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BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Nandipha comes in to House of Zwide looking for her late Brother Alex Khadzi  – 5 July

Nandipha’s father was a polygamist. He was wealthy, powerful, and painfully traditional. Which is why he pretty much banished Alex and his mom from the family when he discovered how Alex loved making dresses and wearing them occasionally. Even though she kept it a secret, Nandipha admired her brother. But she towed the line. She was academically gifted and attended the best schools. Eventually becoming a powerful Lawyer. And in the back of her mind she always believed she would one day reconcile with him after their father had passed away.

But she receives word that Alex has gone missing. She comes crushing into our world, looking for her brother, and when all the evidence points to the fact that the Zwides were involved in her brother’s disappearance, she becomes the most dangerous enemy they have ever faced.

Catch this chapter in House of Zwide, on the 5^th of July at 7PM

Image: Supplied

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Hard work and education broadened UP engineering lecturer Dr Godisang David Mpye’s life. Now he quotes Nelson Mandela to encourage other youngsters to do the same.

When University of Pretoria (UP) lecturer Dr Godisang David Mpye received his PhD, he shared his triumph on LinkedIn. “PhD confirmed. I am a doctor now,” he wrote, a seemingly straightforward comment.

As “overwhelmed, really overwhelmed” he said he was to achieve a doctorate in engineering, he was equally overwhelmed by the reaction to his post. It went viral, generating about half a million interactions from around the world.

Distant relatives came out of the woodwork, people with similar surnames responded, perhaps hoping some of his acclaim would rub off on them, and even South African government ministers posted their congratulations.

And the job offers poured in. Dr Mpye declined them all. Part of the reason was that the doctoral funding requirements of the New Generation of Academics Programme compelled him to stay at the institution where he had graduated for two years. Another part of the reason was that he didn’t want to leave UP.

“I was not ready to think about it because the space was very conducive here,” he said. “The growth I have been through is immense. I have developed a research laboratory and there are still some outstanding publications that I need to finish.”

His PhD graduation in 2021 opened his eyes in many ways. He had thought it was the pinnacle of his success, but soon discovered it was just the beginning.

“The work never ends. My responsibilities are increasing, but one thing I can say is that I do feel a lot of growth. We are working with colleagues in Brazil, Australia and England, and I review papers. So there are new challenges.”

And he is elated to be helping others on their own paths to success. As a senior lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Dr Mpye is now passing on knowledge to final-year research project students.

“Over the past three years, I have supervised six research students,” he said. “That’s quite fulfilling.”

He is also exuberant about the fact that he is one of three engineers in his family. His eldest sister is an electrical engineer and the second eldest, a mechanical engineer. Both work for well-known corporates. Dr Mpye had planned on studying medicine but when he was accepted for it at only one university, which was not his ideal choice, he inadvertently followed in his sisters’ footsteps. But he did make his mother happy.

“When I graduated, she said, ‘I always wanted you to be a doctor. But now you are the real doctor.’”

Although he grew up in the village of Rabokala near Brits in the North West, Dr Mpye went to school at Rachel de Beer Primary School in Pretoria from Grade 4, travelling by bus for an hour each way every day. When he was in Grade 10 at Gerrit Maritz High School, his mother transferred to a maths teaching job in Atteridgeville and the family moved to Pretoria West. Being so ensconced in Pretoria made the decision to go to UP almost inevitable.

While at UP discussing his study options, a student advisor told him not to worry about not making it into medicine. Dr Mpye recalls him saying that engineering was more in demand and that companies were grabbing UP students. Dr Mpye followed that advice.

“Then within a week I got a bursary from Transnet,” he said; this signified the start of everything falling into place.

Engineering generally does not have a good throughput rate, and Dr Mpye is overjoyed that he was one of those who “finished in record time”. More than that, in his final year, he won the award for best research project in railway engineering.  

He went on to do his master’s at Stellenbosch University and in 2017, won the Outstanding Student Engineering Award at the International Heavy Haul Association Conference held in Cape Town. Dr Mpye had flown out from the UK to attend the conference during his summer break from Durham University, where he had spent most of the year on the Newton Fund student exchange programme.

