News 12:00

BULLETIN 16 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Constitutional Court is to hear the case regarding Shell’s gas seismic surveys off the Wild Coast
# A fire damages 80 metres of conveyor belts at Richards Bay’s Bulk Terminal
# And the NSPCA demands action to protect race horses

# Communities from the Wild Coast are squaring off against Shell, Impact Africa, and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in the Constitutional Court today. The case centres around the gas seismic surveys off the Wild Coast and oil exploration rights granted to Shell and Impact Africa in 2014. At stake is whether the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to suspend a ruling invalidating Shell’s exploration rights can stand. Green Connection’s Neville van Rooy says seismic surveying has major environmental effects:

# Transnet Port Terminals has confirmed that a fire on the woodchips route at the Richards Bay Bulk Terminal in KwaZulu-Natal damaged 80 metres of two conveyor belts. Emergency response teams and sprinklers contained the blaze, preventing wider destruction. Management confirmed that vessel on berth was diverted to Durban’s Multipurpose Terminal to continue loading. Repairs are underway, with operations expected to resume later this week. An investigation into the cause is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services is currently monitoring a fire in the mountains above Cogmanskloof between Ashton and Montagu. The fire started on the lower edges of the kloof yesterday. The municipality’s Jo-Anne Otto says the blaze was fuelled by dense vegetation and strong winds overnight. She adds that four firefighting vehicles and crews are currently deployed to the scene:

# The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has called for urgent action to protect race horses. Key concerns include the use of tongue-ties and racing underage horses. NSPCA’s Bryce Marock has emphasised that animal welfare must take priority over commercial interests. He is urging for stricter enforcement, criminal prosecution where warranted, banning of harmful devices, and halting the practice of racing horses before full skeletal maturity. Marock adds this will ensure meaningful reforms in South African horse racing.

# Cricket: Proteas Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt says the one-day international series against Pakistan will be perfect preparation for the upcoming World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The first of three ODIs gets underway in Lahore this afternoon. South Africa holds a dominant record over Pakistan in ODI, winning 21 of the 28 encounters between the two nations. Wolvaardt says getting to play in the subcontinent before the World Cup is a massive opportunity:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-47-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-861-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-694-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….