News 11:00

BULLETIN 23 September 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ATM says government was not prepared to deal with the bad weather conditions
# IDF urges Lebanese civilians to leave areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes
# And cycling: SA’s Candice Lill won bronze in Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships

# The African Transformation Movement says is concerning that government was not prepared for the adverse weather conditions despite warnings from the South African Weather Service. Parts of the country experienced cold weather including snow resulting in the death of two people in KwaZulu. ATM’s spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, says relevant authorities must conduct a thorough review of their response mechanism, and implement the necessary improvements to ensure better preparedness:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta is urging matric learners to apply for and collect their IDs as they prepare to write the final National Senior Certificate examinations. The Department of Home Affairs has extended the weekend operating hours until 12 October. Makaneta says the partnership between Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube and Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber to extend the hours demonstrates a commitment to ensuring learners can pursue their educational and professional goals:

# The DA in Gauteng has accused Health MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, of misleading the public regarding the ongoing mortuary crisis in the province. South Africa is facing a problem of a high number of unclaimed bodies at government mortuaries, with more than three-thousand bodies remaining unclaimed to date. The DA’s, Madeleine Hicklin, says nobody wants to assume responsibility for the proper identification and burial of indigent citizens:

# The Israel Defence Forces is urging civilians in Lebanon to leave areas in which Hezbollah operates for military purposes, warning it would soon engage in extensive precise strikes against the militant group. This comes a day after the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets deep into northern Israeli territory. The barrage came after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last Friday killed at least 45 people, including one of Hezbollah’s top leaders. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, says his country has the right to self-defence.

# Cycling: South Africa’s Candice Lill won the bronze medal at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships in Snowshoe, USA. She finished 69-seconds behind the winner Mona Mitterwallner from Austria with Switzerland’s Sina Frei finishing second. Lill finished second last year behind Mitterwallner. Forty-five women participated in the gruelling championship spanning 100 kilometres. The men’s section was won by Denmark’s Simon Andreassen.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-538-dollars-31-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-621-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….