FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2026, 19:20
Angola will introduce artificial intelligence into its primary school system beginning this month, the country’s minister of education said. Education Minister Luísa Grilo announced that the government has identified 10 primary schools across 10 provinces to participate in a pilot project to implement AI tools and technologies in classrooms. Grilo said schools will begin receiving […]
Egypt will host the inaugural Ai Everything Middle East and Africa (MEA) Egypt summit under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, marking a key milestone in the country’s digital transformation and its growing role in the global technology landscape. The event is scheduled for Feb. 11-12, 2026, at the Egypt International Exhibition Center and […]
Human rights activists have filed a petition at the High Court in Kerugoya seeking urgent orders to halt the deployment of what they describe as “high-risk artificial intelligence systems” in Kenya. The petitioners argue that the rapid and largely unregulated use of AI technologies poses serious threats to fundamental rights and constitutional freedoms. The case […]
The International Organisation of Employers, in partnership with the Association of Tanzania Employers, has launched the AI Xcelerate Training Programme in Tanzania, a new initiative designed to help enterprises adopt artificial intelligence to boost productivity, growth and resilience. Speaking at the launch, the IOE praised the ATE for its leadership in introducing the programme at […]
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...
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...
A Liberian-built artificial intelligence venture is gaining international recognition for helping governments and public institutions deploy advanced AI systems while maintaining sovereign control over their data. Surna Technologies, a sovereign AI and cloud infrastructure company, has been named a semifinalist in Harvard University’s President’s Innovation Challenge, a competitive program...
The Central Bank of Egypt has signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the country’s first specialized diploma in artificial intelligence for the banking sector, Governor Hassan Abdalla announced Tuesday. The program will be delivered through the central bank’s Digital Academy under its FinTech Egypt initiative. It is a joint effort between the Egyptian Banking […]
The United States plans to launch a training program focused on digitalization and artificial intelligence in Burkina Faso in 2026, the Ministry of Digital Transition said Tuesday. The announcement followed a Jan. 21 meeting between Digital Transition Minister Aminata Zerbo/Sabane and U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso Joann M. Lockard in Ouagadougou, according to the ministry. […]
The Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute has signed an agreement with the Financial Intelligence Service to develop an artificial intelligence system aimed at strengthening the country’s fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. The agreement was signed on Tuesday by EAII Director-General Worku Gachena and FIS Director-General Muluken Amare. Under the deal, the institute...
Estimates of the rand’s fair value range from R12.23 to R18, but the consensus is that the rand should trade at about R15.64 to the dollar.
South African stocks tumbled the most since March 2020, falling along with precious metals that are extending losses.