While working as a civil engineer for Transnet for five years as part of his bursary obligations, Professor Hannes Gräbe contacted him, offering him the chance to be sponsored for a PhD, and winning him over with the added possibility of overseas travel and other opportunities. Prof Gräbe became his PhD supervisor and Dr Mpye credits both him and Prof James Maina as his mentors.

Dr Mpye has only one quibble about life as an academic: he hadn’t anticipated having to deal with crying students and visits from parents.

“You need tact,” he said. “One of the more challenging aspects of my profession is that you end up being a psychologist and a comforter, by default.”

He says he worked really hard at school. And his advice for youngsters who want to achieve? Seek out education. He quotes former president Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world,” and “it is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation.”

On a personal level, Dr Mpye often pages through his university notebooks for motivation. Among the calculations are what he describes as “little messages” that he scribbled to himself.

“It’s almost like going down memory lane. I would write the date. And then ‘this is so difficult’ or ‘this was such a good day’. It’s like informal journalling to encourage myself. If I ever feel down, I look at where I came from.”

Mostly, however, he prefers to spend his free time exploring the outdoors, on his mountain bike or camping with friends. He also enjoys watching tennis and documentaries and travelling. He celebrated New Year’s Eve at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; spent time in April luxuriating in Mauritius; and is toying with South-East Asia for December – Bali, Thailand or Malaysia, wherever it is hot and where he can buy more postcards to add to the collection on his pinboard.

Image and source: UP

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

With the theme “Celebrating South African visionaries” Dr Tshabalala was named in the Education category of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans for 2023, one of more than 15 categories in the project.

The youth are South Africa’s key to reaching greatness, and the project recognises and rewards youth who have created resilient, entrepreneurial and robust solutions.

These young people are actively shaping South Africa and play a pivotal role in building its future.

Zithulele moved to Mandela University because of the medical school in Missionvale, as it was an opportunity to serve the community by training primary healthcare-oriented doctors.

Creating an academic environment of inclusion and social awareness is a critical focus of his developmental process.

“It’s not enough to be the first to do it, it is your responsibility to create healthy environments for those joining you to achieve their best selves. Be the master key for the doors that people do not have the strength to kick down themselves”, Zithulele says.

He started as technical assistant after completing his PhD at the University of Pretoria in 2019 and advanced to teaching anatomy within the health science faculty.

This exposure gave him a range of knowledge on teaching health sciences students and how to best align knowledge, in preparation for the interdisciplinary nature of their careers, for the best care of their patients.

He was the first anatomist at Mandela University and at the forefront of starting the Human Anatomy section. As acting HOD, he now guides his 14 members in the fields of human anatomy, integrated pathology, medical biochemistry, pharmacology and physiology.

Zithulele believes giving students access to resources will not only help them excel in their studies but also reveal clinically relevant resources, exposing them to all aspects of understanding the human body using virtual dissection tables, AR and VR.

He holds a PhD and MSc in Anatomy (cum laude), BSc (Hons) in Macro-anatomy and BSc Medical Science, all from the University of Pretoria. He received the JM Boon prize for Best Achievement in Anatomy research at Masters and Doctoral level, among others.

His advice to the youth is: “Please remember to take care of yourself. Do not let the pursuit of wanting to be the best take everything from you. Time will show you that your being is worth more than what you can prove to others. You may not like to hear it, but your light is incredibly bright, allowing people who find warmth in it to appreciate you. My Guy, celebrate yourself … O lepanstula la nnete.

Regarding South Africa in the next five years, he says: “I want to see a South Africa where the descendants of those that willingly or unwillingly contributed to medical education with their bodies truly benefit from a health system that was not initially made for them. A South Africa where organs of justice and prosperity are transplanted to bodies that will uplift our country, which has an ACL tear (one of the most common knee injuries)”.

Image and source: NMU

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Meet – Dr Pamela Sithole, she worked part-time as a domestic worker while studying Medicine full-time at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.

