“The outlook for the manufacturing sector seems uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

The year 2020 will probably be remembered in history books for the Coronavirus and the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the entire world to a standstill. Suddenly many people learned about viruses, and how they differ from bacteria.

The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources, SADiLaR, on the campus of the North-West University (NWU) in Potchefstroom, has a new centre director. Prof Langa Khumalo will take the reins from 1 August. SADiLar is a research infrastructure funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap.

It is a fact that many children find themselves in barren school classes and playgrounds because their parents, educators and caregivers are often unaware of the importance of providing opportunities for purposeful play in the early years.

While many people cringe at the thought of consuming bugs, entomophagy – the term for eating insects – has been practised for hundreds of years in South Africa.

“The welcome special loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help South Africa deal with the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 goes wider than just helping to balance the budget.”

Our oceans are choking on plastic debris. In fact, marine plastic debris is one of the most pressing environmental concerns facing the world today, with devastating effects for both humans and the environment.

Prof Stefan Siebert from the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at the North-West University (NWU), together with academics from various American universities, recently described two new lichen species, the first discoveries of its kind in three decades. Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership between two separate organisms, a fungus and alga.

The further 25 basis-point cut in interest rates is positive, but 50 basis points would have been better. This is the view of Prof Raymond Parsons, well-known economist and academic from the NWU Business School.

With South Africa having been in lockdown for more than 100 days already, people are experiencing a variety of emotions, ranging from sadness, fear, anxiety and loneliness to anger. People experiencing anger came into focus when businessman Vusi Thembekwayo shared an emotion-laden video that went viral on social media a few days ago.