Good News

BULLETIN 19 August 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# The National Research Foundation will hold its 2024 Awards at Sun City, North West, this week, celebrating excellence in South African research. The event will also mark the foundation’s 25th anniversary of promoting research and innovation. Notable recognitions include the Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring researchers who have significantly impacted South African science. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, will deliver the keynote address.

# Applications are now open for the Achmat Dangor Literary Prize 2024, aimed at young writers across genres who are completing or have completed their honours degree. In honour of the South African writer and activist Achmat Dangor, the literary prize is set to support a young, previously disadvantaged writer in financial need. The University of Witwatersrand’s professor Ivan Vladislavić says Dangor made an inestimable contribution to South African literary culture. Applications close on the 15th of September.

# Ignis Fire Testing will launch its expanded laboratory today, becoming Africa’s largest privately-owned fire testing facility. Located in Blackheath, Cape Town, the facility showcases South African engineering excellence, with all components locally manufactured. Ignis Fire Testing’s Dirk Streicher says the one-thousand-500-square metre facility meets global fire safety standards and offers advanced testing services. He says this investment boosts local safety and positions Ignis as a key player in the international fire safety industry.

# A nine-month-old girl from Elim in Limpopo received a life-changing surgery for a cleft lip repair at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria. Ortica Tuwani was born with Goldenhar Syndrome, a rare congenital condition characterised by abnormal development of the face and spine. Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson, Motaletale Modiba, says she was one of 12 children who received facial reconstruction surgery:

# And finally, the US horror-thriller franchise film Alien: Romulus starring Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson topped the global box office on its opening weekend. The 20th Century Studios movie earned over 19-billion-rand globally. Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, now in its fourth weekend, took the second spot with the romantic drama It Ends With Us third. 20th Century Studios has been responsible for an estimated 42-percent of the industry’s summer box office haul, including hits Inside Out 2 and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Stay tuned for more news………….