News 13:00

BULLETIN 24 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Action Society accuses the police of complicity in the illicit firearms trade 
# Load-shedding is suspended until 4pm today
# And Soccer: Palestine reach the Asian Cup knockouts for the first time

# Action Society claims the South African Police Service is likely the biggest supplier of illicit firearms. The accusation follows the arrest of a Mitchells’ Plain, Cape Town, police member after 15 firearms went missing from the storeroom in November last year. According to the organisation, between 2005 and 2017, police could not account for more than 26-thousand firearm issued to members. Action Society’s Director of Community Safety, Ian Cameron, says police are providing weapons to major criminal networks, contributing to the murders of innocent citizens:

# Eskom has announced it has suspended load-shedding until 4pm today. This is due to sufficient available generation capacity. The power utility reminds customers that load-shedding is implemented as a last resort to maintain the stability of the power system. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena says stage two load-shedding will return after four:

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has urged South Africans to contribute ideas to the budget as National Treasury seeks input. This strives to balance economic growth and aid the vulnerable amid resource constraints. Input is sought on crucial issues like municipal finance, spending priorities, addressing budget shortfalls, stabilising state-owned entities’ finances and tackling the energy crisis. With national debt exceeding 4.8-trillion-rand, experts emphasise the need for fiscal responsibility, especially in an election year.

# Soccer: Palestine is through to the Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time. They beat Hong Kong 3-0 in their maiden win in the competition. United Arab Emirates are second in Group C, despite losing 2-1 to group winners Iran. The historic victory in Doha, Qatar, comes after Palestinian players and staff lost loved ones in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. They said before the tournament they hoped to provide some comfort to those suffering back home.

# And finally: Four new emperor penguin colonies have been identified in Antarctica from satellite imagery. It brings the number of known nesting sites around the White Continent to 66. With the discoveries, scientists believe they now know the whereabouts of all the world’s remaining breeding pairs. According to the BBC, it is vital information for conservationists monitoring a species that’s under increasing pressure as a result of climate change.

Stay tuned for more news………….