News 12:00

BULLETIN 21 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government was reportedly unaware of Iran’s participation in the now-infamous naval drill
# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are through to the Australian Open’s third round
# And David Kramer and Taliep Petersen are awarded the Freedom of Cape Town

# President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation reportedly learnt about Iran’s participation in the BRICS naval drill in False Bay through the media earlier this month. According to News24, a decision to invite Iran to participate in the Will for Peace naval exercise with South Africa, Russia and China dates back to early November. Defence minister Angie Motshekga has ordered an investigation to determine why Ramaphosa’s instruction for the withdrawal of Iran from the exercise was not adhered to.

# Statistics South Africa says mining production fell by 2.7-percent in November compared with the same month in 2024. Coal, iron ore, platinum group metals and gold contributed most to the decline, while manganese ore showed strong growth. Stats SA’s Juan-Pierre Terblanche says mineral sales also fell slightly by 0.3-percent year-on-year, with gold, coal, and iron ore leading the decline:

# The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services report multiple fire lines continue to burn in the mountains above Franschhoek on day five. Spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto says strong winds caused flare-ups, damaging some equipment, though no injuries or property loss occurred. Firefighters face extreme conditions, and the public is urged to avoid affected areas. Otto praises community support for boosting morale during the ongoing firefighting efforts:

# Tennis: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz beat German Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets to make the Australian Open’s third round, as he bids to complete a career Grand Slam. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev battled past France’s Quentin Halys. In the women’s draw, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka recorded her 25th victory in Grand Slams as world number one with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan. Britain’s Emma Raducanu suffered defeat to Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, with American Coco Gauff winning in straight sets against Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-234-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-865-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-51-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has bestowed Cape Town’s highest civic honour, the Freedom of the City, on two of its cultural icons, David Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen. The ceremony showcased the creative achievements of both artists, as well as their spectacular collaborative works for shows including District Six: The Musical and Kat and the Kings. Hill-Lewis says the two are custodians of Cape Town’s soul:

Stay tuned for more news………….