News 06:00

BULLETIN 3 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Defence Force is unsure of the repatriation of the 14 soldiers in Goma
# The DA calls for a cut in the military presence at the State of the Nation Address
# And cricket: India beat South Africa to be crowned the U19 Women’s T20 world champions

# The South African National Defence Force says the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made it difficult for the repatriation of the 14 soldiers who lost their lives in Goma. The soldiers served in the region as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission and the United Nations peacekeeping deployment, working to promote peace and stability. The SANDF says it is difficult to say how long the repatriation process will take because of the prevailing situation in Goma, where the bodies are.

Meanwhile, the DA says it has written to Parliament speaker Thoko Didiza, urging the immediate scaling down of military parade arrangements for Thursday’s State of the Nation Address. The DA’s Chris Hattingh says specifically, that they have called for the cancellation of the planned fly-over by the South African Air Force, given the dire situation facing the South African National Defence Force troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

# Trade union Solidarity urges the government to adopt a more flexible approach to Black Economic Empowerment in the legal field. The union believes that current BEE codes are restricting opportunities for smaller law firms and limiting competition. It advocates for a system that allows for growth and innovation without being overly restrictive. Solidarity’s Riaan Visser is calling for changes to make the legal sector more accessible and inclusive for all South Africans.

# ActionSA in Ekurhuleni has welcomed the passing of the motion in the city’s council to release municipal land for the urgent development of the KwaThema Police Station. ActionSA’s Phillip Dolo says the community of KwaThema has been without a proper police station since it was declared unfit for human habitation by the South African Human Rights Commission 14 years ago. He says the current state of the police station severely compromises service delivery:

# Cricket: Defending champions India beat South Africa by nine wickets to win the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur. Nineteen-year-old Gongadi Trisha took three wickets as South Africa were restricted to 82 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Trisha scored an unbeaten 44-off-33-balls in reply as India chased down the target in 11.2 overs. Trisha finished as the highest-run scorer of the tournament with 309 runs and was named the Player of the Match and the Player of the Tournament.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-98-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-763-dollar-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-801-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A six-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Mia has made a successful recovery after receiving a tracheal stent at the University of Pretoria’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital. Mia had been suffering from a severe case of tracheal collapse, which occurs when the trachea becomes flattened, obstructing airflow and leading to symptoms like coughing, cyanosis, and fainting. Under general anaesthesia, Mia’s trachea was carefully measured using X-rays. The appropriate stent size was ordered from the USA, as these specialised devices are not kept on hand at UP due to their cost and infrequent use.

Stay tuned for more news………….