NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 3 January 6pm

Good evening,

In this bulletin:

# As the fire at Parliament re-ignites, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says circumstances surrounding the fire are abnormal
# Gauteng traffic police urges drivers and passengers to wear seat belts
# And Cricket: South Africa bowls India out for 202 on the first day of the second Test

# National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says the circumstances surrounding the parliament fire are abnormal. Presiding officers have been briefing the media on the latest developments involving the blaze which gutted parliament and damaged the national assembly. Mapisa-Nqakula says it is not clear how the fire made it to the chambers:

Play sound: ENG-NosiviweMapisa

# Gauteng traffic police are urging drivers and passengers to wear seat belts at all times to ensure safety on the roads, as traffic volumes are expected to increase on the major roads today. Traffic police spokesperson, Sello Maremane says motorists must exercise the necessary caution by obeying the rules and regulations of the road:

Play sound: ENGSelloMaremane

# The South African Weather Service says in their seasonal watch for farmers for January to May this year that the multi-model rainfall forecast indicates mostly above-normal rainfall for the larger part of the country during January and the next two months. A spokesperson says farmers can also be on the look out for above-normal minimum temperatures across the country during February, March, and April except for the south-western parts of the country. In those parts, below-normal minimum temperatures are expected.

# Germany has welcomed a plan by the European Union to label some natural gas energy projects as “green” investments, but has stressed its opposition to a proposal to do the same for nuclear power projects. According to Reuters, Germany closed three of its last six nuclear power stations on Friday. Austria and Luxembourg also oppose nuclear power, but EU states like the Czech Republic, Finland and France see nuclear as crucial to phasing out carbon-emitting coal fuel power.

# Cricket: South African bowlers Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier were the stars of the first day of the second Test against India at the Wanderers. They bowled out India, without star batter Virat Kohli, for 202 runs. Jansen took 4 wickets for 31 runs while Rabada and Olivier bagged three wickets each. Ravichandran Ashwin top scored for the visitors with 46 runs from just 50 balls. The Proteas lost the early wicket of Aidan Markram with the score on just 14. He was trapped LBW on 7 by Mohammed Shami.

# Financial indicators: The dollar is trading at 15-rand-89-cents and the euro at 17-rand-96-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 46-thousand-835-dollar-20-cents. Gold is selling at one thousand-801-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-05-cents a barrel.

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