravitational force so strong not even light can escape beyond the event horizon, making them impossible to see. They are detected by studying the […]

Families of the victims in the 9/11 attacks are infuriated at President Obama’s administration for what they call “siding with Saudi Arabia” over a bill that could incriminate Saudi officials for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, reports the Daily Mail. The document in question is an 838-page report, 28 pages of which implicate […]

So you’ve lost the weight and are extremely chuffed. Your life goes back to normal, people can once again approach you without fear of disembowelment, the sun seems brighter, birds twitter happily, and life is just peachy. It’s been a long [insert time period here] of exercise and self denial, but it was worth it. […]

El Salvador’s attorney general’s office announced on Twitter that government agents seized numerous computers and documents during a Friday raid on Mossack Fonseca’s offices in the capital, San Salvador, reported Vice News on Saturday. The firm’s founding partner, Ramon Fonseca, said the company has not yet been approached by any investigators, but the raid indicates […]

It is no secret that all branches of the United States military have been keeping a close eye on 3D printing technology. With the variety of uses across all industries, 3D printing has proven its versatility. Besides the ongoing research in a number of directions, such as 3D printing of replacement bones, battle armor, and […]

Manny Pacquiao came back with a bang on Saturday night, defeating Timothy Bradley by a unanimous points decision after knocking him down twice in the 12-round welterweight bout, reports Tim Dahlberg of ABC News. The first knockdown came in the seventh round, but Bradley appeared to have slipped. In the ninth round, however, Pacquiao caught […]

Webopedia describes Microsoft OneNote as a note-taking and personal information management (PIM) application for collecting, organizing and sharing digital information. Basically, it gathers your typed or handwritten notes, drawings, screen captures, and audio recordings and makes them available to be shared over the internet or a network. OneNote is available as a standalone application for […]

The South African Constitutional Court ruled today that President Jacob Zuma’s refusal to repay the government money he spent on his private home violated the constitution, this according to Eyewitness News. The treasury has now been granted 60 days to determine the amount to be paid. The action was sparked by the Public Protector, Advocate […]

British newspapers reported this weekend that Adele could be hanging up her microphone in favor of motherhood. Adele, whose huge hit, Hello, topped the charts in 2015, has been said to have told friends she’s planning to take a five year break to spend more time mothering her three year old son Angelo. This is […]

Gone are the days of hunting through thousands of photos on your phone or computer, desperately trying to find last year’s holiday pictures or the office Christmas party five years ago. Thanks to the new app by Google Photos, they will all be safely stored in the relevant albums, with no user input necessary. Although […]

Actor Joe Santos, known as Lt. Dennis Becker in The Rockford Files, has passed away at the age of 84. After a heart attack on Wednesday, he was put on life support, but sadly passed away on Friday morning in Santa Monica. Santos was born on June 9, 1939 as Joseph John Minieri Jr. and […]

Donald Trump’s recent rallies seem to have turned into a mud-slinging show of violent protest, as a number of his recent outings have been disrupted, or in some cases even cut short by unruly behavior. These events have been emotionally charged, with Trump responding to interruptions with “get ’em out,” which resulted in resounding cheers […]

History was made on Thursday, when the largest cruise liner ever built took to the waters off the coast of France. Royal Caribbean‘s long anticipated Harmony of the Seas has been launched in the port of Saint-Nazaire in front of a crowd of thousands, for her first sea trials involving maneuvers to test propulsion, steering […]

The 2016 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup is underway in Dharamsala and Nagpur, with the first round matches featuring two groups. Group A, consists of Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman, and Group B consists of Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan. These teams are considered the minnows, and they will compete for two places in […]

North Korea remains the only country in the world to conduct nuclear tests in the 21st century, gradually increasing its capacity to effectively launch nuclear warheads into neighboring countries, or even continents. Their defiance is such that even as diplomats were negotiating the current resolution in January, they continued with their fourth nuclear test, launching […]

El Niño, the periodic warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that brings sea surface temperatures above average, results in the severe disruption of weather patterns worldwide and causes a relentless reduction in rainfall in South Africa. This, in turn, has devastating effects on the South African Agricultural Industry, with the 2014-2016 episode being the […]

The commodity market over the last year has been in turmoil and the steel industry has not been an exception. Prices have dropped to a 12-year low as poor economic growth, oversupply and diminishing demand are the order of the day. With China’s growth rate at its lowest in 25 years, and its stock market […]

The United States of America, being the third most populated country on the globe, has a population as diverse and unique as the world itself. This diversity creates a potential political minefield, especially when aspiring to lead the nation. According to Pew Research, the following are some of the criteria, and their impact on the […]