NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 3 January 12 pm

Good afternoon,

In this bulletin:

# The City of Cape Town says initial findings on the fire in the Parliament buildings show a possible second point of origin
# The ANC says the Emalahleni mayor played a key role in stabilising governance
#  And is cricket: England captain Joe Root says he has questions to answer after losing the Ashes tour 

# Fire safety officials from the City of Cape Town will especially investigate how the fire spread from the Old Assembly to the New Assembly. The mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says there could have been a second point of fire origin or the fire could have spread through the air-conditioning system. Initial findings pointed to potential maintenance problems because some of the sprinklers were due for a service in 2020. Investigators were unable to find records confirming that the service was carried out.

# KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala says the past two years of lockdown have been very difficult for the tourism sector. They have decided to cast their eyes on opportunities and overcome setbacks imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. The tourism industry by and large is still hurting as they continue to battle the pandemic. Zikalala says he is encouraged by the positive signs of buoyancy on the tourism economy:

Play sound: ENGSihleZikalala

# The ANC in Mpumalanga says the City of Emalahleni mayor, Linah Malatjie played a key role in stabilising governance and systems in the City towards a financially sustainable local government institution. Mayor and her husband were killed in a car accident between KwaMhlanga and Emalahleni last night. The ANC spokesperson in the Nkangala region, Sello Matshoga, says her passing is a great loss to the Movement, the community of Emalahleni and society at large:

Play sound: ENGSelloMatshogaTWO

# Six people have been killed and homes torched in an attack earlier today by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in Kenya’s coastal Lamu region that borders Somalia. AFP reports Al-Shabaab fighters have staged several large-scale attacks inside Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia in 2011 as part of an African Union force to degrade the jihadists. The Al-Qaeda-linked group is seeking to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu and controls swathes of southern Somalia from where it regularly launches attacks in the capital and elsewhere.

# Cricket: England captain Joe Root says he has questions to answer and will assess his future as captain after the losing Ashes tour. Ben Stokes has meanwhile insisted he has no ambition to take over. AFP reports Root will become his country’s longest-serving Test skipper at the fourth Test in Sydney on Wednesday, surpassing predecessor Alastair Cook’s 59 matches in charge. But he is under pressure after three consecutive heavy defeats to Australia with some pundits, including Ricky Ponting and Geoff Boycott, scathing about his captaincy.

# And, financial indicators: The dollar is trading at 15-rand-85-cents and the euro at 17-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 47-thousand-050-dollar-50-cents. Gold is selling at one thousand-823-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

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