News 14:00

BULLETIN 24 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Free State reaches a major foot-and-mouth disease vaccination milestone
# A major power outage hits France as Europe wilts under a record heatwave
# And golf: The PGA Tour will revamp its competitive structure in 2028

# Free State MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, Elsabé Rockman, says the province has surpassed the one-million mark in vaccinating livestock against foot-and-mouth disease. The milestone forms part of South Africa’s broader effort to contain outbreaks and protect the livestock industry through the national rollout of vaccines. Rockman told SABC News continued vaccinations and strict biosecurity measures remain critical to prevent further spread:

# Five suspected kidnappers have been arrested during an intelligence-driven operation targeting kidnapping syndicates in Gauteng. The arrests stem from last Wednesday’s abduction of a woman in Edenvale, with a two-million-rand ransom demanded from her husband. Police tracked two vehicles and made arrests during a planned drop. Spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi says three additional suspects were detained and two victims were rescued and treated for minor injuries:

# Woolworths’ recently appointed group CEO and former head of the retailer’s highly successful food division, Sam Ngumeni, has made sweeping changes to the top structure. The company veteran of 30 years says the changes are designed to simplify corporate layers, eliminate redundant functions, and aggressively drive retail market growth. This has lead to the departure of Nuholt Huisamen as head of the Fashion, Beauty, and Home division, and Spencer Sonn as chief customer official.

Moving abroad:

# Temperatures climbed across Europe again today as a record-breaking heatwave left tens of thousands of people without power and boosted air conditioner sales on a continent ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The heatwave caused France’s first major power outage of the latest bout of extreme weather when a heat-related incident with a transformer left around 68-thousand households without electricity in the northwestern Finistere region. More than 90-percent of the French population is exposed to extreme heat, with temperatures of 39- to 41-degrees celcius expected.

# Golf: The PGA Tour will introduce sweeping changes in 2028 as part of a two-tier series format. This will see the world’s leading players compete in the Championship Series, comprising of 23 or 24 events, include the four majors, which will run from January to August. The lower Challenger Series will run concurrently. The chairperson of the tour’s Future Competitions Committee, Tiger Woods, says the changes will make the sport better:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents and the euro at 18-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-492-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-58-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….