Review & Ranking Video How It's Made

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Natural Disaster Obituaries

A recovery team returned to New Zealand's White Island this morning in a bid to retrieve the remains of those still missing after a volcanic eruption.

Six bodies were taken off the island on Friday in a high-stakes mission. Two bodies are still missing.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there was a possibility one of the two bodies may be that of an Australian. (read more...)

Krystal Browitt has been identified as one of the victims. (Supplied) Two

World News

Take that, internal combustion cars!

We first learned about so-called 'ICE-ing' a year ago when a group of pickup truck owners in North Carolina purposely blocked a Tesla Supercharger station. Basically, it's a form of anti-EV/Tesla protest. Getting 'ICEd,' as it's come to be called, has spread not only throughout the US but also in other countries such as Croatia. Yes, Croatia, the home of the Rimac.

Although Rimac's EV hypercars are not exactly in abundance, there are still plenty of EV owners who are fed up with not being able to charge their vehicles because of blocked cars. Sometimes, non-EV owners don't even realize their mistake, but the frustration is still justified. To help combat this or, at the very least, make the public more aware of ICE-ing, a group of EV owners organized their own protest. (read more...)

History & Archaeology Innovation, Research & Findings

Anatomically modern humans, or Homo sapiens sapiens, emerged in Africa about 200,000 years ago. But the precise location from which they originated has remained uncertain.

Now a new study suggests modern humans' ancestral homeland was in modern-day Botswana, just south of the Zambezi River. (read more...)

The Khoisan people of Botswana share mitochondrial DNA with the last matrilineal common ancestor of all humans alive today. Shutterstock

Following the catastrophic volcanic eruption on White Island, New Zealand that left eight people dead and many severely injured, it's easy to think: What kind of people would walk on an active volcano and risk their lives? Who would even pay money to do such a thing?

The answer is people like me — who are obsessed with nature and always ready for another adventure. Evidently, the trip now even attracts your average tourist, traveling to the island by helicopter, or on a cruise ship.

In November 2017, I booked a trip to the crater with White Island Tours, the same company that is now the focus of an investigation led by New Zealand police.

The trip, which cost me $133 (120 euros), was canceled on the day we were meant to go because of bad weather. The Volcanic Alert Level that day was only on Level 1, but authorities were still cautious.

But the following day, on November 9, we were finally given the all-clear. This is what our trip to White Island was like. (read more...)

Games & Sports Work, Money & Economy World News Gone Viral Online

An 11-year-old girl in the Philippines has gone viral after she won gold at multiple races while wearing a pair of unusual running shoes.

On Dec. 9, 2019, Predirick B. Valenzuela took to Facebook to share photos of Rhea Bullos, of Balasan, who had reportedly competed at the Iloilo Schools Sports Council Meet. Photos show her feet covered in nothing but plaster bandages with the Nike logo drawn on the front.

Despite essentially wearing nothing, Bullos managed to win gold at the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter races, according to Valenzuela. (read more...)

New Releases Science, Experiments & Tech Video

Intel has unveiled its first 9th-generation Core processors, aiming them at desktop-based enthusiasts. (read more...)

Video Documentary

Assembled in France using millions of components made throughout Europe: The A350 is the most modern commercial aircraft in the world.

The Airbus A 350: the most modern commercial aircraft in the world. It takes 1800 highly-skilled specialists in Toulouse, France, and 2.5 million individual parts, delivered from all over the world, to assemble this masterpiece of aeronautic engineering. The goal: An aircraft with minimal consumption and maximum range. 53 percent of the Aircraft consist of a modern ultra-light composite material. But the innovative material also requires entirely new manufacturing processes. A challenge for the aircraft manufacturers in Toulouse. And the final assembly is preceded by a logistical masterpiece: The individual parts of the aircraft travel from various Airbus plants in Europe to Toulouse: the front and centre sections from Saint-Nazaire in France, the tail section from Hamburg, the wings from Broughton in Wales and Bremen, and the tail fin from Getaf... (read more...)

World News Natural Disaster

The volcano on an island off the coast of New Zealand whose eruption has claimed at least six lives was too dangerous for tourists to visit, a prominent volcanologist has told Newsweek.

New Zealand police say that the eight people who remain missing on White Island, off the country's north-eastern coastal town of Whakatane, are likely to have died in the eruption on Monday and are considering whether to open a criminal investigation.

Emeritus professor in geosciences at Melbourne's Monash University, Raymond Cas, said he noted the dangers immediately when he had previously visited White Island, known in Maori as Whakaari.

He said the island's remote location 30 miles off the coast meant it was impossible in an emergency to get help quickly. Apart from the logistics, the nature of the volcano—one of New Zealand's most active—meant it was "not a good place to allow the general public and tourists to be roaming around." (read more...)

Educational & Advice Video

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