News Bulletin of 13 August 2026, 8am

Headline 1
UJ Student Uses AI To Help Community
Story 1
University of Johannesburg engineering student Masibonge Shabalala is using artificial intelligence to tackle challenges in her home community of Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.
She developed Farm-IoT, a platform that helps small-scale farmers monitor crops, detect diseases and make better farming decisions.
Shabalala and her team represented South Africa at the P&G Peakathon in Singapore, finishing as runners-up.
She is also mentoring young people in programming and hopes to develop technology for agriculture, healthcare, mining and education.
Story 1 category
Headline 2
Smile Foundation Brings Women Together For Breakfast
Story 2
Smile Foundation brought women together at its annual Women’s Day Breakfast at Inanda Club in Johannesburg on August 8.
The event raised awareness of the foundation’s work supporting children who need reconstructive surgery for conditions including cleft lips, burns and facial differences.
Guests also launched the Socks for Smiles campaign, which will raise funds and promote inclusion through a mismatched-socks day on October 16.
The breakfast also featured talks on artificial intelligence, happiness and women supporting one another.
Story 2 category
Headline 3
Young Creatives Gain Skills Through Jazz Workshop
Story 3
Young musicians and creatives took part in a Jazz for Young People workshop hosted by the National School of the Arts.
Award-winning artist Msaki shared her experience and guided learners on building careers in the creative industry.
Each participant received six creative reflection cards to help them plan their next steps in the arts.
The workshop gave learners practical guidance and a chance to explore careers in music and the wider creative industry.
Story 3 category
Financial Indicators headline
Financial Indicators
Financial indicators
Your financial indicators for this hour:

The Rand is trading at 0.00 to the US Dollar, 0.00 to the British Pound, and 0.00 to the Euro.

Gold is trading at 0.00 dollars a fine ounce, Brent Crude Oil is at Error per barrel, and a Bitcoin will set you back 63,781.00.
Teaser / Tailpiece headline
Dakar Youth Olympics Tickets Now On Sale
Teaser / Tailpiece story
Tickets for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are now on sale, with individual competition tickets starting at one-dollar-76-cents and entry to all Fan Zones free.
The Games will take place across three zones, from October 31 to November 13.
Senegal is also stepping up preparations, with upgraded sports facilities being readied across the host cities.
A government representative says the upgraded sports complex is part of the country’s final preparations for the Games:
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Split analysis
Local: 75 words (33%), National: 151 words (67%), International: 0 words (0%)