News 12:00

BULLETIN 18 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Dion George announces that the Climate Change Act is now in effect
# The DA claims the Gauteng government is wasting millions on Telkom lines
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could face off in the Miami Open semis

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has proclaimed the Climate Change Act, which became effective yesterday, but not all provisions of the act have come into operation. This is due to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment developing a set of regulations that will enable the implementation of these provisions. Minister Dion George says the act will enable the development of effective climate change policies and the long-term transition to a low-carbon economy and society. He adds the legislation also aims to lay the foundation for a resilient green economy.

# The DA in Gauteng has slammed the provincial government for wasting money on Telkom landlines instead of switching to cost-saving Voice over Internet Protocol. An audit by the Department of e-Government revealed that using VOIP could save big spenders, including the Health and Education Departments, millions of rand annually. The DA’s Michael Waters vows to push for answers and advocate for cost-effective solutions:

# French prosecutors have launched an investigation into TotalEnergies over potential manslaughter and failure to assist during a 2021 jihadist attack in Mozambique. The attack on Palma killed civilians near gas projects partly owned by TotalEnergies. Survivors and victims’ families filed a complaint in 2023, leading to the inquiry. The company denies wrongdoing, stating it helped evacuate two-thousand-500 people. Meanwhile, a 90-billion-rand loan has been approved to restart Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas project.

# Tennis: Six-time champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and 2022 winner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain could potentially meet in the Miami Open semifinals. Djokovic, who returns to the ATP Masters One-thousand event for the first time since 2019, will open his campaign against countryman Hamad Medjedovic or Australian Rinky Hijikata. Alcaraz will face either David Goffin of Belgium or Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic. Indian Wells champion Jack Draper of Britain, who has the opportunity to complete the coveted Sunshine Double, is in German Alexander Zverev’s quarter of the draw.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-1-cent and the euro at 19-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-41-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-96-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-2-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The FW de Klerk Foundation says South Africa’s fiscally constrained position continues to severely impact the full enjoyment of all rights and freedoms for citizens. The foundation has released its annual report card for 2024, which evaluates the degree to which rights and freedoms in the Bill of Rights are being enjoyed. The foundation’s vice chairperson, Christina Teichmann, says they found that eleven human rights have deteriorated, including freedom of expression, ten remained unchanged, and only four have improved:

Stay tuned for more news………….