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THURSDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2026, 12:31

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THE CONVERSATION: Intermittent fasting no more effective than dieting, major review finds

Today at 12:00 PM, via Daily Maverick

A major new review by the Cochrane Collaboration has found that intermittent fasting is no more effective for weight loss than traditional dietary advice – or even doing nothing at all. While intermittent fasting may still suit some people and has been linked to other health benefits, the evidence suggests it is not a magic bullet for shedding kilos.

South Africa

SA stone fruit enters Chinese market in historic first shipment

Today at 11:22 AM, via SAnews

SA stone fruit enters Chinese market in historic first shipment

South Africa is marking a significant milestone in agricultural trade, with the country’s first consignment of stone fruit having departed for China.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, accompanied by the People’s Republic of China Ambassador to South Africa, Wu Peng, visited the Freshness First Packhouse in...

Business

Big petrol price win for South Africa

Today at 12:00 PM, via BusinessTech

Petrol price cuts at the start of the year is the main driver keeping inflation under control—and economists expect the good news to keep rolling.

Lifestyle

All hail Mr and Miss Cape Town Pride 2026

Today at 11:03 AM, via The South African

The Mr and Miss Cape Town Pride pageant saw Adrian Oktober and Larissa Gordon being crowned King and Queen. Long may they reign!

Science/Tech

A $10 Plastic Speaker is the Most Durable Revenue Line in Indian Digital Payments

Today at 12:20 PM, via Slashdot

India’s digital payment platforms process trillions of dollars a year through UPI, the government-built real-time payments rail that handles more than 90% of all payment transactions in the country, but one of their largest net revenue line items is not a payment product at all: it’s a cheap plastic speaker that sits on a shopkeeper’s counter and reads out incoming payments aloud. The roughly...

Science/Tech

South Africa’s Developers Step Up in Huawei’s Code4Mzansi Competition

Today at 12:16 PM, via Tech Financials

The Huawei Developer Competition, Code4Mzanzi, has kicked off in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development and various academic institutions, including the University of Cape Town, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, and the University of the Witwatersrand. The competition, which is part of a larger international initiative, brings together South...

Science/Tech

How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Today at 12:00 PM, via Wired

From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.

Motoring

PG Glass and Glasfit under siege

Today at 10:52 AM, via TopAuto

The Competition Commission referred a complaint against PG Glass and Glasfit to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.

Health

How Microbes Got Their Crawl

Yesterday at 18:00 PM, via New York Times

In the oceans and on land, scientists are discovering rare, transitional organisms that bridge the gap between Earth’s simplest cells and today’s complex ones.