News Bulletin of 8 December 2025, 10am

Eight exceptional PhD students from five South African universities have been awarded Google PhD Fellowships, a highly competitive academic honour given to fewer than 300 students worldwide.
The Google PhD fellowship programme, now in its 16th year, recognises outstanding postgraduate students shaping the future of technology.
The students will receive funding for up to 3-years, a Google Research Mentor, and access to a global community of scientists.
The research areas supported range from health to machine learning and quantum computing.
Last year four students from three universities in South Africa received fellowships.

The Waratwa Foundation is bringing hope to vulnerable families through ongoing food, clothing and hygiene drives.
The organisation in Pretoria, inspired by founder Oratile Motsusi’s childhood challenges, has already supported more than a thousand people.
Its programmes also include health awareness events and educational outreach for children.
The foundation says its mission is to restore dignity and uplift communities, one act of kindness at a time.

The Blitzboks have been crowned Cape Town Sevens champions for the 2nd consecutive year.
The South Africans beat Argentina 21-19 in a nail-biting final on Sunday afternoon.
The Pumas enjoyed a 14-7 lead at half-time.
The Blitzboks have now also moved to the top of the World Series standings.
They are on 32-points, together with Fiji and New Zealand, but have a better points difference.
The series now takes a break before it resumes in Singapore on the 31st of January.