Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to reigniting a Covid-19 affected economy. It is evident, however, that addressing the public health crisis is non-negotiable, writes Haroon Bhorat.

The government locked down South Africa without knowing exactly how the virus works. And while there is evidence it helped to "flatten the curve", its time to reopen more of the economy, writes Thabi Leoka.

South Africans must insist on innovative solutions and new policies to ensure that when the country emerges from this governance and economic crisis, it does so not only aware of the country’s weaknesses but also primed to effect the necessary changes, writes Pieter du Toit.

Hairdressers have been forced to go underground as lockdown regulations stifle their livelihood and job security. For some, bootlegging has been 'life-saving'.

A bodyguard of Eastern Cape Social Development MEC Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi has been arrested with four others by the Green Scorpions for illegal hunting on a private farm outside East London, as well as for breaking Covid-19 lockdown regulations.

Four minutes and 28 seconds. That is how long it took a News24 reporter to find cigarettes – meant to be banned under Level 4 lockdown regulations – which were available for purchase at one of many places in South Africa.

We reassessed our hierarchy of needs, and survival always outweighs the rest. To be blunt, we would rather have load shedding than risk dying, writes Adriaan Basson.

While the phased-in reopening of schools in South Africa in the midst of Covid-19 remains provisional and sensitive, the Western Cape Education Department has advised principals and school management teams to wait a few more days before returning.

Messages to mothers and words of support were front and centre as Edmontonians cruised by MacTaggart Place retirement residence on Saturday afternoon.

Dozens of protesters descended on the legislature Saturday afternoon, calling for a quicker reopening of the Alberta economy.

There was a steady stream of people dropping off donations at Goodwill’s donation centres Saturday—marking the first day it was open in about six weeks.

Alberta reported 59 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 1.837.

Two more businesses operating in Calgary have been shut down by health officials for violating the province's rules regarding COVID-19.

Frank Soo, the first and only player of Asian heritage to represent England's national football team, has been honoured by Google.

The Stormers look set to receive a boost with centre Rikus Pretorius signing a contract extension.

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted that Roland Garros could be staged behind closed doors.

Manchester United and Everton have been put on alert by the news that Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot is willing to move to the Premier League.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber has warned a premature return to football action from the coronavirus pandemic could "cost lives".

Lebogang Manyama is the most important player for Kaizer Chiefs in their quest to win the Absa Premiership title, according to Stellenbosch midfielder Mpho Matsi.

SuperSport United winger Aubrey Modiba says a conversation with club CEO Stanley Matthews convinced him to stay despite interest from Mamelodi Sundowns.

Williams driver George Russell is enjoying sim racing online while Formula 1 is suspended but admits he doesn't get the same sense of speed or fear.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has said that holding races without any fans will feel "even worse than a test day".

Borussia Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland has been backed to sign for Liverpool in the future, while Manchester United have been criticised for missing out on him.

Former captain Paul O'Connell says it will be vital for the British & Irish Lions to pick a leader capable of beating the Springboks at their own game.

With the UK government set to tighten its lockdown restrictions, fresh doubts have been cast over the viability of a British Grand Prix.

Former New Zealand head coach and current England defence chief John Mitchell believes some good may come for rugby union from the coronavirus.

After six weeks of negotiating, the UN Security Council was close to agreeing on a resolution for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seems fair, right? Let's agree to stop killing each other for a while, so we can focus on the virus that's killing us instead?

China proposed that the text explicitly mention a commitment by member nations to support the efforts of the World Health Organization — who Donald Trump has blamed (without evidence) for withholding information on the coronavirus outbreak.

So the US looked at the resolution and said "LOL no," despite last minute efforts to reach a compromise. As The Guardian reports:

On Thursday night, French diplomats thought they had engineered a compromise in which the resolution would mention UN “specialized health agencies” (an indirect, if clear, reference to the WHO).

The Russian mission signaled that it wanted a clause calling for the lifting of sanctions that affected the delivery of medical supplies, a reference to US punitive measures imposed on Iran and Venezuela. However, most security council diplomats believed Moscow would withdraw the objection or abstain in a vote rather than risk isolation as the sole veto on the ceasefire resolution.

