News Bulletin of 16 June 2025, 11am

The Standard Bank Art Lab in Sandton City has transformed the mall into a vibrant cultural hub. The gallery says it seeks to build a dynamic space for experimentation across visual arts, fashion, and performance. Curated by Dr Same Mdluli, the lab will bring art directly to the public featuring works by artists like William Kentridge and Allina Ndebele. It seeks to embrace accessibility and change, redefining corporate cultural as active engagement — proving that art belongs not behind walls, but where people already are.Dr Same Mdluli has this to say: SOUND

To commemorate Youth Month under the 2025 theme, ‘Skills for the Changing World – Empowering Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation’, Vodacom has launched a new data bundle for customers on the next level programme. Dubbed ‘Super Content’ and targeted especially for content creators, the new 25GB Super Content Bundle gives customers 5GB TikTok data; 5GB All Access data; 5GB YouTube data as well as 10GB of Night Owl data – all at R69 with a seven-day validity period. Managing Executive for Prepaid and Loyalty at Vodacom South Africa Mathys Venter said the company saw it fitting to design and launch a bundle that not only aligns with the 2025 Youth Month theme, but also directly addresses the needs of youth and ultimately content creators. Venter adds that the value-packed bundle will enable content creators to do what they love the most.

The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft has captured and transmitted the first-ever images and video of the Sun’s elusive south pole. New images reveal a superheated atmosphere where temperatures soar to around one million degrees Celsius. . ESA’s Director of Science Professor Carole Mundell says these images are the most detailed ever taken of the sun. The images are more than just a visual spectacle, they are a scientific breakthrough. The Sun undergoes an 11-year cycle of solar activity, fluctuating between intense storm periods and relative calm. Understanding the polar regions is key to decoding this cycle, which has direct implications for life on Earth. Solar storms can interfere with satellite communications, GPS systems, and even knock out power grids.