She started working as a domestic helper at the age of 14, despite all the challenges and hardships, her perseverance and determination helped turn her life around and at age 24, she graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

“Growing up there were a lot of challenges, including our financial circumstances and my parents’ divorce. My mother was left to provide for us and she was unemployed for the longest time. As a result, we had no choice but to rely on my siblings to put me through school from an early age up until high school which put a lot of financial strain on them.”

“Despite these challenges, I was determined to live up to my potential and applied myself diligently to my studies.”

“Against all odds, I was able to juggle my studies with part-time work over the years having the ability to rise above my circumstances.”

“Even though I was a domestic worker, I didn’t shelve my dreams and think that it’s over for me. I continued to work hard and I’m glad that I did, for me it really was just a lesson in humility and it has enabled me to better understand people from different walks of life and be able to relate to each person. I always knew that good things lay ahead for me and it was truly just a matter of time.”

“My hard work and commitment to my studies paid off when I received funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. This helping hand was to prove life changing.”

“Never despise humble beginnings but equally, don’t let them define where you will be in five- or 10-years’ time, with God, everything is possible,” said Dr Pamela Sithole.

Image: LinkedIn

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Mandela University’s Professor Noluxolo Gcaza, 32, from the School of ICT has been announced as one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans for 2023.

Prof Gcaza was named in the Education category, similar to the Mandela University’s Dr Zithulele Tshabalala. Her favourite Nelson Mandela quote is: “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

With her PhD in information technology, Noluxolo, in all her pursuits, is driven by the mission of cultivating a cyber secure culture in South Africa.

She has always been an evangelist for cyber safety and became increasingly concerned about the prevalence of cyberbullying and exposure to inappropriate content among children and the youth. Cyberbullying and online harassment can have long-term effects on mental health and well-being. 

Motivated by her desire to make a positive change, she took action and founded The Cyberculture Foundation to promote responsible internet use and digital wellness among children and youth. The foundation offers digital citizenship training, digital wellness education, a digital mentorship programme, community workshops, as well as research and advocacy. 

As an associate professor at Mandela University, she is leading a new accredited cybersecurity postgraduate course. She has also mentored and coached young girls and women in IT on Heels. Noluxolo serves as an independent non-executive director for the South African Banking Risk Information Centre.

About South Africa, she says we have a rapidly growing digital landscape, with increasing access to digital devices and the internet. But this growth has also brought with it new problems, including cyberbullying, online harassment and exposure to inappropriate content.

The impact of the digital world on children and youth is significant, with studies showing that negative online experiences can lead to psychological distress, anxiety, depression and suicide. Despite this, there is hope for the future, she says.

“I am actively contributing to creating a future with increased awareness and education on safe and responsible internet use, for children and adults. In five years, I would like to see advancements in technology to improve online safety, such as stronger privacy settings and content filters. I hope to see government and industry leaders work together to develop policies and regulations that protect children and youth online.

Finally, I hope to see mental health support and resources readily available for those who have experienced negative online experiences. By addressing these challenges and promoting a safe and positive digital environment, South Africa can pave the way for a brighter and healthier future for its youth.

Noloxuolo holds a PhD in Information Technology on Strategy Development for a Cyber Security Culture, an MTech (cum laude), and a BTech (cum laude) and Diploma in software development, all from Mandela University.

During her primary school years, she would sell vegetables door-to-door in her community to make ends meet. Despite their financial struggles, her father encouraged her not to take the experience personally and reminded her that their family’s hardships were not their burden as children.

He stressed that if they could focus on achieving success in school, they would have a bright future ahead of them, she says. 

“The struggles in my childhood and early adulthood shaped me to live in the future. Joy, happiness, and fulfilment always seemed to be attainable in the destination and not the journey, so I believe I never truly embraced the now.

“As a result, I would advise my younger self to learn to be present and live in the moment. To learn to enjoy both the great and the mundane in life, to be captured by both the hope of the future and the journey at the present moment, Noluxolo says.

Image and source: NMU

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Dlamini was the first woman President of the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA) in 2022 and is a member of the University’s Mining Engineering Advisory Board.

