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News

  • Donald Trump Jr posts emails of Russian collusion to Twitter

    By on 12 July, 2017

    Donald Trump Jr took to Twitter Tuesday to post a series of emails proving he had met with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign. The emails show correspondence with British-born entertainment publicist Rob Goldstone, who wrote on behalf of mutual friend and Russian popstar Emin Agalarov. Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017 "Emin asked that I schedule a meeting with you and the Russian government attorney ," Goldstone wrote. He stated that the meeting was to "provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her...

  • #DataMustFall: ISPA refutes claim it will lead to higher costs for some

    By on 11 July, 2017

    The #DataMustFall campaign has been one of the biggest SA stories in the past 12 months, as social media users call on mobile networks and service providers to reduce the cost to connect in the country. Although it's been embraced by most, the non-profit Free Market Foundation has (predictably) spoken out against the movement in recent months. The organisation has issued numerous press releases, claiming that the #DataMustFall campaign was cherry-picking information, for starters. The organisation also said that connectivity provided by a company was "not a basic human right" and that reduced pricing would lead to more expensive data costs for...

  • South African woman pushed down stairs by Airbnb host

    By on 11 July, 2017

    South African artist Zanele Muholi has shared a video to social media of a Dutch Airbnb host shoving her friend, Sibahle Nkumbi, down a flight of stairs. According to Muholi, the guests were "a few minutes late" for checkout when the host turned aggressive. The suspect was arrested and detained by police, and could face a charge of attempted murder. 2017.07.08: Amsterdam. One of my friends/ Inkanyiso crew members was pushed downstairs by the Airbnb owner where we stayed. He threw their belongings out ... for few mins late checkout. She collapsed and ended up in hospital. She suffered internal injuries...

  • #LionEscape: four more lions escape Kruger National Park

    By on 10 July, 2017

    The lions of the Kruger National Park are seemingly fed up with roaming the fenced expanse. Following May 2017's edition of feline prison break, rangers have today reported that four more male lions have escaped from the park. "We are not completely sure about the whereabouts of the lions," explains SANParks' spokesperson William Mabasa "and as soon as we have concrete information we will share this". The lions had however been seen wandering near the Matsulu, Mpumalanga area. Soon after the news broke around 1pm SAST, the hashtag #LionsEscape began trending on Twitter. This was also propelled by SANParks' tweets alerting residents of the...

  • #G20: Here’s what the web thought of the global summit

    By on 10 July, 2017

    The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an annual forum for the governments of 20 major economies to discuss policy issues around international financial stability. This year's summit was held in Hamburg, Germany, and was notable for a myriad of reasons -- including US President Donald Trump's debut at the summit, his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a spate of violent protests that shook the city. Naturally, social media had a lot to say about all of it. The handshakes Donald Trump is notorious for his aggressive handshakes, in which he asserts dominance by yanking the other's hand towards him. Due...

  • Reinvented toothbrush crushes Kickstarter crowdfunding goal

    By on 6 July, 2017

    In 1498, the bristle toothbrush was invented by the Chinese. Back then, the bristles were hog's hair and the handles bone or bamboo. It took another 440 years for nylon to be introduced and the toothbrush as we know it to be born. Fast forward another 79 years, and European company Amabrush wants to change the way you clean your teeth yet again. Over on Kickstarter, the company is boasting a denture-like device that cleans your teeth in ten seconds -- and it's already pulled in €173 514 (R2.6-million) -- triple its goal -- with 29 days still to go. So how does...

  • Antarctica’s about to give the world one of its biggest ever icebergs

    By on 6 July, 2017

    Ships sailing near northern Antarctica may soon have to navigate around one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The organisation issued an update on a bulky chunk of ice it's monitoring from space, a chunk that could easily be the size of a small country once it breaks free. Once the 200km-long crack travels its final five kilometres, the iceberg will be released into the Southern Ocean from the Larsen C shelf, off the continent's jutting northern peninsula. After it sets sail, the berg will be between 190m and 210m deep, carrying around 1155...

  • Cape Town Cash Crusaders held hostage, Twitter provides commentary

    By on 5 July, 2017

    A Cape Town Cash Crusaders was held hostage Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a Hollywood-esque standoff that had Twitter enraptured. "Strand Street" was trending in Cape Town by 2.18pm as images, videos and updates flooded the platform. Police take aim in Strand Street following a robbery at Cash Crusaders, hostage situation. @IOL @TheCapeArgus pic.twitter.com/1XdP5Rdmrd — Cape Times (@CapeTimesSA) July 5, 2017 Specialized security force leaves cash crusaders, fire fighters enter. Store appears to have been cleared. #CTrobbery pic.twitter.com/ykiDDvxmps — James de Villiers (@pejames) July 5, 2017 #CBDRobbery and Cash Crusaders also made their way into the discourse. Police confirm the #ArmedRobbery situation is over. Hostages unharmed, two...

