SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2026, 21:43
Tanzania is stepping up investment in artificial intelligence and data science education as part of a broader strategy to position itself for the global fourth industrial revolution, government officials said. Through the Samia Scholarship DS/AI+ program, the government is funding 16 top-performing students to pursue undergraduate degrees in data science, artificial intelligence and related...
SONA 2026: President to outline Government’s programme of action
When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the evening of 12 February 2026, the setting will once again carry deep constitutional and historical symbolism.
Parliament is set to convene a joint sitting of the two Houses at the Cape Town City Hall – the same venue, where former...
SAPS gives update on commissions of inquiry
South African Police Service (SAPS) members whose names have been mentioned at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee have received notices of investigation into their alleged misconduct, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said.“To date, members whose names were mentioned at both committees...
Police operations bear fruit
Festive season police operations led to the arrest of 236 887 individuals, with 32 318 suspects having been wanted for various crimes ranging from murder to car hijackings, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said.“Since the official launch of these operations in October last year, SAPS [South African Police Service] members have...
Breakthrough in Foot and Mouth Disease fight
South Africa’s fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has received a boost with the first batch of locally produced vaccines in over 20 years set to reach farmers soon.This as the country has resumed local FMD vaccine production.“This milestone signals a shift from reactionary disease chasing to a proactive, science led war on...
Society urged to invest in nurturing the boy child
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong says there is an urgent need within families, communities and society at large to invest more in nurturing the boy child.“We must teach boys, from an early age, that actions have consequences, that respect is not a sign of weakness but of strength; that discipline is an act of...
Call for swift investigation into killing of three siblings
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli has called for a thorough and expedited investigation into the murder of three minor children in Lulwane village in Manguzi, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the incident occurred on the night of 30 January 2026 and resulted in the deaths of...
Smith, Burger to carry SA flag at Winter Games
With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games set to get underway, cross-country skier Matthew Smith and skeleton athlete Nicole Burger have been selected to carry the South African flag at the opening ceremony of the games.“Smith (35) and Burger (31) are the oldest members among the five athletes who will do duty for Team SA at the XXV Winter...
Government congratulates Prof Marivate
Government has congratulated Professor Vukosi Marivate on the recommendation by the United Nations Secretary-General to appoint him as a member of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.In a statement on Thursday, government said Professor Marivate of the University of Pretoria was recommended alongside 40...
Festive Season Operations bear fruit in the Northern Cape
The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Northern Cape has recorded significant operational successes during the 2025/2026 Festive Season Operation, which resulted in the arrest of 4 178 perpetrators for serious and priority crimes.The Festive Season Operation was implemented to ensure the safety and security of...
eThekwini Municipality’s cable theft crackdown leads to convictions
The eThekwini Municipality has intensified its efforts to combat cable theft, leading to the successful conviction of perpetrators involved in crimes targeting municipal infrastructure.The municipality said the convictions highlight the Energy Management Directorate’s continued commitment to protecting municipal...
Google, working with research institutions across Africa, has introduced WAXAL, an open-access speech dataset designed to improve artificial intelligence technologies for African languages. The dataset includes voice samples from 21 Sub-Saharan African languages, among them Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Luganda, Swahili and Acholi. Google said WAXAL is intended to support more than 100 million speakers...
Discussions on artificial intelligence and digital governance took center stage during the 5th General Assembly of the Digital Cooperation Organization and the International Digital Cooperation Forum, held under the theme “Inclusive Prosperity in the Age of AI.” The gathering brought together ministers, policymakers, technology leaders and international organizations to shape the future of...
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed industries from healthcare to finance, but one area where its influence is both promising and perilous is cybersecurity. On one hand, AI enables attackers to craft more sophisticated and autonomous threats than ever before. On the other hand, it empowers defenders with predictive analytics, automated decision systems, […]
Over 60% of public servants in South Africa are optimistic about AI adoption, with the country ranking fourth globally, according to the new Public Sector AI Adoption Index 2026 released today by Public First for the Center for Data Innovation, with sponsorship from Google. The Public Sector AI Adoption Index is based on a survey […]
Google’s recent decision to remove some AI-generated health summaries from its search results has reignited an old but important conversation about how people seek and interpret medical information online. Following an international investigation, the technology giant confirmed it had withdrawn AI Overviews for certain health-related searches after inaccuracies were identified in its...
The insurance business is built on trust. Likewise, AI cannot work without trust; users and consumers have to believe that it’s providing accurate answers based on sound data. But as a new SAS report shows, trust in AI is a tricky subject, with users placing more trust in generative AI than traditional AI, but not always investing in […]
A biodiversity officer from the Northern Cape has given the botany world a new-year suprise after recently rediscovering a long-lost plant, which was believed to be extinct for close to 200 years.
In December, the Department of Home Affairs published the Draft Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection. Opportunity to comment on the paper has been extended to 15 February.
A 24-year-old man has handed himself over to police in connection with the brutal murder of his 2-year-old niece in Phola Park, Kwamhlanga, in Mpumalanga.
Cairo-based Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, Egypt’s official Islamic advisory and judicial authority, has issued a fatwa prohibiting the use of artificial intelligence applications, including ChatGPT, for interpreting the Holy Quran. The ruling, published on the institution’s website last month, states that relying independently or entirely on AI-generated interpretations is impermissible in...