Navigation communications are working on the Moon

NASA and the Italian Space Agency made history on 3 March 2025 when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon’s surface.  The LuGRE payload’s success in lunar...

High prevalence of critical illness in African hospitals

One in eight hospital in-patients (12,5%) are critically ill in Africa, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in collaboration with international partners. Of these, one in five (21%) die within seven days, compared to 2,7% of...
Microsoft adds R5,4bn to R20bn data centre investment

Microsoft adds R5,4bn to R20bn data centre investment

Kathy Gibson reports – Microsoft has committed to invest an additional R5,4-billion in its South African cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. At the same time, the company has significantly expanded its skills development programme in the country....
How to build an AI economy

How to build an AI economy

Kathy Gibson reports – Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping up to be as big a world-changer as the general-purpose technologies (GPTs) that triggered the previous Industrial Revolutions. That’s the word from Brad Smith, co-chair and president of Microsoft, speaking...

Microsoft promises additional skills development

Kathy Gibson reports – Microsoft has upped the ante on its skills development commitment. Just weeks ago the company announced its intention to bring artificial intelligence skills to 1-million South Africans. “You can think of this as a broad effort,” says Brad...

Tech key in closing $1,8trn protection gap

The global protection gap – the difference between insured and uninsured losses across life, health, natural catastrophe and crop insurance – was last estimated at $1,8-trillion. A new “future of insurance” survey of more than 500 insurance executives from 17...