News 15:00

BULLETIN 25 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Political parties debate a call for the regulation of foreign spaza shops
# Cricket: Temba Bavuma will also miss the Proteas’ second Test against Bangladesh
# AndDinosaur fossils have been discovered in Hong Kong for the first time

# Political parties in the National Assembly are urging the regulation of spaza shops following a rise in food poisoning cases. This includes the death of six children in Naledi, Soweto. During the debate, speakers emphasised that the request isn’t xenophobic or Afrophobic, but targets non-compliant businesses. The DA’s Eleanore Rochelle Spies stressed the need for thorough investigations to address the issue:

# The ANC says it is hosting its special National Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni from today until Monday. The party’s spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri says this gathering of the ANC’s highest decision-making body between conferences will discuss renewal of the organisation, integrity committee reports and building of organisational structures. She says this is to position the movement to accelerate service delivery as well as charting a way forward on key issues facing the country:

# Africa’s financial markets are expanding at their fastest pace since 2017. According to Absa’s latest Africa Financial Markets Index, this is driven by economic recovery and easing inflation. Out of 29 countries assessed, 23 improved their scores, with growth in pension fund assets and foreign exchange reserves. South Africa, Mauritius, and Nigeria topped the index, while Ethiopia ranked last. Absa’s interim CEO Charles Russon highlighted this as a positive shift following challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

# Cricket: Captain Temba Bavuma will also miss the Proteas’ second Test against Bangladesh due to injury. He travelled to South Asia with the team in the hope of recovering from an arm injury, but won’t be ready when the encounter starts in Chattogram on Tuesday. White-ball skipper Aiden Markram will continue to captain the team after leading South Africa to a seven-wicket victory in the first encounter in Mirpur –  their first Test victory on the subcontinent in over ten years.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-8-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-908-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-722-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Dinosaur fossils have been discovered in Hong Kong for the first time. They were found on Port Island, an uninhabitable expanse of rocks in the northeast. Researchers have determined that the bone fossils likely originated from a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, an era more than 145-million to 66-million years ago that followed the Jurassic period. Experts in paleontology say the landmark discovery is a big deal for the city with a complex geological history and ever-changing weather patterns.

Stay tuned for more news………….