News 12:00

BULLETIN 9 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga calls for social cohesion to end gender-based violence
# Residents in KwaZulu-Natal are urged to remain cautious as the inclement weather is expected to persist
# And Motorsport: A new F1-deal with Belgium will accommodate new races

# Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, is concerned about the persistence of gender-based violence and femicide in the country. The minister condemns the killing of Shana Balie, on Christmas Day in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend, Jonathan Gewind, who has confessed to the killing. The department’s spokesperson, Cassius Selala, says social cohesion is needed to end gender-based violence:

# KwaZulu-Natal residents are urged to remain cautious as inclement weather is expected to persist. The province has already experienced severe storms, resulting in eleven deaths and significant damage to infrastructure, including 370 destroyed homes. The total damage is estimated at 411-million-rand. Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila says power outages and road disruptions are still widespread:

# US president Joe Biden has welcomed his first great-grandchild after his eldest granddaughter gave birth to a baby boy in California on Wednesday. Thirty-one-year-old Naomi Biden Neal, and her husband, Peter Neal, welcomed their first child, a son named William Brannon Neal The Fourth. The newborn shares a name with Neal’s brother, who was killed in 2009 by a distracted driver. Biden is the first sitting president to become a great-grandfather while in office.

# Motorsport: The Belgian Grand Prix has struck a deal to allow it to stay on the Formula 1 calendar for four out of six years from 2026-2031 in a new type of rotational deal to accommodate new races. The contract means the historic Spa-Francorchamps will not be a host in 2028 and 2030. Belgium will be replaced by another race, although the details of which venues they will be, have not yet been confirmed. France and Germany do not feature on the 2025 calendar and are seeking to return.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-95-cents and the euro at 19-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-23-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-662-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Cape Town drivers lost a total of 94 hours to traffic congestion in 2024, making it one of the most congested cities globally. The number of hours has reportedly worsened from 83 hours in 2023. According to the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard by INRIX, this figure highlights the challenge of commuting to central business districts, with peak traffic times significantly affecting productivity. To alleviate this, the City of Cape Town says it will focus on expanding MyCiTi bus routes, improving commuter rail services, and upgrading major roads.

Stay tuned for more news………….