‘Crimea was annexed’ narrative falls apart

A group of Italian MPs announced plans to travel to Crimea less than a week after a delegation of French lawmakers visited the Black Sea peninsula late last week. When will we see a delegation of US lawmakers take a trip to Crimea? We guess never, as that would totally torpedo the entire US government,

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Microsoft will access, disclose, preserve personal data

Microsoft’s new Windows 10 operating system might be popular, but the price of the free upgrade may just be your privacy, though, as changing Windows 10’s intrusive default settings is difficult. While the upgrade is currently free of charge to owners of licensed copies of Windows 8 and Windows 7, it does come at a

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Europe threatened by ‘depth of Africa’

“The question now is not merely what kind of Europe we, Hungarians would like to live in, but whether that which we call Europe today will at all survive”, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán said in a speech to students. “Our answer is clear: we would like Europe to be preserved for the Europeans”, he added.

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Daniël Lötter: The internal exile of the white South African

I got lost. After a long struggle in denial and endlessly hoping for a ray of light to break through, I finally realised this, on a cold, windswept and rainy Cape winter’s morning on my way to work. I had to admit: I got lost somewhere along the way. 14 years ago I packed a

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Things fall apart

When it comes to teaching the art of music, any good teacher would tell a student that focusing too much on the notes would result in a rigid and wooden performance, but focusing too much on the music’s feeling would cause a loss of rhythm. Both the notes as well as the feelings should be

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‘What lion?’ Zimbabweans ask as Cecil circus goes global

As social media exploded with outrage this week at the killing of Cecil the lion, the untimely passing of the celebrated predator at the hands of an American dentist went largely unnoticed in the animal’s native Zimbabwe. “What lion?” acting information minister Prisca Mupfumira asked in response to a request for comment about Cecil, who

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Palestinian toddler dies in arson attack

A suspected “price tag,” or retaliation, arson attack by Jewish settlers killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child in a house in the occupied West Bank and injured several other people, according to Israeli police. The toddler died in a house fire which broke out in a village of Kafr Duma near the West Bank city of

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France, Russia sink Mistral

Talks between Russia and France concerning the future of the Mistral contract have ended. The contract will be terminated in the near future, a top Russian official has stated. Paris and Moscow have agreed on and amount of the penalty France will have to pay Russia for not delivering the Mistral helicopter carriers, and the

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Mother shot dead in her driveway

A case of murder has been opened following last night’s shooting where a white woman (36) was shot dead in her driveway in Esther Park. The woman lived alone with her three children and full-time nanny. According to Sebenza SAPS spokesperson, Const Sharon Tsotsotso, the woman came from work and ran herself a bath. A

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Cincinnati braces for black violence after police shooting

An Ohio police officer who shot a black man during a routine traffic stop was charged with murder Wednesday in what prosecutors called a “senseless” act motivated by anger. “He wasn’t dealing with someone who was wanted for murder — he was dealing with someone with a missing license plate,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters

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Africa’s population explosion over next 35 years

A United Nations report has projected the world’s population to reach 11.2 billion by the end of the century. Africa alone will account for half of the population growth over the next 35 years. The world’s population is expected to grow from its current level of 7.3 billion to 11.2 billion people by end of

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One dead after migrants storm Eurotunnel

At least 1,500 migrants desperate to reach England made new attempts to enter the Eurotunnel terminal overnight in the French port town of Calais, a police source said Wednesday, adding that one person was found dead. “Our team found a corpse this morning and the firefighters have confirmed the death of this person,” added a

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Drug overdoses now leading cause of death in US

American lawmakers are grappling with ways to respond to a worsening heroin epidemic. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death in the US, surpassing car accidents and gunshot wounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lawmakers attending a House of Representatives judicial committee hearing on Tuesday learned that the number

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McDonald’s losing the fast food fight

In the fast food fight for customer spending, one restaurant giant is struggling while rivals scoop up diners’ dollars. Last week, McDonald’s reported its global comparable sales fell again, dropping 0.7 percent in the second quarter. Meanwhile, comps at Burger King rose 6.7 percent in constant currency while Arby’s comps rose 7.6 percent during the

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