News 12:00

BULLETIN 26 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# FNB predicts significant employment gains in the longer term
# The DA demands an urgent probe into arson-fuelled wildfires ravaging the Western Cape
# And cricket: South Africa’s Allahuddien Paleker is included in the ICC’s elite panel of umpires

# FNB is predicting significant employment gains in the longer term with gradual improvements in the operating environment. The total number of people employed in South Africa decreased by 91-thousand from December 2023 to December last year. According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics published by Statistics SA, full-time employment decreased by 26-thousand and part-time employment by 65-thousand. FNB’s senior economist, Koketso Mano, has highlighted the importance of infrastructure investments to boost long-term employment:

# The DA calls for a wide-ranging investigation into suspected arson-related wildfires in the Western Cape. A parliamentary reply revealed that 68 of the more than eleven-thousand wildfires reported in the province are being investigated as arson, with 97-percent occurring in Cape Town. The party urges police to arrest those responsible. The DA’s Dave Bryant says arson puts lives at risk, harms the environment, and drains vital resources:

# The Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environmental Affairs in the Free State has confirmed an outbreak of African armyworms. Thirty-one cases have been reported in several areas, including Jacobsdal, Luckhoff, and Petrusburg. The infestation is spreading to Boshof and is threatening crops like maize and sorghum. Farmers are advised to move livestock and consult veterinarians. The department’s Moliehi Moeng says training sessions for farmers on how to use pesticides is taking place in Petrusburg and Jacobsdal today:

# Cricket: South Africa’s Allahuddien Paleker and England’s Alex Wharf have been included in the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of umpires for 2025/’26. Paleker, who is the seventh South African umpire to feature on the panel, has been an on-field umpire in four Tests, 23 one-day games and 67 T20s in men’s international cricket, and 17 women’s international games. Last year, he officiated the men’s T20 World Cup and the Under-19 men’s World Cup. Paleker says being named in the elite panel brings both pride and responsibility.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 88-thousand-143-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-28-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The world’s longest-serving death row inmate, former Japanese professional boxer Iwao Hakamata, will receive a record compensation payout of 26-million-rand. The 89-year-old, who spent more than 40 years on death row, was acquitted last year. He was sentenced to death in 1968 for a quadruple murder, but new evidence led to his release in 2014 pending a retrial, which acquitted him. The compensation is the highest ever handed out for wrongful conviction in Japan, but Hakamata’s legal team says it can never make up for his suffering.

Stay tuned for more news………….