She has been in the coal mining industry for more than 15 years and holds the position of Technical Services Manager at Thungela Resources’ Greenside Colliery. She graduated from UP with a BEng (Mining Engineering) degree in 2007, followed by an honours degree in Technology Management and a Master in Technology Management degree from the Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology.

She considers mining engineering to be an excellent career choice for women in today’s world. “There’s a big demand for women in core technical roles in mining, and I believe women are best suited for these roles. Mining will continue to grow, even in the green economy.” South Africa has many mineral resources, including the “green metals” and minerals needed for the just energy transition. “If it is not grown,” she says, “it is mined!”

Dlamini believes that for South Africa to thrive in the future, it must embrace critical minerals, fund research, attract investment and ensure that the human capital is developed to work on the mine of the future. “Government will need to step in to make mining an attractive investment opportunity for global markets. The regulatory space needs to be simplified to ensure funding for mining projects.”

Her role as Technical Services Manager entails leading a team of mine planning engineers, rock engineers, surveyors, geologists, ventilation occupational hygiene and engineering professionals, business improvement specialists, environmentalists and safety officers. “A typical day in my life is very dynamic. I deal with challenges and solve problems in all the aspects related to the operation of a mine,” she says. “My workday normally starts at 07:00, and I often have meetings throughout the day related to the technical support my team gives the mine and strategic sessions with the leadership team and the corporate office. I enjoy days when I go into the field and interact with the operators underground, in our plants, or at our rapid-loading train terminal.”

What she loves most about her job is the variety of issues she deals with on a daily basis, but also seeing how all these different technical specialities work in synergy to support a highly productive mine. “My role allows me to participate in all aspects of the business, like budgeting, life-of-mine planning, assurance, finance management, mine closure, community and social issues, and even regulatory applications and roll-outs.”

In her professional capacity, she is ready to progress into an executive role in mining as she has acquired the technical skills, business acumen and strategic know-how to run a mine and department at the group level. “I recently concluded a programme on Sustainability and Business Impact at Yale University in the USA, and on Climate Change at the University of Cambridge in the UK.”

She sees herself running a mining company that truly embodies the responsible stewardship of the country’s mineral resources, and that makes a lasting positive impact in the communities in which it operates. On a personal level, she hopes to be able to spend more time travelling with her family.

She has the following words of advice for prospective students who are considering a career in mining: “Go for it!” She considers it an exciting and challenging career that is gratifying at the same time. “I would encourage youngsters to embrace innovation, data science and technology, as these are the key drivers of the mine of the future.” She admits that the first few years will be hard, “and there will be a lot of literal sweat, as well as a tear or two, but these are the best years to grow your technical skills, experience and credibility.”

She also recommends getting a mentor to support and guide you through your career, to develop yourself and to never stop learning. Her final tip for prospective female mining engineers who wish to follow in her footsteps is to cultivate strong networks. This will pave your way to success.

Image and source: UP

Written by Nyeleti Chauke | Compiled by Nkosazana Ngwadla

I was not a small girl from the village with big dreams! When I was in Grade 12 (2014), a friend whom was a year older and academically ahead of me gave me my biggest blessing by applying for me to study at the University of Johannesburg. I was not interested in going to tertiary to further my studies. All I wanted after matric was to go work in a store as a sales consultant. But that acceptance SMS from UJ in January 2015 changed my life for better.

I had a sudden enthusiasm to go to University. I started being very optimistic about life as a whole. BA Psychology stole my heart for a good 3years. I wanted to be a psychologist so bad, but God had other plans for me. University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika offered me BA Honours in Social and Behavioral Studies in HIV as BA Hons in Psychology was full and I could not register early in 2018 because my granddad was still ‘hustling’ money for my registration.

I was not really keen on doing the course but because I did not want to take a gap year, I accepted their offer and registered. I fell in love with this course. After completing the degree, all I wanted was to be in the field to apply my knowledge. Then Anova Health Institute gave me an opportunity to be an HTS Coordinator. This was really God’s plan. Not only did I gain experience and more knowledge on the HIV field, but I also gained much interest to make an impact in our country’s Health System and the HIV programme.