While everyone else seemed game to go along with these compromises, the US insisted it was one big Chinese trick. As one diplomat told CNN:  "This discussion has been taken hostage by issues that do not have to do with the real issues at stake. Instead it has been transformed into a fight between the US and China. Read the rest

Fear is ripe soil for the unscrupulous. With so much uncertainty and concern over our health and the broader world economy, cybercriminals have been playing on that fear to steal a few extra dollars out of the most scared and vulnerable. The U.S. Secret Service warned that phishing attacks were up significantly and scams over fake COVID-19 treatments have led to seizures and arrests.

From companies and organizations to individuals, it’s never been more important for everyone to have their cybersecurity measures on high alert. And whether you’re looking to protect your own assets or you’ve been tasked with safeguarding a company and all its workers, the vital work of white hat hackers is absolutely essential these days.

The training in The Ultimate 2020 White Hat Hacker Certification Bundle can put you in a position to understand all aspects of maintaining cybersecurity for a communication system of virtually any size, a lucrative career that can earn you a six-figure income.

The four-part Complete Cyber Security Course (taught by cybersecurity expert and noted consultant Nathan House) is a 360-degree starting point for any cybersecurity career. Starting at the beginning, each part of this multi-pronged introduction will help guide you through vital knowledge, from network hacking techniques and vulnerability scanning to all the defense methods that assure every laptop, desktop, smartphone and tablet in your network remain secure.

The hacker training continues with the rest of the courses in the collection, including building security analysis tools using Python and learning how to analyze web app security vulnerabilities and solutions using frameworks like Ruby on Rails and PHP. Read the rest

My friend Steve Davee posted this fun project to Instructables. It's a perfect project for shut-in parents and kids to do together.

The main body parts of the bots are keyboard keycaps and Q-tips/cotton swabs. An eccentric weight (pager) motor provides the bouncy movement that makes your vibrobots go.

Dip the swabs in watercolor paints, place the little critter on some paper, and watch your little tabletop Jackson Pollockbot go to town.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

It seemed like such a great idea at the time. You wanted to put together a video for a loved one, including all their family and friends singing their praises, making their life look as epic as a Hollywood production.

Oh, it was a Hollywood production, all right. Contributors showed up late and sent weird file formats, editing took forever, the music wasn’t right...and on it went. Before you know it, a simple tribute video you thought might take an hour or two consumed multiple nights and had you cursing the day you ever thought of the idea.

Video montages take work. But by enlisting Tribute to help you assemble your message of love, It’s all a lot more manageable.

In fact, the Tribute process is so easy that you probably won’t have to do more than a few minutes of work to produce a high-quality tribute video that brings tears of joy. No, seriously...Tribute swears 80 percent of their videos elicit actual tears of joy. Of course, there’s no way of knowing their metrics for judging the results of their 500,000 Tribute videos so far...but if they’re close, your odds for an emotional testament to your subject are pretty darn high.

With Tribute, you just enter the emails for all the people you’d like to contribute to the video. Tribute emails your participants, explains the project, and guides your subjects through how to shoot and submit their segment for the finished video.

Once all your videos are in, Tribute will compile all your clips into a touching, polished montage. Read the rest

A Blue Skimmer Dragonfly, photographed yesterday at Campbell's Swamp near Griffith, NSW.

A Cuckoo bee feeding on a Buloke mistletoe flower. I took this photo today near Stanhope, Victoria.

An Amaryllis Azure Butterfly, photographed on Buloke mistletoe, near Stanhope in Victoria.

I photographed this Buloke Mistletoe (Amyema linophylla) flower near Stanhope in Victoria.

A Skipper Butterfly, photographed today in my backyard in Bendigo, Victoria.

Two aboriginal scarred trees, photographed today near Stanhope in Victoria.

A male Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis), photographed today near Stanhope in Victoria.

An Amaryllis Azure Butterfly, photographed today on Buloke mistletoe, near Stanhope in Victoria.

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Canadians working aboard two cruise ships who weren't allowed to come to shore because of concerns about COVID-19 are finally able to return home.

As Quebec begins to reopen schools and businesses, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s ‘worried’ about the province’s deconfinement plans, particularly in Montreal.

Hospitals in British Columbia and Ontario are beginning to address major backlogs in surgeries after the COVID-19 pandemic forced thousands of cancellations that could take well over a year to address.

Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 15 new confirmed cases of the virus in the province, bringing the total number of positive tests since the pandemic began to 2,330.