News 13:00

BULLETIN 14 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The new school year begins
# The United Nations says 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022
# And rugby: South African fans can now register for priority ticket access to the All Blacks tour

# Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, welcomed learners back to school for the 2026 academic year at Tamboerskloof Primary in Cape Town. Among the learners are over 73-thousand Grade Rs, 102-thousand Grade 1s, and 97-thousand Grade 8s. Maynier highlighted the Rapid School Build programme, which added 175 classrooms and opened nine new schools. He says these efforts reinforce the province’s commitment to expanding infrastructure and accommodating growing learner demand:

In Gauteng, the Ekurhuleni Metropolice are urging parents and guardians not to post pictures that display school logos, uniforms or locations on social media. Spokesperson Thabiso Makgato warns these details can pose serious safety risks and expose children to online predators. She says child trafficking continues to be a growing concern in South Africa, with social media being a key tool used by traffickers to lure children:

Moving abroad:

# The latest report by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine shows 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians in the country since 2022. Conflict-related violence killed at least two-thousand-514 civilians last year, representing a 31-percent increase from 2024, when two-thousand-and-88 people were killed. The mission’s chief, Danielle Bell, says this rise was driven not only by intensified hostilities along the frontline, but also by the expanded use of long-range weapons.

# Rugby: South African fans can now register for priority ticket access to the All Blacks’ tour, which brings eight matches to the country between August and September this year. Pre-sales opens at 10am on the 29th of this month, with general sales starting on 2 February. The tour starts against the Stormers in Cape Town on 7 August, followed by games against the Sharks in Durban and the Bulls in Pretoria before the first Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on the 22nd.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-121-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-636-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A Finnish adventurer Jari Saario is expected to arrive in Cape Town on Friday after his attempt to row solo from Cape Horn in Chile to the Mother City was cut short when his boat capsized and was badly damaged in a violent storm in the South Atlantic. He was rescued by the crew of the Greek merchant ship Cymona Eagle. The alert was received by the South African Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, who contacted the vessel. Its route was diverted to pick up Saario.

Stay tuned for more news………….