News 14:00

BULLETIN 24 December 2 pm

GGood afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Traditional leaders call for a two-year ban to prevent initiation deaths in the Eastern Cape
# A young South African-born batter doesn’t want to become known as a T20 cricket player only
# And a police official dressed as the Grinch leads a drug raid in Peru

# The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa has called for a two-year-ban of initiation school in the Eastern Cape following the deaths of 20 initiates during the summer initiation season. Contralesa chairperson Mathupa Mokoena suggests that the moratorium should seek to develop lasting solutions. He emphasises the need for extraordinary measures to address this ongoing issue and that the ban aims to prevent further fatalities and ensure the safety of initiates.

# The Save South Africa civic movement urges the Health Ministry to suspend condom sales at spaza shops following reports of counterfeit condoms being sold in Sunnyside, Pretoria. Spokesperson Tebogo Mashilompane warns of health risks, including infections and unplanned pregnancies, due to unregulated quality. He calls on Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi to act swiftly while encouraging public use of government-issued condoms for safety:

# Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competition portfolio committee awaits a response from South Africa’s major banks after they were called to appear before the committee to explain their credit and other policies. Chairperson Mzwandile Masina stated that the possible date for the appearance is 4 February. He highlighted to SABC News the need for transparency in how banks manage credit policies. Masina says the banks in question include Standard Bank, Investec, FNB, and Nedbank:

# Cricket: South African-born batter Bevon Jacobs says he doesn’t want to be known as a one-dimensional player. This follows his inclusion in New Zealand’s squad for the T20 series against Sri Lanka – only a month since being bought by Mumbai Indians for next year’s Indian Premier League in the same format. Jacobs says the breakthrough after just 25 senior matches came a little bit quicker than he anticipated, but he will grab the opportunity. The 22-year-old was born in Pretoria, but grew up in Auckland.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-52-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-861-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-615-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

# And finally: An undercover police official wearing a Grinch costume has carried out a drug raid in Lima, Peru. Video distributed by the national police agency shows members smashing a door before entering a house. Police say three people were arrested and several small packets of cocaine found during the raid. The police unit in Lima is renowned for using costume-clad agents. An official dressed as a teddy bear pounced on a suspected drug dealer during a Valentine’s Day operation earlier this year.

Stay tuned for more news………….