  • #JHBFire reappears as another Johannesburg fire kills at least seven

    By on 5 July, 2017

    A fire that broke out today in a Johannesburg CBD building has killed at least seven people, according to the city's EMS. The number of fatalities from this morning building fire in the Joburg CBD has increased to seven. Pics by @MarykeVermaak pic.twitter.com/PypG0rCXjI — City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) July 5, 2017 Fire at Cape York building in Joburg CBD has been extinguished, sadly 1 person has died trying to escape the fire. Pics by @moses_moyo pic.twitter.com/piDETyZoc1 — City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) July 5, 2017 The fire, which burnt through the Cape York building on the corner of Jeppe and Nugget Streets in...

  • Dear Cape Town, dam levels are rising but you’re still using too much water

    By on 5 July, 2017

    The City of Cape Town believes that the city's residents are still using far too much water. This even after the more stringent Level 4b water restrictions came into effect on 1 July 2017. Level 4b restrictions "requires all water users to immediately use less than 87 litres of water per person per day in total, irrespective of whether you are at home, work or elsewhere," explains the City, but residents are using a lot more than that. Overall, the City is targeting consumption below 500-million litres per day with the latest restrictions, but Cape Town's inhabitants are still using 634-million...

  • US laptop ban lifted for Turkish, Etihad and Emirates Airlines flights

    By on 5 July, 2017

    For frequent fliers darting between the United States and Dubai or Istanbul, there’s some good news regarding that particular laptop ban. The laptop-in-cabin ban has been lifted for those traveling from Dubai International Airport and Instanbul Ataturk Airports on Emirates and Turkish Airlines. Dear Passengers, #WelcomeOnBoard to our US-bound flight. Please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your own electronic devices. pic.twitter.com/WbcZwNPhrf — Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 4, 2017 The news also comes after Etihad Airways flights departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport became exempt from the laptop ban. Flights leaving the airport operated by the carrier now adhere to new measures outlined by the United...

  • Germany to fine Facebook, other networks for not removing hate speech

    By on 30 June, 2017

    Germany has passed a law that could see social media networks like Facebook and Twitter paying up to €50-million for failing to remove hate speech within 24 hours. The Network Enforcement Act was drafted to tackle hate speech and fake news. It requires social networks to delete and block unlawful content. Germany, like South Africa, takes a tough stance on hate speech in part due to its history. It has cracked down in recent years after the refugee crisis saw many taking strong anti-immigrant stances. The new law will require networks to delete illegal content within 24 hours. Failing to comply will...

  • Wayde van Niekerk makes smashing a 17-year-old world record look easy

    By on 28 June, 2017

    The remarkable rise of Wayde van Niekerk is far, far from over. Setting the 400m World Record at the Rio Olympics last year, some doubters perhaps thought that the South African sprinter's career had peaked. That is until tonight. At the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic, where non-standard distances are commonly run, van Niekerk became the fastest human being over 300 metres breaking the previous record set by American Michael Johnson in 2000 by 0.04 seconds. Sure, that might seem like a narrow margin, but this additional stat makes the performance -- and van Niekerk's overall recent form --...

  • MWEB, WebAfrica hop on LTE-Advanced bandwagon

    By on 28 June, 2017

    A few months ago, we saw Rain (formerly known as WBS) launch its own LTE-Advanced network, delivering faster speeds and better ping. Now, MWEB and WebAfrica have revealed LTE-A products using Rain's network. Interestingly enough, the two ISPs are offering identical prices and data allocations, starting off at 55GBs for R549 per month. Need a little more than that? Then you can get 85GBs for R799 a month. The top-end options from both ISPs see you paying R999 a month for 120GB of data. The packages are month-to-month deals as well, allowing you to upgrade or downgrade as you see fit. The...

  • Call for nominations: Digital All Stars’ top cryptocurrency personalities

    By on 26 June, 2017

    Here at Burn Media, we regularly feature the best South African people and companies as part of our Digital All Stars series. Now, for our latest addition to the series, we're looking at South Africans making waves in the cryptocurrency scene. Whether they've founded businesses that use cryptocurrency, exchanges or contributed in general, we're on the hunt for candidates. Know any South Africans that fit the bill? Now is your chance to nominate them! Simply email editor@memeburn.com with the subject "Digital All Stars cryptocurrency nomination". The email should include the full name of the nominee and a brief 'CV' outlining their accomplishments and...