News 15:00

BULLETIN 16 January 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum and Solidarity commence with legal challenge against the Bela Act
# Stilfontein volunteers are to receive counselling after their rescue efforts
# And Tennis: Teenage star bundled out of the Australian Open in five-set thriller

# AfriForum, Solidarity, and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools have launched legal action against the Bela Act’s declaration. AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel says that president Cyril Ramaphosa acted irrationally by ignoring Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube’s recommendation to postpone the act’s language and admission policies. He says that the legal letters demand resolution within ten days, or the matter will proceed to court:

# Two volunteers who participated in the Stilfontein rescue mission yesterday will receive counselling. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the volunteers verified that all illegal miners have resurfaced with no remaining dead bodies. Meanwhile, seven Zimbabwean miners have resurfaced from the Margaret shaft, underscoring the ongoing challenges of illegal mining. She confirmed government plans to seal and rehabilitate abandoned shafts to prevent future incidents:

#  KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma. says prolonged rainfall has affected construction of new projects and worsened the condition of roads. The MEC’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya says the department have received calls, photos, and videos from communities that are isolated and battling to access schools, hospitals, and socio-economic centers. He says the MEC is inspecting damage in eThekwini today and will visit Vryheid next week:

# United Nations rights chief Volker Turk says transitional justice was “crucial” for Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, during the first-ever visit by someone in his post to the country. The United Nations has said Assad’s fall must be followed by accountability for him and others behind the crimes committed during his rule. Turk says the enforced disappearances, torture, and use of chemical weapons, among other atrocity crimes, must be fully investigated and then justice must be served.

# Tennis: Teenage rising star Joao Fonseca was bundled out in the Australian Open second round by wily Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a five-set thriller. The highly rated 18-year-old Brazilian, burst on the scene by stunning ninth seed Andrey Rublev, looked on track for another upset when he won the first set in Melbourne. In a seesawing battle, the 55th-ranked Sonego clawed through 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 3-6 and 6-3. The loss ended a 15-match win streak for Fonseca, who was tipped for the top by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic this week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-84-cents and the euro at 19-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-899-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-708-dollars-16-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-63-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….