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MONDAY, 19 JANUARY 2026, 01:14

South Africa

MTN Foundation Donates Digital Devices to Support DBE Back-to-School Campaign

Yesterday at 21:49 PM, via iAfrica

MTN South Africa, through the MTN SA Foundation, has renewed its support for education by donating digital learning devices to selected schools nationwide as part of the Department of Basic Education’s Back-to-School Campaign. The initiative, launched at the start of the 2026 academic year, is aimed at improving access to digital learning tools, particularly for […]

South Africa

OpenAI to Test Ads in ChatGPT for Free, Go Users in U.S.

Yesterday at 21:47 PM, via iAfrica

OpenAI will begin testing limited advertising in ChatGPT for users in the United States, expanding its revenue strategy while keeping access free for some customers. In a blog post published Friday, OpenAI said ads will roll out to its free tier and its Go tier. Go accounts, priced at $8 a month, were introduced globally […]

World

Fewer orphans globally, due to HIV medication provided by the U.S.

Today at 00:22 AM, via NPR

Until last year, the number of children orphaned because a parent died from AIDS, was plummeting. That’s thanks to America’s 20 year effort to get lifesaving HIV meds to millions in need. But last years upheaval in foreign aid funding is raising concern that more children will be at risk of losing a parent to the deadly virus.

Business

Bad news for South African passport holders

Yesterday at 16:00 PM, via BusinessTech

South African passport holders are facing a tougher global travel environment in 2026, with reduced visa-free access and growing barriers when applying for visas to some of the world’s most popular destinations.

Science/Tech

SpaceX Launches New NASA Telescope to Help JWST Study Exoplanets

Today at 00:29 AM, via Slashdot

Last week a University of Arizona astronomy professor “watched anxiously…as an awe-inspiring SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, Pandora, into orbit.” In 2018 NASA had approached Daniel Apai to help build the telescope, which he says will “shatter a barrier — to understand and remove a source of noise in the data — that limits our ability to study small exoplanets...

Science/Tech

Hundreds Answer Europe’s ‘Public Call for Evidence’ on an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy

Yesterday at 22:57 PM, via Slashdot

The European Commission “has opened a public call for evidence on European open digital ecosystems,” writes Help Net Security, part of preparations for an upcoming Communication “that will examine the role of open source in EU’s digital infrastructure.”The consultation runs from January 6 to February 3, 2026. Submissions will be used to shape a Commission Communication addressed to the European...

Science/Tech

Microsoft Forced to Issue Emergency Out-of-Band Windows Update

Yesterday at 21:34 PM, via Slashdot

The senior editor at the blog Windows Central decries two serious Windows issues “that were not spotted by Microsoft during testing, and are so severe that the company has now issued an emergency fix to address the problems.”Microsoft’s first update for Windows 11 in 2026 has already caused two major issues that saw users unable to fully shutdown their PCs or sign-in into a device when using...