The "macho man" attitude of South African men is one of the main reasons they have been ranked among the most violent in the world.
The rate of violence among young men in the country is nine times higher than the global average.
Professor Kopano Ratele, acting director of the MRC's Crime, Violence and Injury programme, said: "Our men can't walk away from a challenge. Parents need to teach their children it is okay to walk away from conflict, instead of fighting with their fists."
Only this week, a customer went on the rampage at a pharmacy in Somerset West in a fit of rage over a queue to pay. Dis-Chem director Kevin Sterling said a man, later identified as carpet shop owner Mustafa Akar "started letting rip with his mouth" and allegedly hit a staff member over the head with a 5kg bucket of supplements.
Somerset West police said Akar appeared in court on Tuesday and was charged with common assault and malicious damage to property.
In another case of male violence, a 16-year-old Oudtshoorn schoolboy has been charged with murder after he stabbed his uncle, 23, in the head last Saturday. The teen allegedly lost his temper because his uncle had eaten all the bread.
Sheikh says women's modesty laws not stringent enough, revelation of both eyes causes 'corrupt behavior, conflicts with Islamic principles'
A new prohibition may be added to the long list of those placed on women in Saudi Arabia: A new sentence according to Islamic law (fatwa) determines that women exiting the doorways of their homes must cover one of their eyes.
The array of prohibitions currently placed upon Saudi women includes forbiddance to leave home without a familial "patron," fraternize with men in public, drive a car, put makeup on and wear high heels.
The modesty squad on the streets of Saudi Arabia follows women whose abaya (long cloak) is too tight and likely to reveal their curves or those whose hair is visible through their veils.
In the new Islamic legal sentence, al-Habadan announced that when leaving their homes, women must keep only one eye revealed.
According to the sheikh, "revelation of both eyes behind the veil is likely to encourage women to put make-up on and accentuate their eyes. This is corrupt behavior which conflicts with Islamic principles."
SAGINAW, Mich. - With a winning bid of just $1.75, a Chicago woman has won an auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw. Joanne Smith, 30, recently was the top bidder for the home during an auction on eBay, The Saginaw News reported. Her bid was one of eight for the home.
There's a notice on the door of the home saying a foreclosure hearing is pending, the newspaper said. She must pay about $850 in back taxes and yard cleanup costs.
Man drives car over train tracks because his GPS said so
It told him to turn right, and he did. There were also many signs all over.
On Monday night a man's car got stuck on the Metro-North tracks in Bedford Hills in Westchester County because he said his GPS told him to make a right turn.
But police in Westchester said Jose Silva's over dependence on GPS led to his car getting leveled by a train after being stuck on the track. Silva and his passengers escaped injury before the train came.
"If he was paying attention to the road it might not have happened," said Assistant Dep. Chief Steve Conner of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police.
"You don't turn onto train tracks. Even if there are little voices in your head telling you to do so. If the GPS told you to drive off a cliff, would you drive off a cliff?" Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said.
People have known about the "honey mushroom" for some time, but were not aware of how large and invasive this species of fungus could be. The fungus was investigated more closely by researchers when they realized that it was responsible for killing large groves of evergreen trees. When foresters cut into an infected tree they would find spreading white filaments, mycelia, which draw water and carbohydrates from the tree to feed the fungus. Researchers collected samples of the fungus from a widespread area and analyzed the DNA. A large sample of the specimens they collected turned out to be from a single organism.
Until August of 2000 it was thought that the largest living organism was a fungus of the same species (Armillaria ostoyae) that covered 1,500 acres (600 hectares) found living in the state of Washington. But then mycology experts surmised that if an Armillaria that large could be found in Washington, then perhaps one just as large could be responsible for the trees dying in the Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. Researchers were astonished at the sheer magnitude of the find. This most recent find was estimated to cover over 2,200 acres (890 hectares) and be at least 2,400 years old, possibly older.
12 year old boy creates 3D solar cells and gets a lousy $25kUSD for it
William Yuan, a seventh-grader from Portland, OR, developed a three-dimensional solar cell that absorbs UV as well as visible light. The combination of the two might greatly improve cell efficiency. William's project earned him a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to the Library of Congress to accept the award, which is usually given out for research at the graduate level.
Biologists on the Verge of Creating New Form of Life
A team of biologists and chemists is closing in on bringing non-living matter to life.
Szostak's protocells are built from fatty molecules that can trap bits of nucleic acids that contain the source code for replication. Combined with a process that harnesses external energy from the sun or chemical reactions, they could form a self-replicating, evolving system that satisfies the conditions of life, but isn't anything like life on earth now, but might represent life as it began or could exist elsewhere in the universe.
Graphene, found in lead pencils as graphite, may be stronger than diamonds
Finding just published by Columbia University researchers in the journal Science, could lead to ultralight, paper-thin aircraft parts, super-tough bulletproof vests and even a 23,000-mile elevator to space long dreamed of by scientists.
Pencil lead - commonly known as graphite - is made up of one-atom-thick graphene sheets squeezed together. To learn about graphene's strength, postdoctoral researcher Chenggu Lee had to figure out how to peel graphene sheets from graphite.
NEW DELHI, India (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. has filed a lawsuit against Mumbai-based producer/distributor Mirchi Movies related to the title of its upcoming film "Hari Puttar -- A Comedy of Terrors," which Warners feels is a tad too similar to its franchise about a certain young wizard.
The case is being heard in the Bombay High Court and comes up for hearing Monday (August 25). "Hari Puttar," a comedy that centers on a 10-year-old Indian boy whose family moves to England, is slated for a September 12 release.
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A New York man who pleaded guilty to murder in Oregon in exchange for buckets of fried chicken will get calzones and pizza to go with his life sentence.
Durham agreed to plead guilty to murder -- but only if he could get a break from jail food. The judge agreed and granted Durham a feast of KFC chicken, Popeye's chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, carrot cake and ice cream.
After Wednesday's sentencing, Durham was to get the rest of the deal -- calzones, lasagna, pizza and ice cream, his defense attorney confirmed. They will pay the tab.
SOMETIMES THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD is so overwhelming, I just want to throw
back my head and gargle. Just gargle and gargle and I don't care who hears
me because I am beautiful.
-- Jack Handley, The New Mexican, 1988.
