These go to 11! The world has become a little less loud today. Jim Marshall, a pioneer of guitar amplification and founder of Marshall Amplification, passed away at the age of 88. The Lord of Loud, as Marshall is known, began life as a drummer before building amps in his London garage. He...

Her Majesty has given James Bond a very unique mission this summer: to open the London Olympics with a touch of British flair, charm and intrigue. Daniel Craig will star in a James Bond short film to be shown during BBC coverage of the Olympics, following a personal invitation from the Queen....

Here’s a piece of news that many find hard to swallow. The British government wants to tax sausage rolls and other popular baked items when served hot. The government announced that it will close a loophole that allows some fresh-baked takeaway foods – including sausage rolls, pies, Cornish...

In a horrific daylight attack, a gunman shot and killed a teacher and 3 children on the grounds of a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. A teacher and his two kids, aged 3 and 6 were killed. The gunman also pursued and gunned down an 8 year old who was fleeing for her life. He then fled away...

Recently, it was revealed that former Prime Minister of Britain Margaret Thatcher had pocketed some doodles made by then-President Ronald Reagan at a 1981 G7 summit in Ottawa, Canada. The doodles were among private papers being released by archivists who have catalogued Ms. Thatcher’s files....

A Leonardo da Vinci mural, lost since the 16th century, has been discovered behind another fresco in Florence, Italy. Historians believe that the lost da Vinci, titled The Battle of Anghiari, was intentionally preserved when artist Giorgio Vasari erected a wall in front of it, upon which he...

Vladimir Putin’s election victory on Sunday was met with anti-corruption protests, which has led to over 500 arrests by police. Protesters and international observers claim the election was marred by irregularities in the vote count as well as ‘carousel voters’ who were shuttled from poling...

Among all the footage of the London Riots in August of 2011, one video in particular shocked the world with its display of depravity: that of an injured Malaysian student being robbed by two men pretending to help him. Today, those two men have been caught and found guilty of robbery and...

Facebook has denied a report by London’s Sunday Times that its mobile app is secretly reading users’ SMS messages. The report points to the app’s terms and conditions, which gives it permission to access text messages. Facebook calls the allegations “creative conspiracy theorizing”. Facebook...

The publishing industry is spellbound by the news that J.K. Rowling will be releasing a new book later this year. But this time, Rowling is hanging up her wizard’s hat to scribe a novel aimed at an adult audience. The word is that Rowling’s new book may be a crime novel, as she has chosen an...

Dominique Strauss-Kahn – disgraced former head of the IMF – finds himself once again in another high-profile sex scandal. This time, it involves an illegal prostitution ring. DSK allegedly took part in sex parties in Europe and the US, to which he brought prostitutes. To make matters worse,...

As lawmakers in Athens voted to approve more austerity measures in exchange for a €130 billion bailout deal, protesters clashed with police – hurling Molotov cocktails and setting at least 15 buildings ablaze. Dozens of protesters and police were injured in the scuffle. Ironic how the home of...

Today, Queen Elizabeth II marked the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the British throne. Such an occasion is rare indeed; Queen Victoria in 1897 is the only other British monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee and the only one to have reigned longer. In her Diamond Jubilee message,...

Extremely cold weather continues to claim lives across Europe, with the death toll now in the hundreds. Over the past couple of weeks, tens of thousands have been cut off by snow or have lost power. Major transportation hubs have had to shut down or reduce services. And many countries have...

A new study puts the brakes on the stereotype that men are better drivers than women – at least when it comes to parking. NCP, a car park operator, analysed 2,500 drivers across England and gave women a score of 13.4 out of 20 compared to 12.3 for men. Technique, accuracy and time were...

Microsoft founder Bill Gates pledged US$750 million today to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a fund that has recently lost donors due to financial losses allegedly stemming from corruption. Gates made the announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, hoping his...

After a failed launch and 2 months stuck in orbit, the Russian Mars probe Fobos-Grunt finally fell and burned up in the atmosphere last night. However, this article isn’t about Fobos-Grunt’s failure. Sure, the Russians spent 12 years and US$165 mission on the mission (a drop in the ocean...

Just before the weekend began, France saw its Standard and Poor’s rating downgraded from AAA to AA+ for the first time since 1975. Downgrades were also given to 8 other European countries as the economic crisis continues. French PM François Fillon was quick to say the downgrade was not a...

Three works of art were stolen in a pre-dawn heist at the National Art Gallery in Athens on Monday. Among the stolen masterpieces is Picasso’s Woman’s Head. The well-organised thieves had intentionally set off alarms throughout the night, prompting guards to disable it. The heist...

Today, Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest minds of our time, turns 70. And what an incredible 70 years it has been. Professor Hawking has shed light on some of the universe’s most baffling secrets – ranging from the nature of space-time to black holes. But in an interview to mark...

Police in the UK have launched a murder investigation after a dog walker found the remains of a young woman on Queen Elizabeth II’s estate in Sandringham. It appears the remains had been at the site for between one and four months before it was discovered. The Queen and Prince Philip were in...

Looks like Rupert Murdoch and mobile technology are making headlines again. But this time for a much less sinister reason. Mr Murdoch, whose company News International was involved in a phone hacking scandal in mid-2011, opened a Twitter account on New Year’s Eve.Over the past few days, the...