I then applied to further my studies at the University of the Free State. I was very excited and eager to learn more, so I can make a contribution to the Department of Health through improving access of our male patients to HIV testing services. Not only did I acquire knowledge, but I conducted a life changing research in my masters study.

I am grateful on how God rewrote my life. I will say again, I was not even a small girl from the village with big dreams. I thank my academic supervisors Prof Gladys Kigozi and Prof Christo Heunis for recommending I submit an abstract to present my masters research at the 11th SA AIDS conference. I also thank the SA AIDS conference committee for accepting my abstract and giving me such a platform to showcase my research and it’s findings.

Receiving the Discovery Limited award was a blessing on it’s own… there were 100+ speakers and presenters but I was chosen among the 7 speakers to receive the “Clinical Excellence Award”. I just started believing more that these are the plans that God had for me. He made sure that I become a living testimony of the scriptures Isaiah 55:8-9, Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 43:19. Lesson learned: trust God and the process.

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

The research will focus on the health of migrants in the African Union and European Union corridor, one of the largest migration corridors globally.

Wits University and Uppsala University in Sweden have been named co-leads of the Cluster of Excellence in Migration and Health (CEMH), a new research area under a partnership by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild). The Migration and Health research cluster is one of 17 research clusters announced at a recent summit attended by the Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of ARUA and The Guild.

Wits’ lead researcher Professor Jo Vearey, Director of the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), says the CEMH will address a gap in the research and solutions developed to respond to the health issues and risks associated with the movement of people. Vearey will drive this alongside the European co-lead Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at Uppsala.

Migration is increasingly recognised as a key determinant of health and wellbeing but evidence-informed policy and programme responses to address migration and health (MH) remain limited.

The AU-EU corridor includes countries in Africa, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean and “this corridor is associated with multiple health concerns determined by a range of structural and social factors that are experienced differently by diverse migrant groups and the communities through which they move, live and work,” says Vearey.

One of the strategic and scientific problems is that existing migration and health research tends to explore the AU and EU contexts separately, often focusing on individual countries; the AU-EU corridor is rarely researched as a continuum.

As such, the CEMH will develop collaborative research to generate evidence-informed, cross-country policy approaches to support good health for migrants and migration-impacted communities along the AU-EU migration corridor. Ultimately, this will support efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Vearey stresses that “no one country, region, sector, discipline, or research method can explore, understand, and address the complex migration health challenges across the countries located along the AU-EU corridor. Focusing on health challenges in the place of origin or destination alone, or focusing on a single determinant of health, leads to short lived suboptimal ‘solutions’.”

Working collaboratively, the researchers aim to tackle this challenge and also contribute to capacity building by building the next generation of researchers in this area. The co-leads will work with researchers from the ARUA, a network of 16 research intensive universities across 10 African countries, and 21 research intensive universities Europe under The Guild.

Wits leads the ARUA Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Migration and Mobility and co-leads the new Cluster of Excellence in Migration and Health by ARUA and The Guild that aligns with the CoE.

About the Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence (CoRE)

These new Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence (CoRE) bring together distinguished researchers from universities and research institutes across both continents, from ARUA, The Guild and beyond the two networks. Each addresses a key societal challenge, framed by the Global Gateway’s AU-EU Innovation Agenda, in the context of local perspectives to ensure maximum scientific and societal impact.

The Clusters are formed in the context of a clear and unequivocal support in the R&I sector, in Europe and Africa, to develop science collaboration equitably and sustainably, and the urgent demand to funders like the European Union to develop a more integrated approach that focuses on excellence and capacity-building. To this end, the Clusters are aimed to open up new dialogues with policy-makers and funders in both continents and beyond, to identify ground-breaking solutions and create opportunities for investment in societal transformation.

The Africa-Europe CoRE, led by ARUA and The Guild, address head-on the inequity that has characterised research in relation to Africa, to the detriment of global science. In particular, they are distinguished by:

Equity, as a precondition for producing outstanding research with maximum societal impact.
A commitment to societal transformation, as each Cluster focuses on acute societal needs that require the urgent focus of research and innovation. Inclusiveness, as the Clusters bring together researchers from universities and research institutes from across Europe and Africa, far beyond ARUA and The Guild.

