News 14:00

BULLETIN 23 December 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA says Minerals and Petroleum Resources blew 1.92-million-rand on international travel since September
# The Drinks Federation urges responsible consumption and trading during the festive season
# And cricket: Pakistan chooses Dubai as the neutral venue for the Champions Cup

# ActionSA has revealed that the Ministry of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, under minister Gwede Mantashe, has spent a staggering 1.92-million-rand on international travel in just four months. ActionSA’s Alan Beesley says under the guise of official duties, taxpayer money is being drained to fund what appear to be lavish travel expenditure. He says these patterns are symptomatic of a broader failure by the ANC to give preference to fiscal discipline in governance:

# The Drinks Federation of South Africa is emphasising the importance of responsible consumption during the festive season. The festive season generally sees a surge in road accidents due to factors including increased traffic volumes, alcohol consumption, fatigue and adverse weather conditions. The federation’s Shamal Ramesar told the SABC that alcohol traders must also embrace their role as key partners in fostering responsible drinking:

# South African farmers have cautiously welcomed Botswana’s gradual lifting of its vegetable import ban. This comes after the neighbouring country’s minister of International Relations, Phenyo Butale, announced the decision to ease the ban, which halved South Africa’s vegetable exports to 272-million-rand last year. Agricultural body TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl emphasises trust-building and infrastructure needs for successful trade. The phased approach starts with immediate imports of selected vegetables, expanding in April.

# Cricket: India will play its matches in the Champions Cup in Dubai after hosts Pakistan announced the United Arab Emirates city as a neutral venue. India refused to play in Pakistan because of the decades-old political animosity between the neighbouring countries. As part of the agreement reached with the International Cricket Council, Pakistan will then play matches at neutral venues in international tournaments hosted by India until 2027. South Africa, Australia, England, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will also play in the Champions Cup from 19 February.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-12-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-116-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-624-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A study published in Journal of Environmental Management highlights the severe impact of climate change on European forests, particularly conifer species, which are highly vulnerable to droughts. To adapt, forest management is urged to shift from conifer-dominated forests to mixed or broadleaved forests, which experts deem to be more resilient to climate changes. The study predicts that many European tree species will experience significant range contraction much earlier than previously expected – by 2041 to ’60 rather than ’61 to ’80. This means climate change will impact forests sooner than anticipated.

Stay tuned for more news………….