Long-term commitment from researchers, underwritten by long-term institutional support.
Commitment to transforming Africa’s capacity for knowledge production, with a particular focus on young researchers (including Masters and PhD students), ensuring they are embedded in global scientific networks, and giving them the best possible opportunities to contribute to global science in Africa.

Commitment to capacity-building in high-level research infrastructures open to all who need it, and to seek a coalition of funders to achieve this aim. The Africa-Europe CoRE will thus develop new research paradigms and transform our joint capacities to overcome major health challenges, address climate change, strengthen our technological transformations, and sustain our societies facing conflict and change.

They will help ensure that a common research agenda is at the heart of the African Union’s Africa 2063 strategy which envisages Africa’s transformation to a knowledge society. The Clusters also strengthen the capacity of research and innovation to make a major contribution to each priority of the European Union’s Global Gateway.

Ernest Aryeetey, Secretary-General of ARUA said: “The prevailing obstacles to effective and equitable partnerships between African and European researchers will diminish in significance as the Africa-Europe Clusters of Excellence do what they are expected to do. The Clusters have been developed on the basis of trust and shared values between African and European researchers, and this is going to be the reason for their success in the years ahead. I am very optimistic that we will see a significant improvement in the quality of research and in the number of high-quality and impactful graduate students coming out of our universities.”

Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General of The Guild said: “The Leaders of the African Union and the European Union have identified research and education as a key part of the strategic relationship between both continents. The Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence will make a major contribution to this vision becoming a reality. We hope they will act as an inspiration to other researchers and institutions, just as they inspired our researchers, to address our pressing societal challenges collaboratively and equitably, in a deeply unequal world.”

Image and source: Wits

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Since the show’s premiere on the 22nd of May this year, Isitha, The Enemy has attracted millions of South Africans and only seems to be growing. With well-known stars such as Dawn Thandeka King, Linda Sebezo, Zamani Mbatha and Thobani Nzuza, it’s no wonder Isitha, The Enemy is the fastest-growing show on the channel.

Now, the whole family is happy to hear Nolitha has been hired for her first catering event, except for Velaphi. Velaphi skips school, leaving Thenji frustrated but unbeknownst to her, Velaphi is at the clinic with Amahle for a maternity check-up. Amahle freaks out over “something weird” in her tummy but she and Velaphi are relieved to learn that the baby was only kicking this hard for the first time.

Excited, Velaphi and Amahle bond over a print-out of the baby scan, as they talk about the kind of parents they hope to be. Meanwile at Nomcebo’s mansion, the lady of the house introduces Martha as the new helper. Chuma is not happy to hear this and warns Nomcebo about Rebs. But, she brushes him off and informs Chuma that he needs to attend the dinner she is planning for the next day.

When Chuma leaves, Nomcebo complains to Martha about Chuma and then, Martha promptly reports everything to Rebs on the phone. Meanwhile, Chuma who seems to have won Nolitha over, is pleasantly surprised when she returns his ring and, the two make love. But Khaya happens to overhear their intimate encounter and his heart sinks.

For now it seems Matshidiso has given up trying to win Bulelani back, but Nelly tells her to be honest with him. When she finds out that Bulelani has been toying with her feelings, she hides a smile, realising that she has Bulelani right where she wants him, as he starts to chase after her.

With this much steamy emotion on show, viewership only seems to be increasing week after week!

Catch Isitha, The Enemy Mondays – Fridays at 9.30PM

Image: Supplied

Hey there! Are you ready to put your knowledge to the test and have some fun while staying up-to-date with the latest news? Look no further because we’ve got the perfect challenge for you—a trivia quiz that will not only entertain you but also keep you informed about what’s happening in the world. So grab your thinking caps, flex those brain muscles, and let’s dive into the exciting world of current events! Get ready to be amazed, learn something new, and show off your trivia skills. Let’s do this!